• “Good Morning America” had 6.1 million viewers Wednesday, the morning after the “Dancing with the Stars” finale, according to Nielsen fast affiliate data. The early numbers indicate it was “GMA”‘s largest Total Viewer advantage ever over the “Today” show, which drew 4.5 million.

• Kevin Brockman, the EVP of Global Communications for Disney/ABC Television Group, has been elected Chairman of the Board of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, an organization focused on school safety. He’s been on the Board of Trustees since 2007.

• A first for Fox Business this week: the network scored its first primetime wins against CNBC (excluding Election coverage) Tuesday night. At 8pmET, “Cavuto” beat “Crowd Rules” by +88,000 Total Viewers and +1,000 demo viewers. At 9pmET, a re-air of “The Willis Report” beat the second hour of “Crowd Rules” by +34,000 Total Viewers and +2,000 A25-54 viewers.

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

ABC’s “Good Morning America” is back on top in both Total Viewers and A25-54 viewers. For the first three weeks of 2013, NBC’s “Today” took the younger demo.

“GMA” was also up compared to the same week last year: up +15% in total viewers and up +9% in younger viewers, while “Today” was down -12% / -16%. “Today” did see +3% week-to-week total viewer growth and posted its best delivery since the week of November 5, 2012.

But it was No. 3 “CBS This Morning” that showed the most growth. A little more than a year after its debut, the show is up +20% in total viewers and up +8% in A25-54 viewers.

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

The averages for the week of January 21, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.529M / NBC: 4.868M / CBS: 2.867M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.105M / NBC: 2.088M / CBS: 1.117M

While 2012 was the year that saw “Good Morning America” overtake “Today” in the ratings, 2013 begins with all three shows shedding viewers in the crucial A25-54 demo.

Compared to the same week last year, “GMA” is down -4% in younger viewers, “Today” is down -20% and “CBS This Morning” is down -6% (vs. its debut week last year). But for the second week in a row, “Today” takes the younger viewer crown with a slim 4,000 A25-54 viewer lead, improving from the week prior.

“GMA” was the only show to grow in total viewers: up +3% with a +459,000 viewer lead on “Today,” which is down -18%. “CBS This Morning” was flat in total viewership.

The averages for the week of January 7, 2013:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.010M / NBC: 4.551M / CBS: 2.703M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 1.936M / NBC: 1.940M / CBS: 1.042M

NBC’s “Today” may have lost its lead during the week, but the show’s weekend broadcasts are still hanging on to a small lead over the weekend editions of ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

In the fourth quarter of 2012, “Today” had a slight Total Viewer lead on Saturdays, edging “GMA” by +62,000 for the top spot. The two shows are tied in the A25-54 demographic for the quarter.

On Sundays, NBC leads ABC by +34,000 Total Viewers and +22,000 A25-54 viewers, but ratings stalwart “CBS Sunday Morning” has a commanding lead over both “Today” and “GMA.”

The Saturday averages for Q4 2012:

• Total Viewers: NBC: 3.587M / ABC: 3.525M / CBS: 1.769M

• A25-54 viewers: NBC: 1.233M / ABC: 1.233M / CBS: 641K

The Sunday averages for Q4 2012:

• Total Viewers: CBS: 5.505M / NBC: 3.185M / ABC: 3.151M

• A25-54 viewers: CBS: 1.734M / NBC: 1.054M / ABC: 1.032M

ABC’s Robin Roberts took to Facebook this morning with “encouraging news” from her doctors and discussed the interest in her return to “Good Morning America.”

“I’m humbled by the speculation of my return to GMA,” Roberts wrote. “My family and I are grateful that GMA/ABC’s only concern is my full recovery. It’s a great comfort not to feel pressured and a BLESSING to know I have a job waiting for me.”

Roberts has been sidelined since her bone marrow transplant Sept. 20. She was well enough to attend Sam Champion‘s wedding Dec. 21 and was reunited with her dog KJ a week later.

The bone marrow transplant became necessary after a diagnosis of the blood disorder MDS which can occur in patients who’ve previously battled cancer. Roberts underwent breast cancer surgery in 2007.

