McCain’s Speech Tops Obama’s in TV Viewership; More Tune in for GOP Convention Overall

John McCain’s nomination acceptance speech last night attracted more TV viewers nationwide than Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last week, while the Republican convention outperformed its Democratic counterpart in overall viewership for its final three days, Nielsen announced this afternoon.

McCain’s speech drew 38.9 million viewers, while Obama’s Invesco Field address drew 38.4 million one week before. Obama’s live audience vastly outnumbered McCain’s, as Obama managed to fill Denver’s 76,000-seat Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos.

Overall, the GOP convention bested its Democratic counterpart by just over 11.3 million viewers in a side-by-side comparison of the conventions’ second, third, and fourth days. (The first day of the RNC was largely put on hold as Hurricane Gustav made landfall in Louisiana early Monday morning.)

McCain’s speech aired following the opening game of the 2008-2009 NFL season, between the Washington Redskins and defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants. NBC, which broadcast the game, promoted McCain’s speech during the game to its football viewers.