AFTER his first press con ference Monday night, Barack Obama is still pretty much the most popular thing on TV.

The hour-long press conference, which aired over four networks, drew nearly 49 million viewers – including those who watched on the cable news channels, according to first reports.

It’s the biggest primetime press conference since Oct. 11, 2001, when 65 million people watched then-President George Bush take questions from reporters a month after the 9/11 attacks.