It was a quiet period for the three network morning shows in race for total viewers, with Good Morning America finishing first ahead of Today and CBS Mornings, which registered only slight movement in the category for the week of April 22.
But things were more competitive in the advertiser-coveted Adults 25-54 demographic, as GMA topped CBS Mornings by less than 50,000 viewers. These two morning shows have been involved in what’s become an intense demo fight in recent week with GMA trying to hold onto second place behind Today.
Like the week prior, former President Donald Trump’s legal problems do not appear to have made any impact on the morning shows’ performance.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 2.830 million total viewers and 497,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week. Compared to the previous week, GMA’s performance was flat in total viewers and up among audiences A25-54 by +2%, the only positive traction recorded within the demo by any of the three shows. Looking at the morning show’s performance the same week in 2023 (the week of April 24), GMA was down in total viewers by -12% and -29% in the A25-54 demo, the steepest decline among all three morning newscasts in both measured categories.
Meanwhile, NBC News’ Today continued its reign atop the A25-54 demo with 659,000 viewers, taking the runner-up spot among total viewers with 2.729 million for the week. The show was flat in both categories compared to the previous week. Looking back a year ago, Today was down by -4% in total viewers and -9% in the demo.
CBS Mornings was the No. 3 morning show for the week with 2.2 million total viewers. That’s a +1% gain in total viewers compared to the previous week—the only week-to-week upswing in that category among the three shows. But CBS Morning was flat in the A25-54 demo with 448,000 viewers. Looking at the same period in 2023, CBS Mornings fell in total viewers by -10% and by -17% in the A25-54 demo.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of April 22, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,830,000 | 2,729,000 | 2,200,000 |
| • A25-54: | 497,000 | 659,000 | 448,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 4/22/24), Previous Week (w/o 4/15/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 4/17/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 4/28/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 4/23/23). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.