According to TVNewser, 13 million fewer viewers watched Mitt Romney deliver his acceptance speech than watched John McCain in 2008.
via PoliticsUSA
Mitt Romney’s convention speech was watched by 25 million Americans, which is 13 million fewer viewers than watched John McCain accept the Republican nomination in 2008.
Mitt Romney’s inability to captivate the nation resulted in a gain of only 5 million viewers from the second night to the third night of the Republican convention. The Romney campaign was counting on widespread viewership, outside of the GOP, but 39% of their audience came from Fox News. Fox was the top network with over 9 million viewers, followed by ABC (4.44 million), NBC (3.85 million), CBS (3.73 million), CNN (2.33 million), and MSNBC (1.88 million). In contrast, over 38 million Americans watched John McCain’s speech in 2008.
Mitt Romney only drew in 5 million more viewers than Paul Ryan, meaning it's possible Honey Boo Boo beat Romney in ratings too.
If only Honey Boo Boo's fans knew Clint Eastwood was going to scold an empty chair, they may have changed the channel for a few minutes.