ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today show held the fort at No. 1 in total viewers and in Adults 25-54, respectively, for the week of August 21, 2023.
With the week being dominated by national and international news, including former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment and the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in Russia, the morning news shows saw week-to-week improvements in the key demo of Adults 25-54, with CBS Mornings being the only one to see gains in total viewers.
For the week of Aug. 21, according to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC News’ GMA averaged more than 2.97 million total viewers and 631,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. That’s a -3% decline in total viewers and a +4% gain in the A25-54 demo when compared to the previous week. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2022, GMA was up in total viewers by +1% but was down in the A25-54 demo by -8%.
NBC’s Today came in second place this past week with a 2.67 million total viewer average, but No. 1 in the A25-54 demo with a 664,000 viewer average. Compared to the week before, Today was flat in total viewers and up by +3% in the key demo of A25-54. Compared to the same week in 2022, NBC’s morning offering improved in total viewers by +1% and by +5% in the A25-54 demo.
In third place for the week of Aug. 21 was CBS Mornings, with 2.26 million total viewers and 454,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. Relative to the previous week, the CBS Mornings gained +3% in total viewers, making it the only morning show to see a gain in this measurement. The program also gained Adults 25-54 (+1%). Looking at the same period in 2022, however, CBS Mornings was down in total viewers and A25-54 demo by -4% and -11%, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of August 21, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,973,000 | 2,672,000 | 2,259,000 |
| • A25-54: | 631,000 | 664,000 | 454,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 8/21/23), Previous Week (w/o 8/14/23) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 8/22/22). Most Current Data Stream: Season 2022-2023 (9/19/22-8/27/23), Season 2021-2022 (9/20/21-8/28/22). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.