According to live-plus-same day data from Nielsen, for the first time in three decades, Good Morning America averaged more total viewers than NBC’s Today during an NBC Olympics week. GMA averaged 3.336 million, while Today averaged 3.066 million.
Despite the positive result, GMA’s average in total viewers is actually -8% with the previous week (Jan. 31, ’22) and -3% from what it delivered in the year-ago week (Feb. 8, ’21). The ABC morning show also averaged 848,000 adults 25-54 this past week, which is only -4,000 than its NBC rival—but +345,000 more than CBS Mornings. GMA’s delivery in the A25-54 demo is up less than +1% from what the show averaged the prior week—and down less than -1% vs. the year-ago week.
GMA beat Today in the demo on Tuesday (+46,000 – 845,000 vs. 799,000) and Friday (+89,000 – 955,000 vs. 866,000) of last week, the first time the ABC morning show has defeated its NBC competitor in the demo on multiple days of an Olympics week since Sochi 2014.
NBC’s Today averaged 852,000 adults 25-54 during the week of Feb. 7, which is +4,000 more than GMA and +349,000 more than CBS Mornings. It’s also -8% from what the show averaged in the demo the previous week—and -14% from what it averaged in the year-ago week. Despite the decline, Today has now finished No. 1 in the mornings among adults 25-54 for 330 out of the last 337 weeks.
Today also averaged 3.07 million total viewers for the week of Feb. 7, which is -7% from what the broadcast averaged the previous week—and -8% from what it delivered in the year-ago week. Not exactly numbers one has come to expect from NBC during an Olympics week.
So, what’s going on? People aren’t captivated by the Olympics like they have been in the past—and that’s not particularly surprising, considering China’s Covid restrictions have severely limited any sort of “atmosphere” for these Winter Games in Beijing. In light of these restrictions, Today, which usually sends its full on-air team to the site of the Games, has Craig Melvin as its sole representative on the ground this year. And that lack of enthusiasm is bearing out in the Nielsen ratings. NBC’s primetime coverage of this year’s Winter Olympics has rated quite poorly relative to Games’ past. The Olympics traditionally has a halo effect on NBC News programming, which is why Today (and NBC Nightly News, for that matter) is posting smaller-than-usual Olympics week audiences.
Interestingly, The 3rd Hour of Today (9-10 a.m.) has topped The View (11 a.m.ET, 10 a.m.CT/PT) in total viewers and the key A25-54 demo for the past five out of six weeks, posting its largest demo lead in 27 weeks.
CBS Mornings averaged 2.5 million total viewers during the week of Feb. 7, which is -7% from the previous week—and -16% from the year-ago week. The show also averaged 503,000 A25-54 viewers, which is -14% from the prior week— and -28% from the year-ago week. The significant year-over-year drop-off is likely due to those huge ratings for the post-Super Bowl 55 broadcast of CBS This Morning, which drew 3.3 million viewers on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day impressions for the week of Feb. 7, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,336,000 | 3,066,000 | 2,499,000 |
| • A25-54: | 848,000 | 852,000 | 503,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 2/7/22), Previous Week (w/o 1/31/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 2/8/21). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20/21 – 2/13/22) and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 2/14/21). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.