ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today ended the final week of the 2023 season as being the most watched shows in total viewers and the A25-54 demo, respectively.
This trend also held up in the quarterly Nielsen ratings department, as GMA remains the top show in total viewers, while the Today show continues to be the most watched in the advertiser-coveted demo of A25-54 for third quarter.
Looking at the weekly ratings for the final week of the season (the week of Sept. 18), all three of broadcast’s morning shows posted week-to-week ratings declines.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen, GMA averaged more than 2.95 million total viewers and 634,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week of Sept. 18. That’s -4% and -5% in total viewers and A25-54 demo respectively compared to what GMA averaged the previous week. Looking at the morning show’s performance to the same week in 2022, GMA was down in total viewers by -5% and had a double-digit dip of -16% in the A25-54 demo.
NBC’s Today came in second place in total viewers but remained the No. 1 morning show in the A25-54 demo with 2.7 million total viewers and 700,000 A25-54 viewers, respectively, for the week of Sept. 18. Today was down in total viewers by -2% and by -3% in A25-54 when looking at the numbers from the previous week. Compared to the same week in 2022, it was down in total viewers and A25-54 by -3%.
CBS Mornings was in third place for the week of Sept. 18 in total viewers (2.22 million) and the A25-54 demo (459,000). That’s -1% and -2%, respectively, from what CBS’ morning offering averaged the week before. Compared to the same period in 2022, CBS Mornings was down in total viewers and the A25-54 demo by -7% and -8%, respectively.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day numbers for the week of Sept. 18, 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,951,000 | 2,698,000 | 2,221,000 |
| • A25-54: | 634,000 | 700,000 | 459,000 |
Meanwhile, on the quarterly ratings front, GMA and NBC’s Today show continued to share the spoils in the ratings race. However all three (including CBS Mornings) declined in both categories compared to the third quarter of last year
According to the most current data from Nielsen, GMA remained the most-watched morning show for the 7th straight third quarter, averaging three million total viewers and 611,000 A25-54 viewers for the third quarter of 2023. The show was down by -3% in total viewers and -6% in A25-54 compared to Q2 2023. When looking at the same quarterly period in 2022, GMA was flat in total viewers and -9% in the A25-54 demo, respectively.
Today show remained No. 2 in total viewers with 2.62 million viewers but retained first place in the A25-54 demo with 624,000 A25-54 viewers for Q3 2023. Compared to Q2 2023, Today dropped by -5% in total viewers and -7% in the A25-54 demo. When compared to the same quarterly period in 2022, the show shed -3% in total viewers and by -5% in the A25-54 demo.
CBS Mornings ranked third in total viewers and A25-54 during Q3 2023. It had 2.21 million total viewers and 449,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo. Compared to Q2 2023, that’s -5% in total viewers and -8% in A25-54, while compared to Q3 2022, it was down by -5% in total viewers and by -8% in A25-54.
Nielsen averages for Q3 2023:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,989,000 | 2,619,000 | 2,209,000 |
| • A25-54: | 611,000 | 624,000 | 449,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 9/18/23) and Previous Week (w/o 9/11/23). L+7/Most Current Data Stream: Season 2022-2023 (9/19/22-9/24/23) and Season 2021-2022 (9/20/21-9/18/22). L+7/Most Current – 3Q23: 6/26 – 9/24/23,.2Q22: 3/27 – 6/25/23 and 3Q22: 6/27 – 9/18/22. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.