“Good Morning America” makes it 42 weeks in row at #1, its longest stretch at the top in more than 21 years.

But it’s #3 “CBS This Morning” that showed the most growth compared to the same week last year. The show is up +30% in viewers and up +19% in the A25-54 demo. “GMA” too, was up big in both measurements: +20% in viewers and +14% in the demo.

NBC’s “Today” was down year-over-year: -5% / -9%. But did increase from the week in both Total Viewers and younger viewers and also won Wednesday and Thursday in the demo.

While ABC and CBS are growing and NBC seems to have stemmed their losses, here’s an interesting stat: 1.32 million more people watched the network morning shows last week, than watched at this same time last year.

The averages for the week of June 3, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.330M / NBC: 4.506M / CBS: 2.784M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.014M / NBC: 1.818M / CBS: 1.000M

It was a split decision for the weekend morning shows during the May sweeps period. On Saturdays, ABC’s “Good Morning America” won in Total Viewers and NBC’s “Today” won in the A25-54 demographic. On Sundays, “CBS Sunday Morning” won in both ratings measurements.

“GMA Saturday’”s Total Viewer-win is the show’s first May sweeps win since the debut of its current format in 2004. It was the largest-ever overall May sweeps audience for the show’s Saturday edition, which improved upon the year-ago sweep by +17% in Total Viewers. “GMA Saturday” also won in the C3 ratings (commercial ratings + 3 days playback) in both ratings measurements for the first time ever.

On Sundays, “Today” beat “GMA” by +90,000 Total Viewers and +40,000 A25-54 viewers. As usual, ratings stalwart “CBS Sunday Morning” was the most-watched Sunday morning newscast in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers, making “GMA” third in both ratings measurements.

The Saturday averages for May 2013 sweeps:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 3.63M / NBC: 3.54M / CBS: 1.74M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 1.21M / ABC: 1.18M / CBS: 559K

The Sunday averages for May 2013 sweeps:

• Total Viewers: CBS: 5.75M / NBC: 3.47M / ABC: 3.38M

• A25-54 viewers: CBS: 1.78M / NBC: 1.11M / ABC: 1.07M

Here’s how the morning news race is shaping up heading into the Summer: “Good Morning America” remains #1, the “Today” show, at #2, continues to be down from last year and #2 “CBS This Morning” is showing the most growth of all of them.

The CBS broadcast is up double digits in both Total Viewers (+19%) and younger viewers (+12%) compared to the same week last year. “GMA” is up too (+14% / +12%) and enjoyed its widest lead over “Today” in 12 weeks. The NBC morning show was down -7% in Total Viewers and down -14% in younger viewers vs. last year.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, Monday is excluded from the averages of all three programs.

The averages for the week of May 27, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.330M / NBC: 4.506M / CBS: 2.784M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.014M / NBC: 1.818M / CBS: 1.000M

“Good Morning America” wins its first May sweep in 18 years and shows growth compared to the same week last year. At the same time, “CBS This Morning” had its best May since 1994 and was the biggest gainer of the month. The broadcast is up +19% in Total Viewers and up +7% in younger viewers. Some of those viewers, no doubt, at the expense of NBC’s “Today” which shed -6% of its viewership and lost -7% of its younger viewers compared to last May.

“GMA” is also up for the month (+11% / +4%) and remains the #1 morning program leading “Today” by its largest margin in viewers in more than 21 years and its largest demo gap in 20 years.

“CBS This Morning” also showed the most growth for the week, up a whopping +38% in Total Viewers and up +28% in younger viewers. “GMA” was also up (+13% / +6%), while “Today” was down (-5% / -10%). One bright spot for “Today:” it took last Tuesday — the day after the Moore, OK tornado — in the younger demo. That same day “CBS This Morning” drew 4.1 million Total Viewers, its biggest audience since Feb., 2004.

The averages for the week of May 20, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.704M / NBC: 4.783M / CBS: 3.004M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.102M / NBC: 1.992M / CBS: 1.058M

The averages for May 2013 Sweep:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.729M / NBC: 4.856M / CBS: 3.174M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.128M / NBC: 2.083M / CBS: 1.118M

“Good Morning America” makes it 39 weeks straight as the most-watched morning show. Compared to the same week last year “GMA” is up +9% in viewers and up +1% in the demo, where it experienced the largest A25-54 advantage over “Today” in more than 2 months

The big gainer for the week is “CBS This Morning” which is up +19% in viewers and up +8 in the demo. NBC’s “Today” is down -9% / -14%, respectively.

