TODAY IS #1 FOR 37 STRAIGHT MONTHS

TODAY Tops GMA in Key Demo for the Month and Week

TODAY Wins in Total Viewers Wednesday

TODAY Widens Demo Lead Month Over Month 

NEW YORK – October 2, 2018 – NBC News’ TODAY was the number-one morning show for the month of September, topping ABC’s “Good Morning America” in the key A25-54 demo. TODAY has now won the key demo for 37 straight months (144 consecutive weeks), its best streak in over six years. Month over month, TODAY widened its demo lead over GMA by 30%.

Last week, TODAY won across the board on Wednesday, topping the competition in total viewers, A25-54 and A18-49. Week over week, TODAY narrowed the total viewer gap with GMA by 29%, its closest viewer margin in four weeks.

TODAY was retitled on Thursday due to coverage of the Kavanaugh hearings.

TODAY HIGHLIGHTS:

SEPTEMBER 2018 (MONTHLY)

TODAY ranked #1 among A25-54 viewers for the 37th consecutive month and the 38th of the last 39 months

• TODAY averaged 1.380 million A25-54 viewers, leading GMA by +192,000 (+16%) and CBS by +612,000 (+80%)
• TODAY’s advantages over GMA and CBS grew for the third straight month, posting its largest monthly wins since February 2018 (includes Pyeongchang Olympics; excluding Olympics, it was the best since January 2018)
• Versus prior month, TODAY added the most demo viewers (+136,000) and widened its lead over GMA by 30% and over CBS by 16%
• Versus prior year, TODAY’s lead over GMA finished 23% higher

TODAY has been #1 among A18-49 viewers for 42 consecutive months

• TODAY averaged 974,000 A18-49 viewers, +111,000 (+13%) higher than GMA and +394,000 (+68%) more than CBS
• TODAY had its biggest monthly wins over the competition since February 2018 (includes Pyeongchang Olympics; excluding Olympics, it was the best since January 2018)
• Versus prior month, TODAY’s lead over GMA was up 6% while its margin over CBS increased by 20%

TODAY averaged 3.914 million total viewers, topping CBS by 900,000 (+30%)

• This was TODAY’s biggest September win over CBS in three years
• TODAY’s total viewer advantage over CBS was up 13% vs. prior month and 34% vs. prior year

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2018

Note: This was the first week of the 2018-19 broadcast season.  All three programs were retitled on Thursday due to network coverage of testimony in the Kavanaugh Senate hearing.

TODAY averaged 1.370 million A25-54 viewers, leading GMA by +183,000 (+15%) and CBS This Morning by +617,000 (+82%)

• TODAY has now ranked #1 among A25-54 viewers for 144 consecutive weeks (best streak in six years) and 160 of the last 161 weeks
• TODAY delivered a 1.14 A25-54 rating, +0.16 points ahead of GMA and +0.52 points more than CBS
• TODAY has topped GMA by at least 150,000 A25-54 viewers in seven consecutive weeks
• Compared to the same week last season, TODAY’s demo lead over CBS rose by 5%

TODAY averaged 946,000 A18-49 viewers, +95,000 (+11%) ahead of GMA and +386,000 (+69%) higher than CBS

• TODAY has been #1 among A18-49 viewers in 163 of the last 164 weeks
• TODAY delivered a 0.73 A18-49 rating, +0.07 points more than GMA and +0.30 points better than CBS

TODAY averaged 3.817 million total viewers, leading CBS This Morning by +879,000 (+30%) 

• TODAY posted its biggest season-opening week lead over CBS This Morning in three years
• TODAY ranked #1 in total viewers on Wednesday (+57,000 over GMA)
• Week-over-week, TODAY reduced GMA’s total viewer lead by 29% and had its closest margin in four weeks
• Compared to the same week last season, TODAY’s lead over CBS increased by 46%

For more information contact:

Megan Stackhouse
NBC News
e: megan.stackhouse@nbcuni.com
p: 212-664-6205