Even with a week dominated by the breaking news coming out of the Middle East with the Israel-Hamas war, ABC News’ Good Morning America and NBC News’ Today continued to cement their positions as the most-watched morning shows in total viewers and the news advertiser-preferred demo of Adults 25-54, respectively.
The busy week benefited Today more so than its competitors, as it was the only morning show to see week-to-week gains for the week of October 9.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen for this past week, ABC News’ GMA averaged 2.97 million total viewers and 597,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. GMA was down in total viewers by -2 % and saw a double-digit dip of -11% in the A25-54 demo when compared to the previous week. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2022, GMA was up in total viewers by +1% and was down by -14% in the A25-54 demo.
Today remained in second place with 2,793,000 total viewers but remained in its first place perch when it came to the A25-54 demo (707,000 viewers). The morning show’s streak has now extended to nine consecutive weeks within this demo. Today’s star remained bright relative to 2022, as it was the only morning show to have week-to-week gains in total viewers by +1% and +2% in the A25-54 demo. In addition to being the only morning show to see week-to-week gains, Today was the only morning show to post year-to-year gains in total viewers and the key demo A25-54 increasing by +1% and +2%, respectively, when looking at the numbers from the previous year.
CBS Mornings was in third place with 2.15 million total viewers and 440,000 viewers in A25-54 for the week of Oct. 9. Compared to the previous week, CBS Mornings was down in total viewers by -2% and up +2% in the A25-54 demo. Looking at the same period in 2022, CBS Mornings dropped in total viewers and in A25-54 by -8% and -17%, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of October 9, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,996,000 | 2,793,000 | 2,147,000 |
| • A25-54: | 597,000 | 707,000 | 440,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 10/9/23), Previous Week (w/o 10/2/23) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 10/3/22). Most Current Data Stream: 2022-2023 Season (9/25 – 10/16/22) and 2022-2023 Season (9/19 – 10/9/22). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.