• by Wayne Friedman , December 31, 2013

Could NBC’s early morning troubles at “Today” be turning around?

For the first time in close to six months, “Today” got back on the winning track, grabbing the top spot among key 25-54 viewers for the week ending Dec. 16 -- an audience that is critical for TV news advertisers.

The victory was a modest one. The NBC show narrowly beat out ABC’s “Good Morning America” by only 18,000 25-54 viewers -- 2.21 million viewers to 2.1 million for "GMA." “CBS This Morning” pulled in about half these levels -- 1.11 million.

“GMA” still led in overall viewers over “Today” -- 5.57 million to 5.23 million. CBS is at 3.04 million.

“GMA” has been the top-rated early-morning show for over a year -- some 70 weeks -- in all key viewing categories. Before that, “Today” had been the perennial top early news broadcast network show for about two decades.

In fact, all network shows had something to show off.

Versus the same week a year ago, “Today” was up 12% in total viewers and 16% higher among those 25-54. "CBS This Morning" is 9% higher in total viewers and 6% higher in the key demographic. “GMA” has added 7% in total viewers and 11% in those 25-54 viewers .