After weeks of close calls, NBC News’ Today show overtook ABC News’ Good Morning America to capture first place in total viewers for the week of March 25.
Today now occupies the top spots in the two measured categories, a feat last achieved during the week of November 20, 2023, which was Thanksgiving week, a period where Today usually tops all nets. Outside of the Thanksgiving week/Olympics weeks, the last time Today occupied the No.1 spot was the week of November 29, 2021.
A difference of 4,000 total viewers was all that it took for NBC News’ morning newscast to displace GMA’s long-running reign.
NOTE: Tuesday’s edition of GMA was retitled to GMA-ABC due to a special report on the bridge collapse in Maryland. On Friday (3/29/24), all three programs were retitled due to Good Friday. These retitled telecasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. ABC’s weekly averages are based on three days (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday), while CBS’ and NBC’s weekly averages are based on four days (Monday-Thursday).
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, ABC News’ GMA averaged 2.803 million total viewers and 523,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo for the week of March 25. GMA was up by +1% in total viewers and fell by -3% in the A25-54 demo compared to the previous week. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2023, GMA was down by double digits in total viewers at -13% and -26% in the A25-54 demo.
The week’s big winner was Today, which came in first place in total viewers and the A25-54 demo with 2.807 million viewers and 688,000 viewers, respectively, for the week of March 25. Today was up in total viewers by +3% and down by -1% in A25-54 when looking at the numbers from the previous week.
CBS Mornings was the number three morning show for the week of March 25. It was up by +6% in total viewers to 2,138,000 and up by an impressive +11% in the A25-54 demo to 443,000 viewers when compared to the previous week. However, in the same period in 2023, CBS Mornings was down in total viewers and the A25-54 demo by -10% and -16%, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of March 25, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,803,000 | 2,807,000 | 2,138,000 |
| • A25-54: | 523,000 | 688,000 | 443,000 |
Switching to the quarterly ratings, Good Morning America maintained its first place in total viewers, and NBC’s Today continued to be the top show in the A25-54 demo for the first quarter of 2024.
GMA was the only morning show to see quarter-to-quarter declines in both measured categories, while CBS Mornings was the only morning show to register positive growth in either category.
According to the most current data from Nielsen, GMA remained the most-watched morning show in Q1 2024 in total viewers. It was the 11th time in the last 12 years that GMA has won the first quarter. ABC News’ morning show averaged 2.891 million total viewers and 559,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. It was down by -4% in total viewers and -5% in A25-54 compared to Q4 2023. When looking at the same quarterly period in 2023, GMA was down in total viewers by -12% and -25% in the A25-54 demo, respectively.
Today was the No.2 morning show in total viewers with 2.799 million viewers for Q1 2024, but it was in first place in the A25-54 demo with 690,000 viewers. Compared to Q4 2023, Today was flat in total viewers but dropped by -2% in the A25-54 demo. When compared to the same quarterly period in 2023, it was down by -3% in total viewers and by -8% in the A25-54 demo.
CBS Mornings ranked third in total viewers and A25-54 during Q3 2023. It had 2.243 million total viewers and 474,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. Compared to Q4 2023, it was flat in total viewers but was the only morning show to have an upward swing in A25-54, rising by +6%. When compared to Q1 2023, it was down by -7% in total viewers and by -9% in A25-54.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for Q1 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,891,000 | 2,799,000 | 2,243,000 |
| • A25-54: | 559,000 | 690,000 | 474,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 3/25/24), Previous Week (w/o 3/18/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 3/20/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 3/31/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 3/26/23). Most Current Data Stream – 1Q24: 1/1/24 – 3/31/24, 1Q23: 12/26/22 – 3/26/23 and 4Q23: 9/25/23 – 12/31/23. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.