The Winner of the 2008 Election Is … Tina Fey

“If she wins, I’m done. I can’t do that for four years. And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth.” That’s what Tina Fey had to say about the future of her uncanny impersonation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. And while that’s understandable, it’s a pity for “Saturday Night Live,” which has been enjoying record online viewership thanks to Fey’s performances. Research outfit Integrated Media Measurement reports that the online and DVR audience for the three Palin skits Fey has done for “Saturday Night Live” has been twice the size of SNL’s broadcast audience. Among TV viewers who saw at least one of Fey’s Palin spoofs, 33 percent watched it at its original airtime. And 67 percent watched it afterward, either online or on a DVR. “This is the first time we’ve seen delayed viewing numbers this big,” said Amanda Welsh of Integrated Media Measurement. “Usually it’s the other way around, with the overwhelming majority of viewing occurring during the actual broadcast.”