Morning Show Ratings

NBC’s Natalie Morales was talking about the issue of jobs at an Education Nation event at the gleaming New World Center in Miami Beach earlier this week.

It’s fitting as Morales has many of them at NBC.

TVNewser caught up with the “Today” show news anchor in the make-up room just before her panel discussion on preparing graduates for the 21st century workforce.

“As a company we see this as part of a wider initiative,” says Morales of NBC’s Education Nation. “It’s a corporate responsibility to try to give back.”

In recent years, Morales has moved beyond her news persona, taking on roles across the Peacock, whether co-hosting the Miss Universe pageant, or Macy’s July 4th Spectacular, or playing the part of fact-checker on “The Marriage Ref.”

But Morales never strays far from home.

“I have several Rock Center pieces in the works and (the Dateline series) My Kid Would Never Do That, which my kid ended up doing that,” Morales laughed.

The series puts children in a variety of decision-making situations while their parents watch the events unfold via hidden camera.

Morales says the challenge going forward, “is finding new ways to do it. I also don’t want to become the person that everybody recognizes. You have to keep the anonymity otherwise kids will see me and they’re not going to fall for it.”

As for her main job at “Today,” Morales admits, “It’s turbulent waters these days with where the ratings are.”

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NBC’s “Today” show stays on top of the ratings race for the week of May 14. “Today” held on with a +64,000 Total Viewer lead over “Good Morning America.” The gap was even greater in younger viewers with “Today” leading by +165,000 viewers.

Still, surging “GMA” cut its year-to-year margins with the NBC show in Total Viewers by -93% and in A25-54 viewers by -79%.

Compared to the same week last year “GMA” is up +6% in Total Viewers and +13% in younger viewers, while “Today” is down -10%/-15%. “CBS This Morning” is also down -10%/-11%.

The averages for the week of May 14:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.18M / ABC: 5.11M / CBS: 2.40M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.24M / ABC: 2.08M / CBS: 938K

As expected, “Good Morning America” wins the morning show ratings race for the week of May 7, a week which included Robin Roberts‘ interview with Pres. Obama throwing his support behind gay marriage. “GMA” edged “Today” by 86,000 Total Viewers, but trailed in the younger demo by 139,000 viewers. Week-to-week, “GMA” was up in both categories, “Today” was down in both, and “CBS This Morning” was split, down in Total Viewers, up in younger viewers.

Compared to the same week last year “GMA” is up +6% in Total Viewers and +12% in younger viewers, “CBS This Morning” is also up +5%/+13% and “Today” down -10%/-12%.

“GMA” is posting its smallest Total Viewer (424,000) and A25-54 (404,000) gaps with “Today” since the 1995-96 season.

The averages for the week of May 7:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.12M / ABC: 5.21M / CBS: 2.64M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.20M / ABC: 2.06M / CBS: 1.05M

It looks like ABC’s “Good Morning America” will top the “Today” show for the week of May 7 when final numbers are released on Thursday. Based on preliminary Nielsen numbers, “GMA” drew 5.18 million Total Viewers to “Today’s” 5.12 million, a difference of just +1.2%. GMA was #1 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with “Today” taking Monday and Thursday.

“Today” is still poised to win in younger viewers with a +6% lead. GMA was #1 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with “Today” taking Monday and Thursday. The two shows have been going back and forth since the week of April 9, when “GMA” came in first for the first time in 16 years. “Today” went on to win April 16; “GMA” took April 23; “Today” grabbed April 30 and now “GMA” is in a position to take last week.

We’ll have final numbers Thursday.

The ping pong match between “Today” and “Good Morning America” swings back to “Today.” The NBC News morning show wins the week of April 30 in both total viewers and younger viewers. “Today” won four days last week and “GMA” won one: Tuesday, with a 244,000 lead which can be attributed, in part, to a lift from Monday night’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

Compared to the same week last year, only “GMA” saw growth: the ABC show is up +1% in Total Viewers and up +5% in younger viewers. “Today” is -12% in Total Viewers and down -17% in younger viewers and “CBS This Morning” is flat in Total Viewers and down -3% in younger viewers.

