In recent weeks, "Good Morning America" has been cutting into "Today's" margin of victory; the latter show has ranked No. 1 for the past six years.
According to Nielsen numbers for the week ended Dec. 16, "Today" averaged 6.06 million total viewers, down 14% from the same week last year. "Good Morning America" averaged 4.75 million, a 4% dip from 2000. With an average of 2.74 million, CBS' "Early" enjoyed a 3% gain over last year.
In the key news demo of adults 25-54, "Today" led with a 2.6 rating, 20 share, a dramatic 21% drop from the same week last year; "Good Morning America" posted a 1.9/14, down 5%; and "Early" was flat with a 1.0/8.
Among women 25-54, "Today" dropped 17% from last year (to 3.5/22), "Good Morning America" dipped 4% (to 2.5/16) and "Early" was flat (1.2/8).
In the Sunday morning public affairs derby, NBC's "Meet the Press With Tim Russert" attracted 4.63 million viewers, 24% more than ABC's "This Week" (3.72 million) and 44% more than CBS' "Face the Nation" (3.21 million). Fox's "News Sunday" averaged 1.85 million.
-- Variety