Katie Couric‘s return to mornings subbing on “Good Morning America” did not result in a win for the #2 morning show.

The “Today” show, where Couric spent 16 years, topped “Good Morning America” Monday according to Nielsen Fast National ratings. “Today” averaged 5.113 million Total Viewers, to GMA’s 4.780 million. In the A25-54 demo, “Today” averaged a 1.8 rating (2.204 million) to GMA’s 1.5 rating (1.760 million).

While Couric sits in on “GMA,” “Today” is digging into its own bag of tricks, teasing a “legend” would return to Monday’s show. (It was Meredith Vieira.) And today, Sarah Palin co-hosted the 8am hour. And tomorrow on “Today” an announcement from Ryan Seacrest who just signed a new deal with NBC Universal.