Despite the recruitment of former "Today" anchor Katie Couric as a guest host, 'Good Morning America" was beaten in the ratings by "Today" four out of five days last week.
NBC's "Today" edged out ABC's "GMA" on Friday in total viewers, taking in 4.71 million total viewers versus "GMA"'s 4.69 million. "Today" likewise claimed a victory in the key 25-54 demographic Friday, drawing 1.9 million viewers in that demo — or about 255,000 more than "GMA"'s 1.67 million in the demo. (Friday's numbers represented the second-smallest gap in the demo between the two shows for the week.)
Also read: Ratings: "Today" Beats "GMA" on 3 of 4 Couric-Aided Days
Those numbers closed out a week that saw "Today" mostly besting "GMA," with the exception of Wednesday, when "GMA" took a victory in total viewership.
The good news for "Good Morning America"? Friday's numbers showed the morning TV offering virtually on par with its televised nemesis "Today," with a gap of just 25,000 in total viewership.
The bad news for both shows? "Today" and "Good Morning America" were both down from their seasonal averages Friday, which so far are 5.4 million total viewers for "Today" and 4.9 total million for "Good Morning America."
Overall, "Today" averaged 5.1 million total viewers last week — also down from its seasonal average — with 2.1 million in the key demographic. The 4.9 million total viewers for "GMA" were exactly in line with its seasonal average. The show had 1.8 million viewers in the key demo.