Palin Speech Gets 37.2 Million Viewers, Nearly Tops Obama

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By Felix Gillette

September 4, 2008 | 5:09 p.m

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According to James Hibberd of the The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Palin's speech last night was viewed by 37.2 million viewers across a range of broadcast and cable networks. That number, according to Nielsen data, nearly topped Barack Obama's speech last Thursday at the Democratic convention, which was viewed by some 38.4 million viewers.

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Palin pulled in 37.2 million viewers across broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That's 55% higher than Day 3 of the DNC, when her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, and President Clinton took the stage (24 million).

It's also up a sharp 99% from the Republican convention's third day in 2004 (18.7 million). In fact, it came close to upsetting Obama's historic address on Thursday--the most-watched convention speech in history (38.4 million viewers).

Palin's viewership is up 73% from Tuesday's RNC tally, when 21.5 million tuned in to see President Bush and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman endorse nominee John McCain. The event also drew more female viewers than Hillary Clinton's speech last week.