The first week of the new year so saw a continuation of a 2023 trend: ABC News’ Good Morning America is the No. 1 morning show in average total viewers, while and NBC News’ Today remains No. 1 among adults 25-54.
Today, in particular, had a strong start to the new year as only 100,000 total viewers separated it from GMA. Meanwhile, all three morning shows delivered week-to-week gains in total viewers, while each experienced week-to-week declines in the advertiser-coveted A25-54 demo.
Note: All three morning shows coded their Monday telecasts due to the New Year’s Day holiday falling on that day. As a result, they’re excluded from the weekly and season averages. These weekly averages for all three networks are based on four days (Tuesday-Friday).
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 2.81 million total viewers and 505,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week of Jan. 1. GMA’s performance when compared to the previous week is up by +1% in total viewers, but down -3% in the A25-54 demo. Looking at the morning show’s performance relative to the same week in 2022, GMA is down in total viewers by -16% and fell by -33% in the A25-54 demo.
NBC News’ Today remained first in the A25-54 demo for the 20th consecutive week, averaging 675,000 viewers from the measurement. It remained second in total viewers with 2.71 million-average for the week of Jan. 1. When comparing the show’s week of Jan. 1 averages with the previous week, Today gained an impressive +11% in total viewers, but dropped -4% in the A25-54 demo. Compared to the same week in 2022, Today’s total viewers and A25-54 averages decreased by -9% and -16%, respectively.
Finally, CBS Mornings came in third place this past week with 2.06 million total viewers and 425,000 viewers in A25-54 demo. Compared to the previous week, CBS Mornings is up in total viewers by +5% and down by -5% in the A25-54 demo. Looking at the same period in 2022, CBS Mornings dropped in total viewers and A25-54 by -14% and -17%, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Jan. 1, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,812,000 | 2,712,000 | 2,062,000 |
| • A25-54: | 505,000 | 675,000 | 425,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 1/1/24), Previous Week (w/o 12/25/23) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 12/26/22). Most Current Data Stream: 2022-2023 Season (9/25/23 – 1/1/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 1/1/23). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.