For the second consecutive week, NBC’s Today was the most-watched show on morning television. The program won not only in the key A25-54 demo, but it repeated as the top morning show in average total viewers.
Today averaged 3.30 million total viewers and 940,000 adults 25-54 for the week of Nov. 29. By winning the A25-54 demo, Today has earned either an outright win or first-place tie in the key measurement 322 out of the past 326 weeks.
Today lost a good deal of viewers from the previous week, -11% in average total viewers and -15% in adults 25-54. The double-digit week-to-week decline makes sense considering the previous week featured NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day broadcast. The annual broadcast aired directly after the Thursday, Nov. 25 edition of Today.
Additionally, compared to the same week in 2020, NBC’s morning show shed -2% in total viewers and -9% among adults 25-54.
For the week of Nov. 29, GMA averaged 3.255 million total viewers, No. 2 on morning TV for the second consecutive week and 839,000 adults 25-54, also No. 2. The 3.255 million figure is -5% from what the broadcast averaged the previous (Thanksgiving holiday-shortened) week and the 839,000 is -2%, week-to-week. GMA was down by -10% in average total viewers and -11% in the A25-54 demo from the year-ago week.
Season to date, GMA (3.31 million) is the No. 1 morning show in average total viewers for the 10th year in a row, leading Today by an average of +60,000 viewers.
The story was quite different for CBS This Mornings, which lost a chunk of its usual audience last week to NBC’s Today and specifically its Thanksgiving broadcast. CBS Mornings averaged 2.59 million total viewers to go with 521,000 A25-54 viewers last week. That’s +2% in average total viewers and a whopping +30% adults 25-54 from the previous week. However, as was the case for ABC and NBC’s morning offerings, CBS was down from the comparable week in 2020, shedding -9% in average total audience and -13% in A25-54 audience.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Nov. 29, 2021:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 3,255,000 | 3,300,000 | 2,590,000 |
| • A25-54: | 839,000 | 940,000 | 521,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 . Live + SD Current Week (w/o 11/29/21), Previous Week (w/o 11/22/21) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 11/30/20). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20 – 12/5/21) and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21 – 12/6/20). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.