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We're All Wonks Now: Huge Numbers Watched Health Care Debate Online, C-Span Says

Evan McMorris-Santoro
November 9, 2009, 2:54PM

If your friends told you they were staying in to watch Saturday Night Live this weekend, chances are they weren't talking about that show on NBC.

According to an internal C-Span email obtained by TPMDC, the network's website served up 201,741 live streams of the House debate of the health care reform bill Saturday, the highest online viewership C-Span has seen since President Obama was inaugurated in January. (A C-Span employee told us the network doesn't track how many people watch its three cable channels on TV.)

In D.C., watching the day-long debate unfold became something of a social event for nerds. Twitter was alive with snarky comments about the Representatives speaking at any given moment and at least a few bars tuned TVs to the debate, running it alongside college football.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/were-all-wonks-now-huge-numbers-watched-health-care-vote-online-c-span-says.php?ref=fpa