Michael Strahan‘s “Good Morning America” debut brought ABC a total-viewer victory for the week, but it still couldn’t compete with “Today” in the key 25-54 demographic.
“GMA” ended up beating “Today” by just 69,000 overall viewers during the four days measured last week. “CBS This Morning” was a distant third in both important Nielsen measurements, as usual.
NBC’s “Today” show ended up topping “GMA” by three-tenths of a ratings point in the main news demo, which is comprised of adults aged 25-54. “Good Morning America’s” 1.2 demo number and 4.477 total viewers marked its top performance in three months, which makes sense after the summer. Plus, Strahan intrigue surely helped a bit, at least.
Here are last week’s numbers and rankings among the broadcast morning shows:
Total Viewers
1. “Good Morning America”: 4.477 million
2. “Today”: 4.408 million
3. “CBS This Morning”: 3.288 million
Adults 25-54
1. “Today”: 1.5
2. “Good Morning America”: 1.2
3. “CBS This Morning”: 0.8
Strahan debuted in his new full-time role on Tuesday, September 6. Due to the Labor Day holiday, the morning shows’ Monday episodes were coded as specials and are not included in the above averages.
The former New York Giants defensive end left his last job — co-hosting “Live” with Kelly Ripa — in May. The search to replace Strahan there is still underway.
In the interim, check out how each of Ripa’s guest co-hosts have fared by clicking the gallery below.