ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today split the morning ratings competition for the week of Jan. 11, 2021.
ABC’s morning show averaged more than 3.5 million total viewers and 976,000 adults 25-54 last week, according to the most current data from Nielsen. The 3.6 million total viewer average represents +247,000 more than the Today show.
GMA—the most-watched morning show for 9 years and counting—is increasing its advantage over Today in total viewers to its largest in 5 years – since the 2015-16 season.
Good Morning America may have won the week in total viewers (as it usually does), but Today marked 73 consecutive weeks as the top morning show among adults 25-54. A rather remarkable streak. The NBC morning show averaged 989,000 adults 25-54 for the week, just +13,000 more than its ABC morning competitor but +340,000 more than its CBS morning competitor.
Compared to the prior week, all three shows are down a bit. Third place CBS This Morning is -3% in total viewers and -8% among adults 25-54. GMA is down -2% in total viewers and -1% among adults 25-54. Today show is -1% in total viewers and -5% among adults 25-54. These losses aren’t totally shocking, considering the previous week featured the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol, an event that attracted more interest in news programming than usual.
Compared to the same week one year ago, the ratings trend is poor. GMA is down -9% in total viewers, and a whopping -18% among adults 25-54. Today struggled even more, -11% in total viewers and -18% in total viewers. CTM is -6% in total viewers and -17% among adults 25-54. The year-ago week included breaking news regarding then-President Trump’s impeachment, an event which lifted ratings.
Nielsen Live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Jan. 11, 2021:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,533,000 | 3,286,000 | 2,706,000 |
| • A25-54: | 976,000 | 989,000 | 599,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 1/11/21), Previous Week (w/o 1/4/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/13/20). Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 1/17/21 and Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 1/19/20). Nielsen ratings for ABC, NBC and CBS include additional airings in select markets. *Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.