Matt Yglesias

Aug 29th, 2008 at 4:24 pm

Good Ratings

Lots of people watched Barack Obama:

Day four of the Democratic National Convention featured the acceptance speech by nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The convention was carried live during prime time on ten networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. Coverage varied by network, all ten aired live coverage from approximately 10-11PM (ET). The final night drew the largest audience so far for the Democrats (24.5% of all American homes), eclipsing the audience reach the three previous evenings.

I wonder about the viewership counts for events like this one that people tend to watch in groups. I think there were a dozen people at my house last night to watch Obama. Needless to say, the fact that tens of millions of people want to watch Obama speaking is sure to be an even bigger liability for his campaign than the fact that 80,000 people turned out to watch it live.

Filed under: obama, Television,



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33 Responses to “Good Ratings”

  1. howard Says:

    i’m equally sure that not one of them discussed the speech today with anyone, or suggested anyone try to watch it online, or emailed a friend about their favorite line, because of course the announcement of sarah palin - as i’m told by the all-knowing adam nagourney - and i quote “eclipsed barack obama’s speech.”

  2. RoboticGhost Says:

    And then there’s the unknown quantity that watched it live on MSNBC.com or CNN.com or were busy doing other things and caught a ‘cast this morning. TV ratings in general are becoming a sort of modern phrenology. Hulu, Tivo, et al are playing Merry Hobb with the whole system. Can we please call this phenomenon the Battlestar Galactica Effect?

  3. Alaska Trivia Says:

    Even excluding PBS and C-SPAN, Obama’s acceptance speech was watched by 38 million people–approximately 57 Alaskas.

  4. Brian Says:

    I also don’t think it can be emphasized enough how powerful that speech was. It was not without some slight verbal missteps. Being anal retentive about some aspects of life, I would have loved for a completely seamless delivery. But one or two slight pauses or almost missed words can’t overshadow the fact that he perfectly captured the essence of the Democratic party and its platform: contrary to conservative stereotypes, it’s not about government solving all of our problems. It’s about using all of our resources to accept a mutual responsibility for the future of everyone. It’s about making sure that nobody gets left behind. Call me a dork or a guy who’s completely in the bag for Obama, but I’ve been walking around all day shouting “Enough!” I loved the fact that he mentioned McCain’s temperament as well as his judgment. I’ve been so proud of the fact that we have a grown up for our candidate, a statesman, someone who isn’t going to back down, someone who will challenge the accusations and garbage from the other side. Obama looked, in a word, presidential. Compare that to the amateur hour effort of the Republicans so far and the clown show that will begin next week. It couldn’t be better that so many people saw what they are being offered. I have a hard time believing it’s not going to work in our favor.

  5. jibeaux Says:

    It was good, the undecided voter anecdotal feedback that I read about it was also positive. The man just radiates presidentialityness.

  6. br Says:

    I started to reply to howard and then realized he was being snarky. My sarcasm detector is down today after this Palin rollout.

  7. josé Says:

    “liability”? - I suspect that’s a typo.

  8. hey norm Says:

    sure…but htat was all pp…pre palin. obama doesn’t stand a chance against this juggernaut. c’mon…she’s a creationist, and she appoints sexual harrassers. how is biden gonna debate that???

  9. eric k Says:

    Jose,

    Its a running joke. The McCain campaign always spins Obama’s popularity as a negative.

  10. Jon C Says:

    “liability” how? Seems to me that should read “asset.”

  11. Stumpy Says:

    And when McCain-Palin wins, you’ll react with equal surprise, because nobody you know voted for them.

  12. cmholm Says:

    Even though we’ve known that Invesco Field was where Obama would give his acceptance speech for a while, it was only when the cameras panned across the packed stadium that I, personally, finally purchased a clue with the real reason:

    intimidation factor

  13. Lenny Kravitz Says:

    Yep. Intimidation all right.

    Fascists are like like that.

    O-BOMB-A O-BOMB-A O-BOMB-A

    The cult of personality, baby!

  14. Chris Says:

    And the intertubes! People watch online, of course, and that must be some significant number, no?

  15. Johnny C Says:

    Does anyone have a link to a one page issue chart comparing Obama and McCain? This would be very helpful as I speak with undecided voters.

    Please provide link if possible.

    Thanks.

    Obama/Biden ‘08

  16. Andy Says:

    Roughly 75,000 people attanded the event last night at mile-high Stadium. That’s, um, about thirteen times the population of Wasilla, Alaska, when she was mayor at the time of the 2000 Census.

    This is very, very good for John McCain.

  17. WRFightmaster Says:

    Matt,

    I enjoy your blog and read all your posts every day. I really appreciate the straightforward, level-headed appeal of your writing. One small quibble on style: I think the use of sarcasm is contrary to the best aspects of your ‘brand’ and makes it more difficult for your readers to glean your sincere intent.

  18. Mark Adams Says:

    I wonder about the viewership counts for events like this one that people tend to watch in groups. I think there were a dozen people at my house last night to watch Obama.

    Wow. You really are much dumber than I thought if you are under the impression that the convention watching habits of you and your friends have even the slightest resemblance to average Americans.

  19. Luke Says:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Series_television_ratings

    http://www.populationstatistic.com/archives/2005/02/02/historical-super-bowl-ad-rates-and-viewership/

    Obama put up pretty disappointing numbers… for a Super Bowl.

  20. Mystery Dyke Squadron (Bombing Division) Says:

    But barely anyone’s talking about it now thanks to the Palin blow-up. A fairly deft ruse, if pretty blatant. McCain was never characterised by his subtly, I suppose…

  21. Reality Man Says:

    But barely anyone’s talking about it now thanks to the Palin blow-up.

    People can still digest the Obama speech after having watching it for themselves while also seeing the media make fun of McCain over Palin. All the Palin pick did right after the Obama speech was make McCain look desperate, clueless and silly after Obama looked strong and smart. Now, instead of having the talking heads nitpicking about the speech like they did to Gore over sighing during the debates, McCain is on TV looking like a pig checking out his VP’s ass. Just enough rope…

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