It was yet another quiet holiday week on the ratings front for broadcast’s morning shows. However, Good Morning America continued its hot streak as the No. 1 morning show among adults 25-54.
GMA was the No. 1 morning show both in average total viewers and among adults 25-54 for the second consecutive week. The broadcast averaged 3.15 million viewers during the week of Dec. 27, 2021, +264,000 more than Today and +835,000 more than CBS Mornings. ABC’s morning show also averaged 714,000 adults 25-54 last week, +16,000 more than its NBC rival and +235,000 than CBS Mornings. GMA’s average in total viewers is -5% from the previous week and -6% from what it delivered in the year-ago week. GMA’s 714,000 delivery in the demo is -9% from what the show averaged the prior week—and -13% from what it delivered in the year-ago week.
Good Morning America also won the week leading up to Christmas (Dec. 20, 2021) in both of the aforementioned measurements. Prior to this past week, GMA hadn’t earned back-to-back weekly wins over Today in both total viewers and in the key A25-54 demo since August 2019.
Now, it is worth noting that last week was a holiday-shortened one. Due to New Year’s Eve, all three programs were coded as specials on Friday, Dec. 31. The telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages and the weekly averages of all three programs are based on 4 days (Monday-Thursday). This was also the case the previous week. GMA, Today and CBS Mornings were coded as specials on Christmas Eve day (Dec. 24) and ratings averages of all three programs that week are also based on 4 days (Monday-Thursday).
Nevertheless, a win is a win and, in addition to winning the key measurements, Good Morning America has been the most-watched show on morning TV for more than 10 consecutive years.
NBC’s Today averaged 698,000 adults 25-54 during the week of Dec. 27, 2021, +219,000 more than CBS Mornings. However, that 698,000 average is -8% from what the show averaged the previous week and a whopping -25% from what it delivered in the year-ago week. Today also averaged 2.89 million total viewers for the week of Dec. 27, a -5% decline from what the show averaged the previous week and -11% from what it delivered in the year-ago week.
Despite the drop off, NBC’s Today has been the top morning show in the advertiser-friendly A25-54 demo for seven years and counting.
CBS Mornings averaged 2.31 million total viewers during the week of Dec. 27, -3% from what it averaged the previous week. The program also averaged 479,000 A25-54 viewers during the week of Dec. 27, which is -8% from the previous week. Compared to the year-ago week, CBS Mornings was down -12% in average total audience and -12% in A25-54 audience.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Dec. 27, 2021:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,149,000 | 2,885,000 | 2,314,000 |
| • A25-54: | 714,000 | 698,000 | 479,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 12/27/21), Previous Week (w/o 12/20/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 12/28/20). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20/21 – ½/22) and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 1/3/21). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.