In her note, after the jump, Roberts teased: “In the coming days on GMA we will give you details about my return. I’m so excited.”

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CNN’s Candy Crowley and ABC’s Martha Raddatz were the female moderators of this year’s Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates, landing the pair on The Hollywood Reporter’s annual year-end “Rule Breakers” list. Crowley and Raddatz reflect on the experience:

Crowley, 63, maintains she didn’t think too much about breaking the decades-long dry spell, but when the letters from women — young and old — came pouring in, “It hit me,” she says. “The optics matter.” And when in pre-debate interviews on CNN and elsewhere Crowley said she would attempt to get the candidates off of their talking points by pressing them with follow-up questions, both campaigns privately protested — a move criticized as defensive and vaguely sexist.

So would the women subject themselves to the debate ringer again? “In a heartbeat,” says Crowley. Raddatz agrees. “You walk off the stage, and you say, ‘Oh, thank God it’s over.’ And then you think, ‘That was fun.’ I used to say about summer in Iraq [where she has traveled 21 times]: ‘It’s so horrible; I’m never going back in the summer.’ And then you forget, and you go back.”

Also on the list: NBC’s Bob Costas and Jim Bell, who helmed NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Olympics, and ABC’s “Good Morning America” team, who overtook “Today” to become the top morning show in 2012. The list was a topic of conversation on “GMA” this morning, with Lara Spencer calling the show “the bad boys of morning TV.”

“Good Morning America” wins another week in the mornings, and is now poised to win the November Sweep. It would be “GMA’s” first November sweeps win in 17 years and the show’s first win in any sweeps month in A25-54 viewers in more than 18 years – since July 1994. (Final numbers will be out later this week)

“GMA” kept a healthy 500,000 viewer lead on “Today,” but the gap in younger viewers remains tight: “GMA” had a +37,000 viewer advantage for the week of Nov. 12, while “GMA” had an +11,000 lead the week prior.

“GMA” and “CBS This Morning” were both up in total viewers compared to last year: +8% / +3% respectively. “GMA” was the only show up in younger viewers: +4%, while “Today” was down in both measurements, off -20% in younger viewers and down -14% in total viewers.

The averages for the week of November 12, 2012:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.329M / NBC: 4.810M / CBS: 2.670M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.006M / NBC: 1.969M / CBS: 1.003M

The week of the Presidential election was a strong one for ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning,” with both programs seeing substantial ratings increases from the same week last year. There was also some good news for NBC’s “Today,” which placed first in the demo on the three biggest news mornings of the week, Monday through Wednesday.

“GMA” led the way for the entire week however in both total viewers and adults 25-54, followed by NBC’s “Today,” which was close behind, particularly in the demo. CBS was a distant third, but posted its best ratings in more than a year.

“Today” was still down compared to last year while “GMA” was up +6% in total viewers and +5% in the demo, and “CTM” was up +8% in total viewers and +2% in the demo.

The averages for the week of November 5, 2012:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.497M / NBC: 5.182M / CBS: 2.954M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.106M / NBC: 2.095M / CBS: 1.136M

Not only have ratings reports been delayed due to Hurricane Sandy, but the overall national numbers may be skewed as markets like New York and Philadelphia did not carry the morning broadcasts for much of last week in addition to the millions of homes without power.

As a result, ABC and CBS are not including the week of Oct. 29 in their season averages, but NBC tells me they are. Because of the interest across the county in the coverage of the storm, the three shows put up big numbers. Last Tuesday, “Good Morning America” had its biggest audience (6.05M) since the Royal Wedding in April ’11. CBS had its best week since the week of February 2, 2009. For the week, “GMA” led in total viewers but NBC’s “Today” came out ahead in the A25-54 demo.

“Today” was still down compared to last year while “GMA” and “CBS This Morning” saw a viewership lift: ABC was up +15% in total viewers and +11% in younger viewers while CBS was up +26% / +16%.

The averages for the week of October 29, 2012:

• Total Viewers: ABC: 5.498M / NBC: 5.267M / CBS: 3.167M

• A25-54 viewers: ABC: 2.160M / NBC: 2.168M / CBS: 1.235M