Whatever has been causing "Today"'s recent ratings woes, it doesn't appear that departed co-anchor Ann Curry was it. At least according to numbers posted since Curry's replacement, Savannah Guthrie, has inherited the throne.
In the two weeks since Guthrie assumed the co-anchor position, "Today" has been beat out by its ABC rival "Good Morning America" in total viewers — and the gap is continuing to narrow in the key 25-54 demographic.
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In the week of July 2-6 — the first in which Guthrie served as co-anchor — "Good Morning America" posted its largest total-viewer margin over "Today" in 17 years, with 4.5 million total versus "Today"'s 4.2 million. In the 25-54 demographic, that week also saw "GMA" narrow its gap with "Today" to a 17-year low, with only 24,000 viewers in the demo separating the two shows.
That was, until last week, when "Good Morning America" continued to expand its lead over "Today" in total viewers and narrow the key-demo gap.
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The week of July 9-13 saw "Good Morning America" increase its margin of victory in total viewers from 243,000 to 357,000, averaging 4.6 million total viewers to "Today"'s 4.2 million. And the key-demo gap narrowed to a near tie, with "GMA" averaging 1,709,000 viewers in the demo versus "Today"'s 1,711,000 million — a 2,000-viewer difference.
"Today" had handily dominated the morning-show arena until April, when its lengthy winning streak was broken by "Good Morning America," when it won a solid week against NBC's "Today" — the first time that had occurred since 1995.