ABC’s Good Morning America finished the week of March 7 as U.S. TV’s most-watched morning show, while NBC’s Today averaged the most adults 25-54.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged 3.46 million total viewers this past week, which is a +2% gain from the previous week (Feb. 28), and the show’s second-largest advantage over NBC and CBS this season to-date. That said, the 3.46 million is -1% from what it delivered in the year-ago week (March 8, ’21). The ABC morning show also averaged 825,000 adults 25-54 this past week, which is -2% from what the show averaged the prior week—and -9% vs. the year-ago week. GMA did rank No. 1 in the demo on Monday and Thursday, but finished runner up to NBC on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Speaking of NBC, Today remained No. 1 in the mornings among adults 25-54, averaging 869,000 this past week, which is also a +2% gain from what the show averaged in the demo the previous week. However, it’s -14% from what it averaged in the year-ago week. Today has now finished No. 1 in the mornings among adults 25-54 for 334 out of the last 341 weeks. The NBC morning show averaged 3.14 million for the week, steady with the previous week but -7% from the year-ago week.
Due to live coverage of President Biden’s press conference on the war in Ukraine on Friday, March 11, Today was retitled to “Today-TS.” As a result, Friday’s telecast is excluded from the weekly and season averages—and the show’s averages from last week are based on just four days (Monday-Thursday).
CBS Mornings averaged 2.6 million total viewers during the week of March 7, which is +1% from the prior week. The program also averaged 574,000 A25-54 viewers, which is -3% from the prior week. Additionally, CBS Mornings shed -20% in total viewers and -16% among adults 25-54 from the year-ago week. It’s worth remembering that a whopping 4.8 million total viewers tuned in to the March 8, 2021 broadcast of CBS’ morning show, which featured an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey and never-before-seen clips from her interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (hence the significant year-over-year decline).
Nielsen live-plus-same-day impressions for the week of March 7, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,461,000 | 3,139,000 | 2,596,000 |
| • A25-54: | 825,000 | 869,000 | 574,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 3/7/22), Previous Week (w/o 2/28/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 3/8/21). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20/21 – 3/14/22) and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 3/15/21). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.