Even more encouraging news for CBS: the younger viewer gap between “Today” and “CTM” last year stood at 1.302 million viewers; last week it was 902,000.

The averages for the week of May 13, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.589M / NBC: 4.712M / CBS: 2.859M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.107M / NBC: 1.918M / CBS: 1.016M

“Good Morning America” extends its winning streak to nine months finishing last week at #1 in both total viewers and younger viewers. Compared to the same week last year “GMA” was the only show to grow both measurements: up +12% in total viewers and +3% in younger viewers.

Last week, NBC’s “Today” was 900,000 viewers behind “GMA;” last year the once-dominant morning show was behind by 90,000. “Today” was down vs. last year -4% in total viewers / -5% in younger viewers. “CBS This Morning” saw the most total viewer growth in the morning: +13%, but the show was down in younger viewers: -4%.

The averages for the week of May 6:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.821M / NBC: 4.905M / CBS: 2.985M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.127M / NBC: 2.097M / CBS: 1.010M

ABC’s “Good Morning America” wins another week with a nearly 1 million total viewer lead over NBC’s “Today” bringing its winning streak to 8 months. It has also been #1 in the demo in 42 of the last 44 weeks.

“GMA” is up compared to the same week last year: +9% in total viewers, and flat in the demo. “Today” is down double digits in both: -11% / -14%. While “CBS This Morning” showed the most gains: +12% in total viewers and +3% in the demo. Last week, “CBS This Morning” trailed “Today” by 1.6 million viewers. Last year, the difference was 2.5 million viewers, a gap closure of 36%.

The averages for the week of April 29:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.617M / NBC: 4.663M / CBS: 3.014M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.050M / NBC: 1.947M / CBS: 1.099M

After losing in the A25-54 demographic the week of April 15, ABC’s “Good Morning America” was back on top in both Total Viewers and the demo for the week of April 22.

“GMA” beat “Today”  by +819,000 Total Viewers and +66,000 A25-54 viewers.

But only “CBS This Morning” showed growth in both ratings measurements compared the same week last year, up +12% in Total Viewers and +3% in the demo. “GMA” was up +8% in Total Viewers but down -2% in the A25-54 demographic, while “Today” was down -4% and -9%, respectively.

The averages for the week of April 22:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.739M / NBC: 4.920M / CBS: 2.977M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.092M / NBC: 2.026M / CBS: 1.062M

Though the critics have skewered his first book, Brian Stelter chooses to see the coffee cup as half full.

“Honestly, I appreciate the feedback,” says Stelter, 27, author of Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, and a media reporter for the New York Times. (Full disclosure: Stelter founded TVNewser when he was a college student)

“I’m not making this up,” he continues. “I want to learn how to be a better writer and reporter. I do think normal readers come away really happy, really entertained.”

‘Normal readers’ probably don’t include a trio of power players, past and present, from NBC. ‘Morning’ paints a less than flattering portrait of ‘Today’ co-anchor Matt Lauer; his former boss, Jim Bell; and ex-NBC News president Steve Capus.

All were involved, to varying degrees, in the ham-handed – and excruciatingly public — ouster of Lauer’s co-anchor, Ann Curry, according to the book. Bell had dubbed it ‘Operation Bambi,’ not knowing, of course, that Curry would come out looking as innocent and victimized as the white-tailed fawn in his title.

Lauer is the clear villain of the piece, prompting Entertainment Weekly to accuse Stelter of having a ‘vendetta’ against the mega-millionaire anchor.

Stelter labels the accusation as ‘preposterous.’

Read more

NBC’s “Today” has reclaimed the top spot in the A25-54 demo for the week of April 15, winning by 19,000 viewers. This is the first weekly demo win for “Today” since the week of Jan. 28.

During this same week last year “Today” was on top in both Total Viewers and younger viewers, which came a week after “GMA” had broken the NBC show’s 16-year winning streak. “Today” is still down -11% in the demo vs. last year, while “GMA” has added younger viewers: +5%.

“GMA” still leads in Total Viewers and also grew from last year: +12% while “Today” lost viewers: -4%.

The big winner again is “CBS This Morning” which, while still trailing by two million viewers, is up +24% in viewership vs. last year.

The averages for the week of April 15:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.623M / NBC: 5.047M / CBS: 3.148M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.044M / NBC: 2.063M / CBS: 1.094M