NEW YORK Sen. Barack Obama's infomercial drew 33.5 million U.S. viewers Wednesday night, according to data compiled by Nielsen.

The simulcast -- the first of its kind since Ross Perot ran a political telecast on the eve of Election Day in 1996 -- aired on CBS, Fox, NBC, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Perot's telecast drew almost 22.7 million viewers.)

On an average Wednesday night, these networks draw a combined average of 30.3 million viewers during that half-hour daypart.
 
In comparison, the final debate between the two presidential candidates drew 56.5 million U.S. viewers on Oct. 15.
 
The candidates' first debate on Sept. 26 attracted 52.4 million viewers; their second debate, on Oct. 7, drew 63.2 million viewers.

Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.

READ BARBARA LIPPERT'S CRITIQUE OF OBAMA'S SPECIAL.