Morning Show Ratings

NBC’s “Today” show holds a +516K Total Viewer lead on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” but “GMA” continues to cut the gap with the perennial morning show leader.

Compared to the same week last year, “GMA” has cut the gap –41% in Total Viewers (516,000 vs. 868,000) and –50% in A25-54 viewers (396,000 vs. 788,000).

Week-to-week, “Today” was down in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers while “GMA” and the month-old “CBS This Morning” were up. ABC was up +3% in Total Viewers and +6% in A25-54 viewers. CBS saw its numbers tick up +1% in Total Viewers and +3% in A25-54 viewers.

Compared to the same week last year, with the revolution in Egypt drawing big numbers across all newscasts, all three morning shows were down.

The averages for the week of January 30:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.47M / ABC: 4.96M / CBS: 2.42M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.43M / ABC: 2.03M / CBS: 1.06M

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NBC’s “Today” show maintains its lead in the mornings and was the only morning show to grow viewers compared to the same week last year. While “Good Morning America” was the only program to grow A25-54 viewers. “CBS This Morning” is down in both measurements.

The averages for the week of January 23:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.56M / ABC: 4.82M / CBS: 2.39M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.48M / ABC: 1.92M / CBS: 1.03M

“Good Morning America” continues to grow in the mornings, while NBC’s “Today” and “CBS This Morning” are flat, or down.

Season to date “GMA” is up +8% in Total Viewers and up +10% in A25-54 viewers versus its year-ago averages. “Today” is flat in Total Viewers and down -6% in younger viewers while the two week old “CBS This Morning,” and its predecessor “Early Show” are down -10% in Total Viewers and -12% in A25-54 viewers, season-to-date.

“GMA” is seeing its largest overall season audience in 4 years, while still trailing #1 “Today” by 600,000 Total Viewers and 560,000 A25-54 viewers.

All three shows were up compared to the week prior, but only “Good Morning America” was up compared to the same week last year

Due to the Martin Luther King holiday, all three Monday telecasts are excluded from the average.

The averages for the week of January 16:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.51M / ABC: 4.91M / CBS: 2.59M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.48M / ABC: 1.92M / CBS: 1.11M

In its first week on the air, “CBS This Morning” was not able to match the viewership of the same week last year, which was the second week on the air for the then-new “Early Show” team.

“CBS This Morning” was down -10%, but added viewers throughout its first week, +8% from the beginning of the week to the end.

In its 3,120th week (60 years) NBC’s “Today” remained #1.

But of the three broadcasts, only ABC’s “Good Morning America” grew both Total Viewers and younger viewers compared to the same week last year. And GMA continues to cut the gap with “Today.” Last year “Today” held a 1.13 million viewer lead, last week it was 677,000. “GMA” has also narrowed the A25-54 gap -52%.

The averages for the week of January 9:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.54M / ABC: 4.86M / CBS: 2.72M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.43M / ABC: 2.01M / CBS: 1.12M

The first week of 2012 and the final week of CBS’ “The Early Show” had the morning program where it usually was: far behind NBC and ABC in both total and demo viewers.

As usual, NBC’s “Today” was the top morning news program in both categories, with ABC’s “Good Morning America” in second.

Only “GMA” was up in both total and demo viewers from the same week last year, with NBC down in total viewers, and up slightly in the demo. CBS was down substantially in both categories.

Numbers this week for all three shows are based on a four-day (Tues-Fri) average due to the New Year’s holiday.

The averages for the week of January 2:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.26M / ABC: 4.67M / CBS: 2.20M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.37M / ABC: 1.83M / CBS: 888K

As we reported earlier, the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s is traditionally a slow time for the morning shows.

All three programs were down in Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers from the previous week; NBC’s “Today” and CBS’ “The Early Show” were also down in both ratings measurements compared to the same week last year. ABC’s “Good Morning America” was down in total viewers and up in A25-54 viewers.

Numbers this week for all three shows are based on a four-day (Tues-Fri) average.

The averages for the week of December 26:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 4.75M / ABC: 4.16M / CBS: 2.05M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.04M / ABC: 1.45M / CBS: 788K

In the increasingly competitive ratings battle between NBC’s “Today,” the perennial leader of the morning shows, and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which is continually relegated to second place, every little bit counts.

During the week of December 26, ABC re-titled four editions of “Good Morning America” so the ratings — traditionally low during the week between Christmas and New Year’s — would not count toward the weekly and seasonal averages. (Due to the Christmas holiday on December 26, all three morning shows were coded as specials and did not count toward the averages.)

Nielsen allows shows to be re-titled as long as the newly created title is used at least four times during the course of a season. An ABC spokesperson declined to comment on the name change, but noted that the holiday week is usually a low-rated one for all the morning shows.

While re-naming shows is occasionally done to exclude a single broadcast, a holiday, for example, excluding an entire week from the average is uncommon. An NBC spokesperson calls it “unprecedented.”

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NBC’s “Today” won again last week, closing out 834 weeks as the #1  morning show in both Total Viewers and among A25-54 viewers.

But 2011 has been a good year for second-place “Good Morning America”: the ABC morning show has improved +2% in Total Viewers and +7% in the demographic year-over-year. “GMA” is the only morning show to improve in both — “Today” is flat in Total Viewers and down -5% in the demo, and CBS’s “The Early Show,” which will see its final week next week, is down -10% in Total Viewers and -5% in the demo.

“GMA” ratings are based on a 4-day average (Mon-Thurs), while “Today” and “The Early Show” are based on 5 days.

The averages for the week of December 19:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.33M / ABC: 4.64M / CBS: 2.43M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.36M / ABC: 1.81M / CBS: 1.03M

The “Today” show reigns in the mornings. After celebrating their 16th year as the undisputed #1 morning show, they begin year 17 with another win. But compared to the same week last year all three shows were down in Total Viewers and only “Good Morning America” showed growth in A25-54 viewers. “Today” was down -11% and CBS’ “Early Show” was down -15% in the crucial demo.

The averages for the week of December 12:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.62M / ABC: 4.86M / CBS: 2.58M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.46M / ABC: 1.96M / CBS: 1.03M

As we mentioned the other day, NBC’s “Today” show marked 16 years as the #1 morning news program — in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers. No other show has beaten “Today” in either category in the last 832 weeks, a streak that began Dec. 11, 1995. Last week the win was by more than +767,000 viewers over #2 “Good Morning Morning.” But compared to the same week last year only ABC’s “GMA” was up in both Total Viewers (+4%) and A25-54 viewers (+7%).

The averages for the week of December 5:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.64M / ABC: 4.87M / CBS: 2.77M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.43M / ABC: 1.86M / CBS: 1.09M