For the second consecutive week, Good Morning America and the Today show split the morning show ratings race. GMA averaged the most total viewers, while Today captured the most adults 25-54.
NBC’s legendary morning show marked one full year at No. 1 in the A25-54 demo. The show averaged 899,000 viewers from the A25-54 measurement this past week, 77,000 more than GMA and 326,000 more than CBS This Morning.
Today has earned either an outright win or a first-place tie in the A25-54 measurement for 241 of the past 243 weeks. Today has won the morning show race in the A25-54 demo outright 240 of the past 243 weeks and has been No. 1 in the mornings among Adults 25-54 for 59 consecutive months.
Compared to the prior week (Aug. 10), Today was flat in the A25-54 demo but -2% in total viewers. Compared with the year-ago week, the trend was worse: -15% in total viewers and -19% in the A25-54 demo.
According to the most current data from Nielsen, an average of 3.2 million total viewers tuned into Good Morning America this past week, which is 161,000 more than Today and 726,000 more than CBS This Morning.
GMA also averaged 822,000 adults 25-54, second behind Today but ahead of CTM.
The ABC morning show was flat in total viewers and -3% in demo viewers from the prior week (week of August 10). GMA (and the competition as well, to be fair) continues to lose viewership on an annual basis. Case in point: The broadcast was -14% in total viewers and -27% in adults 25-54 versus the year-ago week (Aug. 19, 2019).
GMA is the most-watched morning news show for the eighth straight year.
CBS This Morning remained in third place this past week, averaging 2.48 million total viewers and 573,000 A25-54 viewers.
Compared to the prior week (Aug. 10), CTM was -4% in average total viewers and -1% in adults 25-54. Compared to the year-ago week, the broadcast was -11% in total viewers and -25% in adults 25-54.
Live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Aug. 17:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,197,000 | 3,036,000 | 2,471,000 |
| • A25-54: | 822,000 | 899,000 | 573,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD, Current Week (w/o 8/17/20), Previous Week (w/o 8/10/20) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 8/19/19). Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 8/23/20) and 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 8/25/19). Averages based on regular telecasts.