Good Morning America was the No. 1 show on morning TV during the week of July 12, not only in average total viewers, but also among adults 25-54.
In fact, GMA beat rival Today by its largest margin in total viewers since the week of January 4, and by its largest margin in adults 25-54 in 5 1/2 years (since the week of December 21, 2015).
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC’s morning show averaged 3.20 million total viewers, and 783,000 adults 25-54 for each first-run broadcast during the week of July 12. Relative to the prior week (July 5), that’s a -1% decline in total viewers, but +3% among adults 25-54. Compared to the same week one year ago, GMA shed -4% of its average total audience and -9% of its adults 25-54 audience.
NBC’s Today averaged just 738,000 adults 25-54 during the week of July 12. That’s a -8% loss from the prior week, and a -23% decrease from the same week one year ago. Today averaged 2.90 million total viewers this past week, which is also -8% from the previous week, and -12% from the comparable week in 2020.
Not great numbers for Today last week. However, with the Olympics on the horizon, Today will likely regain its status as the preferred morning show among adults 25-54 in the very near future.
Third-place CBS This Morning averaged 2.47 million total viewers, and just 463,000 adults 25-54 for the week of July 12. That’s -4% in average total viewers and -7% in adults 25-54 from the previous week, as well as -6% in average total viewers, and -24% of its A25-54 audience from the year-ago week.
As we’ve mentioned in recent ratings stories, the year-over-year Nielsen ratings decline for all of these shows makes sense. Not only were many Americans more likely to watch the morning shows for breaking news coverage of the pandemic and the presidential election campaign at this time last year, but the general news cycle is far calmer these days than it was in 2020. We should also expect ratings to decline even more, especially in the demos, as we move further into summer. But that’s true across TV, not exclusively news.
Nielsen Live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of July 12, 2021:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,201,000 | 2,904,000 | 2,471,000 |
| • A25-54: | 783,000 | 738,000 | 463,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 7/12/21), Previous Week (w/o 7//5/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 7/13/20). Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 7/18/21) and Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 7/19/20). *Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.