33 Million Viewers Tune In To Barack Obama’s Half-Hour Ad

Nielsen Media Research estimated that 33.6 million people watched Barack Obama’s half-hour television commercial Wednesday night.

The spot ran simultaneously on CBS, NBC, Fox, BET, Univision, MSNBC and TV One, and aides said it cost the campaign roughly $4 million. It profiled several Americans struggling with a tough economy, and Obama offered his ideas for a turnaround.

Toward the end of his 1992 campaign for president, Ross Perot ran a half-hour infomercial that was watched by 22.7 million people, according to Nielsen.

ABC did not run Obama’s commercial, instead showing its drama “Pushing Daisies,” which was slightly helped by the lack of entertainment competition. The drama was seen Wednesday by 6.6 million people; its season average is 5.9 million.

Obama’s spot had its biggest audience on NBC, with 7.7 million viewers.