The “Today” show finished No. 1 in both total viewers and among the key 25-54 demographic for the week of March 21, marking NBC’s first outright finish atop both categories in a non-Olympics week since June 2012.
“Today” averaged 4.71 million total viewers, compared to 4.66 for “GMA,” giving NBC an edge of roughly 49,000 viewers. Coverage of the terror attacks in Brussels is a big reason why “Today” was victorious last week, as the network’s morning flagship averaged 693,000 more total viewers than “GMA” on the day the news broke.
Despite the victory, “Today” finished up only one percent compared to last year, while “GMA” lost 14 percent in total viewers and finished down 17 percent in the demo. “CBS This Morning” continued to grow, gaining 10 percent in viewers and 8 percent in the demo.
For the past few months, the morning show wars had gotten a bit redundant, with “GMA” winning total viewers, “Today” winning the demo and “CBS This Morning” showing the most growth. It will be interesting to see whether “Today” can repeat or if this was a product of viewers simply turning to NBC for breaking news.