Per usual, there was a split decision in the morning show weekly ratings race: ABC remains No. 1 in total viewers, while NBC is at the top among adults 25-54, the demo news advertisers generally flock to.
With another total viewer victory, GMA is now the most-watched morning show at this point in the broadcast season for the 6th year in a row. The newscast also managed to cut the gap year-over-year gap in the demo this past week by -62 percent. On the downside, ABC’s morning show posted a -4 percent decline in total audience and a -7 percent decline in the demo versus the comparable week in 2016.
With a win in the demo this past week, Today has now defeated both ABC and CBS in the measurement for 95 consecutive weeks, and 111 of the past 112. That’s the show’s best streak in more than 5 years. Today also won Monday across the board. That said, the program experienced the steepest year-over-year drop off in A25-54 audience, -14 percent versus last year.
CBS This Morning remains No. 3 in the ratings race. The newscast posted the least-severe total audience decline versus last year, -1 percent, but lost a large chunk of its demo audience (-9 percent).
One can expect larger-than-usual year-over-year audience declines for the next few weeks, particularly among younger audiences, as we approach the year-ago anniversary of the 2016 election.
The numbers for the week of Oct. 16, 2017:
- Total Viewers: ABC: 4,269,000 / NBC: 4,150,000 / CBS: 3,502,000
- A25-54 viewers: ABC: 1,368,000 / NBC: 1,456,000 / CBS: 963,000