TODAY Wins Its First Quarter in Total Viewers and All Demos in More than 4 Years
TODAY Wins Its First Full Season in the Key Demo in 4 Years
TODAY Posts Its Best Season in Total Viewers Vs. GMA in 4 Years
TODAY Cuts the Total Viewer Gap with GMA By Nearly 400k Vs. Last Season
GMA Is Down Double Digits in the Key Demo Vs. Both Last Season and 3rd Quarter 2015
NEW YORK – September 20, 2016 — NBC News’ TODAY was the number-one morning show in total viewers and all demos for the third quarter 2016 marking its first outright quarterly win in more than four years, since the second quarter 2012. TODAY also won the key demo A25-54 for the 2015/2016 television season, its first season win in the key demo in four years, since 2011/2012. TODAY posted its best season in total viewers versus GMA in four years, coming within a slight 148k viewers, and it narrowed the gap with GMA by a giant 72% (387k viewers) versus last season. TODAY won in A18-49 for its 23rd straight season and 15th straight quarter.
For the third quarter, TODAY topped GMA by 59k in total viewers, and by a giant 322k in A25-54 viewers. For the season, TODAY led GMA by 197k A25-54 viewers. GMA is down double digits both versus last season (-16%), and versus 3rd quarter 2015 (-13%) in the key demo.
Additionally, for the week of September 12, TODAY topped GMA by 229k in the key demo and by 205k in A18-49.
*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 AND RATINGS DATA:
3RD QUARTER 2016
| Net | HH Rtg |
HH Shr |
P2+ Imps |
P18-49 Rtg |
P18-49 Imps |
P25-54 Rtg |
P25-54 Imps |
| TODAY | 3.18 | 13 | 4,317 | 1.00 | 1,268 | 1.43 | 1,705 |
| CBS THIS MORNING | 2.46 | 10 | 3,321 | 0.53 | 678 | 0.81 | 961 |
| GOOD MORNING AMERICA | 3.17 | 13 | 4,258 | 0.77 | 984 | 1.16 | 1,383 |
TODAY finished #1 in total viewers for the first time since 2Q 2012
- TODAY led GMA by +59,000 (+15%) and CBS by +996,000 (+30%)
- TODAY increased +2% in total viewers versus 3Q’15 levels
TODAY won its 4th consecutive quarter among A25-54 viewers
- TODAY topped GMA by 322,000 A25-54 viewers, its biggest quarterly victory since 1Q 2012
- TODAY has posted 8 consecutive quarters of improving A25-54 advantages over GMA
- Versus 3Q’15, TODAY posted the biggest A25-54 gain (+7%) and saw a 333,000 turnaround in its advantage over GMA (+322,000 vs. a -11,000 loss in 3Q’15)
TODAY has won 15 consecutive quarters and 87 of the last 88 quarters among A18-49 viewers
- TODAY led GMA by +284,000 A18-49 viewers, its best advantage since 1Q 2012
- Versus 3Q’15, TODAY was up +7% in A18-49 and almost tripled its lead over GMA (+284,000 vs. +95,000 in 3Q’15)
2015-16 SEASON
| Net | HH Rtg |
HH Shr |
P2+ Imps |
P18-49 Rtg |
P18-49 Imps |
P25-54 Rtg |
P25-54 Imps |
| TODAY | 3.35 | 13 | 4,585 | 1.05 | 1,337 | 1.50 | 1,782 |
| CBS THIS MORNING | 2.60 | 10 | 3,577 | 0.59 | 746 | 0.88 | 1,046 |
| GOOD MORNING AMERICA | 3.50 | 14 | 4,733 | 0.89 | 1,132 | 1.33 | 1,585 |
TODAY is #1 among Adults 25-54 for the first time in four seasons
- Averaged 1.782 million A25-54 viewers, leading GMA by +197,000 (13%) and CBS by +736,000 (+70%)
- TODAY won 51 of the 52 weeks this season among A25-54 viewers
- Posted a 290,000 turnaround in its advantage over GMA (+197,000 win this season vs. a -93,000 loss during 2014-15)
- GMA posted a -16% decline (-297,000) vs. last season
TODAY is #1 among Adults 18-49 for the 23rd consecutive season
- Averaged 1.337 million A18-49 viewers, +205,000 (+18%) more than GMA and +591,000 (+79%) ahead of CBS
- This was TODAY’s biggest A18-49 season advantage over GMA since the 2011-12 season. Versus 2014-15, TODAY improved its lead over GMA by 318%.
TODAY averaged 4.585 million viewers, leading CBS for the 29th consecutive season since at least the start of Nielsen People Meters in 1987
- Averaged 4.585 million total viewers, topping CBS by +1.008 million (+28%)
- TODAY has narrowed the total viewer gap with GMA for 3 straight seasons, posting its closest margin with GMA (-148,000) since 2011-12
- TODAY closed the total viewer gap with GMA by 72%, or 387,000 viewers, versus last season
WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12-18
| Net | HH Rtg |
HH Shr |
P2+ Imps |
P18-49 Rtg |
P18-49 Imps |
P25-54 Rtg |
P25-54 Imps |
| TODAY | 3.11 | 13 | 4,248 | 0.95 | 1,219 | 1.40 | 1,678 |
| CBS THIS MORNING | 2.44 | 10 | 3,333 | 0.59 | 758 | 0.86 | 1,035 |
| GOOD MORNING AMERICA | 3.28 | 13 | 4,464 | 0.79 | 1,014 | 1.21 | 1,449 |
TODAY averaged 1.678 million A25-54 viewers, outperforming GMA by +229,000 (+16%) and CBS This Morning by +643,000 (+62%)
- TODAY has ranked #1 among A25-54 viewers for 38 consecutive weeks and 54 of the last 55 weeks
- TODAY won all five mornings in the key demo, increasing its season-to-date total to 233 out of 248 rated broadcast days
- TODAY delivered a 1.40 A25-54 rating, +0.19 points ahead of GMA and +0.54 points more than CBS
TODAY averaged 1.219 million A18-49 viewers, +205,000 (+20%) more than GMA and +461,000 (+61%) higher than CBS
- Among A18-49 viewers, TODAY has now posted 58 consecutive wins
- TODAY’s 0.95 A18-49 rating led GMA by +0.16 points and CBS by +0.36 points
TODAY averaged 4.248 million total viewers, +915,000 (+27%) higher than CBS
- TODAY finished 30% closer to GMA than the same week last season (-216,000 vs. -308,000 last year)
On Monday morning, TODAY finished #1 across the board in total viewers (+150,000), A25-54 viewers (+449,000), and A18-49 viewers (+414,000)
Versus the same week last season, TODAY widened its A25-54 lead over GMA by 154% (+229,000 last week vs. +90,000 a year ago)
TODAY DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS:
TODAY reached more consumers than GMA on Yahoo in the month of August. Over 37.4 million unique visitors turned to TODAY.com for exclusive interviews and the latest lifestyle, parenting and entertainment news, according to recent data from comScore. For 32 consecutive months (41 out of the last 42), Today.com has reached more mobile consumers than GMA on Yahoo.
Today.com mobile unique visitors have grown +7% over the last 12 months while GMA on Yahoo remained flat for the same period. Today.com has gone from parity in mobile unique visitors in September 2013 to over 3.5x GMA on Yahoo’s mobile visitor number in August 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, Billy Bush, 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.
For more information contact:
Megan Kopf Stackhouse
NBC News
e: megan.kopf@nbcuni.com
p: 212-664-6205
