The post-Labor Day week—and the first week of the unofficial fall season—saw NBC’s Today show regain the top spot over ABC’s Good Morning America in the advertiser-friendly demo of adults 25-54.
This was Today’s first win over Good Morning America in 20 weeks. It managed to win the demo by an average of +42,000 viewers. GMA’s consolation prize was that it still managed to beat Today in total viewers by +210,000 viewers.
According to live-plus-same-day data from Nielsen for the week of Sept. 5, GMA averaged 2.94 million total viewers and 710,000 viewers in the adults 25-54 demo. It was the only morning show to record a decline in both total viewers and adults 25-54 viewers—declining by -3% and -5%, respectively, when compared to last week.
When looking at GMA’s performance to the same week in 2021, GMA saw declines in both total viewers and the adults 25-54 demo at -8% and -16%, respectively.
The Today show’s win in the adults 25-54 demo could possibly be attributed to the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, which occurred on Thursday. Both Today and GMA deployed key anchors to the U.K., but it seems viewers preferred Today’s coverage. When compared to the previous week, Today grew by +2% to 2.78 million total viewers—and by +7% to 752,000 in the adults 25-54 demo for the week of Sept. 5.
It was the only morning show to record gains in both total viewers and adults 25-54 vs. the prior week.
Compared to the same week in 2021, the Today show is down -14% in total viewers and -21% in adults 25-54.
CBS Mornings had 2.39 million total viewers and 531,000 adults 25-54 viewers for the week of September 5. The morning show, which celebrated its one-year anniversary last week, saw a +1% gain in total viewers and a -1% decline in the adults 25-54 demo.
Looking at the same week in 2021, CBS Mornings is down -3% in total viewers and grew by 3% in adults 25-54.
Nielsen live-plus-same-day impressions for the week of September 5, 2022:
| ABC | NBC | CBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total Viewers: | 2,994,000 | 2,784,000 | 2,387,000 |
| • A25-54: | 710,000 | 752,000 | 531,000 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live + SD Current Week (w/o 9/5/22), Previous Week (w/o 8/29/22) and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/6/21). Most Current: 2021 -2022 Season (9/20/21 – 9/11/22) and 2020 -2021 Season (9/21/20 – 9/12/21). Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.