‘TODAY’ WINS 28th WEEK IN DEMO

TODAY Has Been the #1 Morning Show in the Key Demo 28 Out of the Last 29 Weeks

TODAY Posts Widest Key Demo Advantage Over GMA in Four Weeks

TODAY Has Cut the Total Viewer Gap with GMA By 77% Versus the Same Week Last Season

TODAY Has Been Within 200k Viewers of GMA for 8 Out of the Last 10 Weeks

GMA Down Double Digits in Both the Key Demo and Total Viewers Year Over Year and Vs. the Same Week Last Year

Season to Date, TODAY Is the #1 Morning Show in Both A25-54 and A18-49

NEW YORK – March 24, 2016 – TODAY was the number-one morning show again for the week of March 14 in the key demo A25-54, posting the widest key demo advantage over GMA in four weeks (since week of Feb. 15).  TODAY has now won 28 out of the last 29 weeks in the key demo, and has been within just 200,000 total viewers of GMA for eight of the last ten weeks.  TODAY continues as the number-one morning show in both A25-54 and A18-49 for the season.

Last week, TODAY topped GMA by 197,000 in A25-54 and by 144,000 in A18-49.  Versus the same week last year, TODAY cut its total viewer gap with GMA by 77% (a whopping 666k). GMA is the only morning show down double digits, with an 18% loss in the key demo and a 13% loss in total viewers versus the same week last year.  GMA is also down 17% in the key demo and 10% in total viewers this season, year over year.

*Please note: As of 12/28/15, Nielsen national ratings are based on an expanded sample known as “NPX,” which effectively doubles the size of the Nielsen panel through a combination of additional meters and HHs. While NPX is now the official currency of record, all data pre-12/28/15 remains based on the old sample — so year-to-year and other comparisons are versus pre-NPX data.

TODAY HIGHLIGHTS: 

WEEK OF MARCH 14:

TODAY averaged 1.792 million A25-54 viewers, outperforming GMA by +197,000 (+12%) and CBS This Morning by +789,000 (+79%)

• TODAY has been #1 in A25-54 for 12 consecutive weeks and in 28 of the last 29 weeks
• Season-to-date, TODAY has ranked #1 in A25-54 109 times out of 121 rated days.
• TODAY delivered a 1.51 A25-54 rating, +0.17 points higher than GMA and +0.67 points more than CBS

TODAY averaged 1.317 million A18-49 viewers, +144,000 (+12%) more than GMA and +584,000 (+80%) ahead of CBS

• TODAY hit a three week high in its A18-49 lead over GMA
• TODAY’s 1.04 A18-49 rating was +0.11 points higher than GMA and +0.46 points more than CBS

TODAY averaged 4.440 million total viewers, leading CBS by 1.064 million (+32%)

• In 8 of the last 10 weeks, TODAY’s total viewer gap vs. GMA was below 200,000
• Last week, TODAY trailed GMA by narrow margins on Wednesday (-77,000) and Thursday (-29,000).

GMA is the only morning show down double digits in both the key demo and total viewers season to date versus a year ago and versus the same week last year.

• GMA is down -18% in A25-54 and -13% in total viewers versus the same week last year
• GMA is down -17% in A25-54 and -10% in total viewers this season, year over year

Compared to the same week last season:

• The total viewer gap between TODAY and GMA was 77% closer (-132,000 last week vs.-576,000 a year ago)
• TODAY posted a 343,000 viewer turnaround in its A25-54 gap with GMA (+197,000 win last week vs. a -146,000 loss a year ago)
• TODAY also posted a 140,000 viewer turnaround in its A18-49 gap with GMA (+144,000 win last week vs. +4,000 last year)

Season to date, TODAY is the #1 morning news show among A25-54 and A18-49 viewers

• TODAY averages 1.840 million A25-54 viewers, leading GMA by +8% (+134,000) and CBS by +71% (+765,000).  TODAY’s A25-54 advantage over GMA represents a 282,000 viewer turnaround from a -148,000 deficit at this point last season.
• In A18-49, TODAY averages 1.390 million and tops GMA by +15% (+185,000) and CBS by +81% (+621,000).  TODAY’s A18-49 lead versus GMA is a 170,000 viewer improvement from last season’s +15,000 lead.
• Among total viewers, the gap between TODAY and GMA is 58% narrower vs. last season (-257,000 season-to-date versus a -607,000 deficit at this time last season).

Week-to-week, TODAY more than doubled its A25-54 lead over GMA (by +146%), widened its A18-49 advantage by +43%, and posted a 20% narrower total viewer gap.

RATINGS DATA:

TODAY DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS:

For the 20th straight month, Today.com reached more consumers than GMA on Yahoo.  Over 35.3 million unique visitors turned to Today.com in February for exclusive interviews and the latest lifestyle, parenting and entertainment news, according to recent data from comScore.  For 26 consecutive months (35 out of the last 36), Today.com has reached more mobile consumers than GMA on Yahoo.

Additionally, Today.com’s mobile unique visitors have grown +42% over the last 12 months while GMA on Yahoo has declined -12% for the same period. As such, Today.com has gone from parity in mobile unique visitors in September 2013 to over 4.3x GMA on Yahoo’s mobile visitor number in February 2016.

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NBC’s TODAY is the news program that informs, entertains, inspires and sets the agenda each morning for Americans. Airing live from 7 am to 11 am ET, TODAY reaches more than 5 million people every day through its broadcast, and millions more through TODAY.com, the TODAY app, and social media platforms. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Tamron Hall, Carson Daly, Hoda Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford are the anchors and hosts, Noah Oppenheim is the SVP and Executive in Charge, and Don Nash is the executive producer.

Lauren Skowronski
VP, Corporate Communications
212-664-2432
Lauren.Skowronski@nbcuni.com