The averages for the week of April 30:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.24M / ABC: 5.17M / CBS: 2.68M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.27M / ABC: 2.05M / CBS: 1.07M

Like its weekday counterpart, the Saturday edition of ABC’s “Good Morning America” has continued to make inroads against the Saturday edition of NBC’s “Today.”

For the month of April, Saturday “Good Morning America” pulled ahead of Saturday “Today” in younger viewers, though “Today” won in Total Viewers. This is the opposite of the weekday ratings race, where “GMA” has topped “Today” twice in Total Viewers but still trails in the demographic.

“GMA” is also the only Saturday morning show to improve on its year-ago averages, up +4% in Total Viewers and +2% in the demographic. “CBS This Morning” is down -6% in Total Viewers and -3% in A25-54 viewers, while “Today” is down -17% and -27%, respectively.

The averages for Saturdays in April:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 3.49M / ABC: 3.29M / CBS: 1.68M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 1.16M / ABC: 1.20M / CBS: 627K

ABC’s “Good Morning America” has notched another win, topping NBC’s “Today” for the second time in three weeks. Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times takes a look at the morning show ratings race and concludes that “what ails ‘Today’ is something no interview with a controversial celebrity can cure”:

The fact is, ABC has built a team which viewers find appealing in the most unlikely cast. [Robin] Roberts, a former sportscaster, has an engaging chemistry with cohost George Stephanopoulos, the political guy who still seems a little uncomfortable with the lighter moments required of a morning news anchor. In the world of network TV news, where lasting audience shifts take time, GMA has built up a cast of regulars who have forged a morning habit slowly nibbling at NBC’s lead.

As expected, based on preliminary Nielsen numbers, “Good Morning America” wins the morning show ratings race for the week of April 23. The ABC morning show topped NBC’s “Today” show by 180,000 Total Viewers, but trailed in the A25-54 demo by 105,000 viewers. Still, that’s the closest “GMA” has gotten to “Today” in the younger demo since the week of Nov. 27, 1995. This is the second week in the last three, that ABC has come out on top.

Compared to the same week last year, a week which saw the wedding of British Royals William and Kate, “GMA” and “Today” were down in total viewers while “CBS This Morning” was flat.

The averages for the week of April 23:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 5.13M / ABC: 5.31M / CBS: 2.65M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 2.23M / ABC: 2.13M / CBS: 1.03M

With the Nielsen Fast National numbers for Friday just released, “Good Morning America” is in a position to win another week in the morning show ratings race. For the week of April 23, “GMA” has a +165,000 (preliminary) Total Viewer lead over the “Today” show. The win comes just as the May ratings period begins and as the regular anchor teams were in place, except for Friday, when Matt Lauer was off. But in an interesting twist, “Today” won the day Friday drawing +120,000 more viewers than “GMA” with Carl Quintanilla sitting in for Lauer.

When “GMA” beat “Today” the week of April 9, the first time in more than 16 years, Lauer was off all week.

In the A25-54 demo, “Today” is poised to continue its streak to 887 weeks at #1, although “GMA” continues to close the gap, with just 94,000 viewers (preliminary) separating the two shows. That’s the smallest gap since the week of Nov. 27, 1995.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week, “GMA” had significant leads on “Today” of 404,000, 288,000 and 283,000 viewers, respectively.

Final ratings will come Thursday.

With Thursday’s fast-national Nielsen numbers now in, “Good Morning America” is in a position to win the week. This comes as “Today” regained the top spot last week. As of Thursday’s show, “GMA” has a 236,000 total viewer lead for the week. “Today” is still leading with younger viewers. If “GMA” takes the week it will be a “clean” win as both show’s primary anchors were in. When “GMA” won the week of April 9, Matt Lauer was on vacation.

There is one exception: today. Viewers may have been asking ‘where in the world is Matt Lauer‘ this morning? Well, he had the day off, and Carl Quintanilla was sitting in. The May sweeps period began Thursday and, while it’s happened before, it’s unusual for anchors — and just about anyone who works at a local news station — to take off during Sweeps. Meanwhile, at GMA, Robin Roberts Tweeted that she flew to Los Angeles on assignment after yesterday’s show and took the red-eye back to be on this morning.