There was a split decision in the morning show ratings for the week of March 18, with GMA finishing No. 1 in total viewers and Today No. 1 among younger news viewers, including adults 25-54.
Season to date, GMA marks its 7th consecutive year as the most-watched morning show in America. However, it posted a year-over-year loss in the category (-9 percent). The morning show continue to finish runner up to Today among A25-54 viewers, and was -16 percent in the category vs. the comparable week in 2018.
Today marked its 169th consecutive week as the No. 1 morning show among adults 25-54. The NBC morning show also won in total viewers last Friday. However like rival GMA, Today was down year-over-year, -6 percent in in total viewers, and -13 percent among adults 25-54.
CBS This Morning was -9 percent in total viewers and -18 percent among adults 25-54 versus the same week in 2018.
These double digit year-over-year losses among younger demos, most notably Adults 25-54, have increasingly become par for the course over the past couple of years. Will this trend change when we hit 2020, –an election year where interest in the news among younger audiences is traditionally stronger than in non-election years– or are these age groups gone for good? Where are they going for their daily morning news? Morning newsletters? Podcasts? We might explore this new normal in the near future.
Nielsen ratings for the week of March 18:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,911,000 | 3,823,000 | 3,105,000 |
| • A25-54: | 1,171,000 | 1,315,000 | 793,000 |