McCain, Obama speeches big TV draws

NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain drew 41.9 and 41.6 million TV viewers, respectively, with their acceptance speeches, figures show.

Nielsen Media Research data showed that while McCain's speech at this week's Republican National Convention topped Obama among broadcast and cable network viewers, the Illinois senator edged out his Arizona counterpart when PBS ratings were factored in, The Hollywood Reporter said Friday.

Nielsen, which does not tally PBS viewers in its totals, gave McCain nearly 38.9 million regular viewers, compared to 38.4 million who watched Obama at the Democratic National Convention last week.

However, another 3.5 million people watched Obama's speech on PBS, compared with 2.7 million PBS viewers who witnessed McCain's acceptance speech, throwing total viewership back in Obama's favor, the Reporter said.

No matter the final totals between the two candidates, the Reporter said, the number of people who watched McCain's speech is a viewership record for a single RNC speech.