Preliminary ratings from Nielsen indicate that ABC’s “Good Morning America” is likely to top NBC’s “Today” in the ratings last week, the first week back following the Olympic games. Final ratings will likely change slightly, but “GMA” had a 162,000 viewer lead in total viewers, even as the demo viewers remained close.
Last week NBC pulled out all the stops for “Today,” having popular Olympic athletes serve as special contributors, and featuring a high profile musical act every single day. “GMA” meanwhile was without one of its co-anchors, Robin Roberts, who was on vacation before beginning treatment for her MDS. Roberts returned to “GMA” yesterday.
NBC won handily in both total and demo viewers during the Olympics, though its margins of victory were a little slimmer than they had been in recent years.
Final ratings will be in Thursday, we will let you know how things shake out, but for now, ABC has the advantage.