Michael Jackson's tear jerking memorial was watched by over 31.1 million people across 18 U.S. TV networks and cable outlets, less than Obama's inauguration but about the same as 'American Idol'.

Nielsen Media Research reported that despite the global attention the King of Pop received, the U.S. numbers for the event were lower than the figures in this country for the 2004 funeral of ex-president Ronald Reagan (35.1 million), the 1997 funeral of England's Princess Diana (33.3 million), the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January (37.8 million) and the president's first White House news conference in February (49.5 million).

However, clips of several parts of the memorial have been posted online on sites like YouTube and have been drawing millions of viewers that didn't watch it live on TV or wanted to watch it again. The most popular clip on YouTube at the moment with almost 3 million views is a scene from the memorial when Paris Jackson (11) says a tearful goodbye to her father.

Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine, Paris said, marking the first time the world has ever heard her voice.

And I just want to say I love him so much.

Akamai, an Internet company that handles 20 percent of the world's web traffic, reported that it handled almost 2.8 million audio and video streams during the Jackson memorial on Tuesday, making it the most widely viewed Internet event since Obama's inauguration.

Read more on Michael Jackon's Memorial:

Michael Jackson, King of Facebook
Stars sing for Jackson in emotional farewell
Quotes from Michael Jackson's memorial service

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