The post-holiday period was a return to the status quo as ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today started the year as the top morning shows in total viewers and the adults 25-54 demo, respectively.
All morning shows received significant bumps in viewership compared to the previous week, with one possible contributing factor being the week-long drama surrounding the vote for House Speaker.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 3.35 million total viewers and 752,000 viewers in the adults 25-54 demo for the week of January 2. It was up by +7% and by +10% in total viewers and adults 25-54, respectively, compared to the previous week.
Looking at GMA’s performance relative to the same week in 2022, the morning show was also up +7% in total viewers and +5% in the A25-54 demo.
NBC’s Today show came in second in total viewers with 2.975 million viewers but finished at the top of the morning heap in the adults 25-54 demo with 801,000 viewers for the week of January 2.
This was the morning show’s largest advantage in the demo in six weeks, and the return of Al Roker gave Today its largest Friday A25-54 demo win in eight months.
Today gained +7% in total viewers and a solid +18% in the A25-54 demo when compared to the previous week. When looking at the numbers from the same week in 2022, the Today show was up by +3% in total viewers and +15% in adults 25-54.
CBS Mornings was in third place in both total viewers and adults 25-54. For the week of January 2, it had 2.41 million total viewers and 509,000 viewers in the adults 25-54 demo.
Compared to the previous week, CBS Mornings, like its time period competitors, was up in both viewers and the adults 25-54 demo at +1% and +7%, respectively. Looking at the same period a year ago, CBS Mornings was up by +4% in total viewers and +6% in the A25-54 demo.
NOTE: Due to the New Year’s holiday on Monday, Jan. 2, Good Morning America was retitled to “GMA-ABC,” while CBS Mornings and Today were coded as specials. The specialed and retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. ABC’s, CBS’ and NBC’s weekly averages are based on four days (Tuesday-Friday).
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Jan. 2, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,354,000 | 2,975,000 | 2,411,000 |
| • A25-54: | 752,000 | 801,000 | 509,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o ½/23), Previous Week (w/o 1/26/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 1/3/22). Most Current Data Stream: Season 2022-2023 (9/19/22 – 1/8/23), Season 2021-2022 (9/20/21 – 1/9/22). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.