After 7,000 viewers separated ABC News’ Good Morning America and NBC News’ Today in the week prior, GMA got some breathing room as it extended its lead over Today to 77,000 total viewers for the week of March 4.
The busy week, which saw coverage of two political events with Super Tuesday and President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, saw GMA remain the most-watched morning news broadcast and Today occupying the top spot in the advertiser-prized Adults 25-54 demo.
GMA was also the only morning show to register week-to-week growth in both measured categories.
NOTE: Due to special news coverage, Wednesday’s edition of GMA was retitled to GMA-ABC and CBS Mornings Monday edition was retitled to CBS Morn. These two broadcasts are excluded from the weekly and season averages. ABC’s (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) and CBS’ (Tuesday-Friday) weekly averages are based on four days.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 2.890 million total viewers and 564,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week of March 4. Compared to the previous week, GMA’s performance was up in total viewers and the A25-54 demo by +1% and +7%, respectively. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2023, GMA was down in total viewers by -13% and fell by -23% in the A25-54 demo.
Meanwhile, NBC News’ Today show remained at the top in the A25-54 demo with 673,000 viewers and finished a close second (not as close as the week prior, but still close) in total viewers with 2.813 million for the week of March 4. Its first-place finish in the A25-54 demo has now stretched to 29 straight weeks. When checking the show’s numbers from the previous week, Today was down -2% in total viewers and by -7% in the demo. It was the only morning show to register week-to-week declines in both measured categories. Compared to the same week in 2023, Today was down by -7% in total viewers and by -13% in the A25-54 demo.
CBS Mornings finished third, with 2.257 million total viewers and 450,000 viewers in A25-54 for the week of March 4. Compared to the previous week, CBS News’ morning show numbers were flat in total viewers and dropped by -2% in the A25-54 demo. The 69,000 viewer separation it had with GMA in the demo during the previous week has stretched, with 114,000 viewers now separating the two shows. Looking at the same period in 2023, CBS Mornings fell in total viewers by -6% and -12% in the A25-54 demo.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of March 4, 2024:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,890,000 | 2,813,000 | 2,257,000 |
| • A25-54: | 564,000 | 673,000 | 450,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 3/4/24), Previous Week (w/o 2/26/24) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 2/27/23). Most Current Data Stream: 2023-2024 Season (9/25/23 – 3/10/24) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19/22 – 3/5/23). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.