INAUGURATION COVERAGE DRAWS 38 MILLION: Ratings are second only to Reagan's oath of office in 81.

*Some 38 million Americans tuned in to watch Tuesday's inauguration of President Barack Obama, the most popular inauguration day on television since Ronald Reagan took office in 1981.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Reagan's 41.8 million viewers continues to hold the record. Obama more than doubled the 15.5 million viewers who watched George Bush's second inauguration four years ago.

The ratings figure was an average number of people watching at any point from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, reports the Associated Press. Viewership peaked during the noon hour when Obama was taking the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address.

During the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. period, NBC captured the largest audience — an estimated 10.4 million viewers, Nielsen reported. ABC had 10.1 million and CBS had 7 million.

CNN, with 6.9 million, narrowly missed beating CBS during those three hours but did during the 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. period. Fox News Channel had 4.4 million and MSNBC 2.6 million viewers between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Nielsen said.