The four-day-measured week due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend saw ABC News’ Good Morning America hold steady as America’s most-watched morning news program in total viewers, while NBC News’ Today remained the most-watched news program in the prized demo of Adults 25-54.
The gap between GMA and Today in total viewers continues to remain below 150,000, with only 142,000 viewers separating the two shows this past week. Meanwhile, CBS Mornings posted some of its best numbers in the A25-54 demo, with a net gain of 47,000 viewers for the week of Jan. 15.
Note: All three morning shows were coded as specials due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. This week’s averages are based on four days (Tuesday – Friday).
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 3.12 million total viewers and 654,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week of Jan. 15. GMA’s performance when compared to the previous week was up by +1% in total viewers and +7% in the A25-54 demo. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2023, GMA was down in total viewers by -8% and fell by -13% in the A25-54 demo.
NBC News’ Today remained first in the A25-54 demo with 737,000 viewers. It was second in total viewers with 2.978 million for the week of Jan. 8. Today’s first-place finish in the A25-54 demo stretched now to 22 straight weeks; however, when checking the show’s numbers from the previous week, Today was up by +1% in total viewers and was the only morning show to register a week to week decline falling by -4% in the A25-54 demo. Compared to the same week in 2022, Today’s total viewers were up by +3, and in the A25-54 demo, their numbers decreased by -3%.
Turning to CBS Mornings, it was third with 2.37 million total viewers and 541,000 viewers in A25-54 for the week of Jan. 15. Compared to the previous week, CBS Mornings was up in total viewers by +1% and +10% in the A25-54 demo. It was the only morning show to register double-digit growth in either of the measured demos. Looking at the same period in 2022, CBS Mornings was flat in total viewers and was up in the A25-54 demo by +6%.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Jan. 15, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,120,000 | 2,978,000 | 2,371,000 |
| • A25-54: | 654,000 | 737,000 | 541,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 1/15/24), Previous Week (w/o 1/8/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/9/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2022-2023 Season (9/25/23 – 1/21/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 1/15/23). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.