After coming to a draw in the demo the previous week (GMA and Today both averaged 979,000 Adults 25-54 for the week of June 22), the two morning show juggernauts returned to their usual trend of splitting the morning show weekly ratings race outright.
Good Morning America remained No. 1 in Total Viewers, but Today finished No. 1 outright among Adults 25-54.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC’s Good Morning America averaged 3.78 million viewers for the week of June 29, +63,000 more than its NBC rival Today.
Season to date, GMA is the most-watched morning news show for the eighth straight year.
ABC’s morning show may have continued to average a larger total audience for the week, as has regularly been the case over these past eight years, but it again finished behind Today when it came to drawing the A25-54 demo. Today averaged 960,000 A25-54 demo viewers last week, finishing No. 1 in the demo for 234 of the past 236 weeks (meaning an outright win or a tie), and delivering a larger total audience from the advertiser-preferred group than ABC and CBS for 233 of the past 236 weeks. The Today show averaged +56,000 A25-54 viewers more than GMA for the week. (960,000 vs. 904,000).
CBS This Morning, on the other hand, remained in third place, averaging 2.72 million viewers overall and 572,000 A25-54 viewers for the week.
How did the morning shows trend compare to other relevant weeks?
Well, predictably the shows trended down from prior weeks, as the weather continues to improve and the breaking news cycle seems to be calming down. At least for the time being.
Compared to the prior week in 2020 (week of June 22), GMA fell. After a nice week in the demo, the program was -8% in the measurement and -2% in Total Viewers; Today was only -2% in the demo and flat in Total Viewers. CBS This Morning was -4% in the demo, but +5% from the previous week in Total Viewers.
Unlike its evening newscast counterparts, the morning shows continue to lose viewers on a year-over-year basis. Compared to the same week in 2019 (week of July 1), GMA was -3% in Total Viewers and -3% in the demo. Today was -5% in Total Viewers and -8% in the demo. CTM was -2% in Total Viewers and -10% in the demo.
GMA’s and CBS This Morning’s weekly averages for last week are based on four days (Mon.-Thurs.), while Today show’s averages are based on three days (Mon.-Wed.). The respective programs made these changes due to the Independence Day holiday on Friday, July 3.
When it came to the July 4 holiday in 2019, GMA’s and Today’s weekly averages were based on three days (Mon.-Wed.), while CBS This Morning’s weekly averages were based on just two days (Mon.-Tues.).
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of June 29:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,375,000 | 3,312,000 | 2,722,000 |
| • A25-54: | 904,000 | 960,000 | 572,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD, Current Week (w/o 6/29/20), Previous Week (w/o 6/22/20) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 7/1/19). Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 7/5/20) and 2018 -2019 Season (9/24/18 – 7/7/19). Averages based on regular telecasts.