John McCain acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention was watched by nearly 39 million people last night, Nielsen Media Research says.

The GOP presidential nominee managed to edge out Democratic candidate Senator Barack Obama, who garnered 38.4 million viewers during his own keynote address one week ago.

Nielsen believes the NFL Kickoff Game between Superbowl champions the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins, which aired for two hours before McCain’s address, helped lead 13.6 million people to the Republican National Convention.