Los Angeles  - Barack Obama's speech accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency was watched by more than 38 million people - making it the ratings hit of the summer - according to figures released Friday by Nielsen Media Research.

The historic address Thursday by the country's first African- American presidential candidate was more popular than the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The millions who watched Obama also represented almost double the number of people who saw John Kerry accept the Democratic nomination to run against President George W Bush four years ago.

The TV ratings firm also said that the four-night Democratic convention ranked as the most-watched convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960. (dpa)