Move over, Gary Brolsma

Hope Will Not Be Televised: Obama YouTube vs. Clinton Clash

While cable news shows gorge on campaign sparring, Obama’s uplifting speech is absolutely dominating YouTube. The 34-minute address from Ebenezer Baptist Church is currently the fourth most viewed video in the world on YouTube, trailing two Britney Spears clips. Not only is that unusual traffic for a long political address – people also like it. On Tuesday, viewers voted it the second most “favorited” video in the world.

The speech has now drawn over 268,000 views, after about 36 hours online. By contrast, a shorter, spicier clip of Clinton and Obama’s debate clash currently has under 50,000 views, (after half a day), while a week’s exposure gave Bill Clinton’s Nevada complaints over half a million views on YouTube. But it’s not only remarkable that so many viewers are choosing a long, serious speech over the political theatrics that dominate typical news. This kind of YouTube speech is also distinct because it enables voters to appraise a candidate directly, without any filters.

10 PM on 1/22 - 318,000
10 AM on 1/23 - 392,000

Comments

  1. a former european wrote:

    Dang! That speech hit the upper deck he nailed it so hard! Contrast this speech to the cheap hucksterism of Bubba on any recent newsclip and you’ll see why the Democrats would be fools to turn their backs on a possible black JFK in favor of a corrupt Tammanny Hall political machine.