ABC’s “GMA” just won its first full week in the key news demo ratings since late August 2015. But it was close: “Good Morning America” topped NBC’s “Today” show by 9,000 viewers ages 25-54.
“Today” had previously first first for 189 straight weeks in the main demographic for news programming. That streak dates back to the week of Dec. 21, 2015, which “GMA” technically won with just three rated days.
The NBC News morning show’s win streak was north of 200 weeks when considering full five-day weeks, a run that dated back to the week of Aug. 24, 2015. So much for that.
“Today,” which has seen slightly disproportionate demo losses amid an ongoing Nexstar blackout, hopes that Hoda Kotb’s upcoming return from maternity leave will get things back on track. She’ll be back the day after Labor Day.
Last week, “GMA” drew an average of 1.066 million viewers in that demo, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day ratings. “Today” averaged 1.054 million. Both of those translate and truncate to a 0.9 demo rating/11 share.
“CBS This Morning” was third with 725,000 viewers ages 25-54, or a 0.6/7.
“Good Morning America” also won the week among total viewers, which is typical for the program. Below is how that all-in tally shook out for the broadcast morning shows:
1. “GMA”: 3.732 million viewers
2. “Today”: 3.522 million
3. “CBS This Morning”: 2.748 million
“GMA,” which has been enjoying a nice boost from affiliate lead-ins, hit an eight-week high in total viewers and a nine-week high in the key demo. It grew 3% overall and 7% among adults 25-54 from the prior week.