Order was restored in the morning show ratings race: ABC’s Good Morning America finished the week of March 8 with the largest average total audience, while NBC’s Today eared the most adults 25-54.
However, CBS This Morning gave both shows a run for their money last week, particularly in the Total Viewers department (nearly 3.3 million on average). The Monday telecast of CTM was the most-watched show in series history, and gave the program its first-ever ratings win over GMA and Today. A whopping 4.8 million total viewers tuned in to that March 8 broadcast, which featured an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey and never-before-seen clips from her interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Compared to the prior week, CTM grew +18% in total viewers to its largest weekly delivery since March 2020, and grew +12% in adults 25-54. The broadcast was also up +14% in total viewers, yet was somehow down -2% in adults 25-54 compared to the year-ago week.
The aforementioned Today show averaged just over 1 million adults 25-54 last week, marking 81 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on morning TV in the key demo. The broadcast also averaged nearly 3.4 million total viewers.
Compared to the prior week, the show was down -2% in total viewers and -3% in the demo. Relative to the year-ago week, the show was -11% in total viewers and -21% in the demo.
Lastly, GMA averaged 3.5 million total viewers, and 907,000 A25-54 demo viewers this past week. Compared to the prior week, that’s +2% growth in total viewers and +3% growth in the demo. However, relative to the year-ago week, the show is down -7% in total viewers and -21% in the demo, as younger demos continue to leave the morning shows. At least on linear.
Nielsen Live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of March 8, 2021
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,502,000 | 3,367,000 | 3,260,000 |
| • A25-54: | 907,000 | 1,012,000 | 682,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54. Live + SD Current Week (w/o 3/8/21), Previous Week (w/o 3/1/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 3/9/20). Most Current: 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 3/14/21) and Most Current: 2019 -2020 Season (9/23/19 – 3/15/20). *Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.