• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 4, 2008

Looking for lots of celebrities at a big event? Hope your marketing dollars can get a piece of that?

 

You missed your chance.

Last week, CNN aired the best-rated cable event ever for the presidential debate, featuring Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton. The event, staged in Hollywood, the heart of the TV entertainment universe, pulled in some 8.32 million total viewers.

It was the second most watched debate in all of television -- ABC's Democratic debate on Jan. 5 drew 9.36 million viewers.

Perhaps it wasn't only the characters on stage -- Obama and Clinton - but the performers off stage, Rob Reiner, Bradley Whitford, America Ferrera, Jason Alexander, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Steven Spielberg, and Stevie Wonder -- whom CNN liberally showed in many reaction shots.

All this star power helped beat "Celebrity Apprentice"'s 7.82 million on the same night, as well as original episodes of "Smallville" and "Supernatural," with 3.81 million and 2.95 million viewers respectively.

Maybe all the real drama isn't in scripted television - it's in politics. Journalists say the difference in this election is with this campaign's candidates -- the likes of Obama, Clinton, McCain and Romney, who all have some real personalities.

It's tough to appeal to everyone. Yet, what viewers look for in their candidates -- as well as actors and the characters they portray -- are aspects that make them seem real. It also doesn't hurt that a black man and a woman are vying as serious candidates for the presidency.

Right now the election also isn't in any way beholden to political advertising. Mitt Romney is outspending virtually all other candidates in TV and radio advertising -- but is hardly making a dent.

All this means is that we're waiting to see the real candidates on news shows and in presidential debates.

Scripted programming may be lacking this TV season -- but political candidates, off script, may make up the difference.