‘TODAY’ TAKES RATINGS GOLD, WINS TOTAL VIEWERS 1st WEEK OF OLYMPICS

TODAY Posts 20-Week High in Total Viewers, Largest Win Over GMA Since PyeongChang 2018

TODAY Delivers Best Demo Wins Over GMA and CBS in 35 Weeks, Since Thanksgiving 

TODAY Posts Double-Digit Across-the-Board Growth Vs. Pre-Olympics 3Q’21 Averages

TOKYO – August 3, 2021 TODAY was the number-one morning show during the first week of the Tokyo Olympics, topping “Good Morning America” in total viewers and the key demo. The win marks a 20-week high in total viewers and TODAY’s best advantage over GMA since the PyeongChang Olympics in 2018.  TODAY also posted double-digit growth across the board versus its pre-Olympics, 3rd quarter averages.  

In the key demo A25-54, TODAY posted an 18-week high and delivered its biggest wins over GMA and CBS in 35 weeks, since Thanksgiving. TODAY has now won 304 out of 308 weeks in the demo. 

TODAY Digital reached 14 million unique visitors last week, growing week over and week and year over year. This marks Digital’s strongest week since early May.

TODAY HIGHLIGHTS:

TODAY averaged 971,000 A25-54 viewers, outperforming GMA by +190,000 (+24%) and CBS This Morning by +494,000 (+104%)

  • TODAY has ranked #1 among A25-54 viewers for 304 of the last 309 weeks
  • This was TODAY’s biggest A25-54 viewership in 20 weeks (since week of 3/8/2021) and its widest leads over GMA and CBS since last Thanksgiving (week of 11/23/2020)
  • Compared to the same week last season, TODAY more than tripled its demo lead over GMA (+190,000 vs. +92,000 prior year) and improved its advantage over CBS by 35% (+494,000 vs. +366,000 prior year)
  • Week-over-week, TODAY posted the biggest A25-54 growth among the morning shows, adding +157,000 viewers (+19%) and significantly increased its leads over GMA and CBS
  • Compared to its 3Q’21 average, TODAY was up +22% among A25-54 viewers

TODAY averaged 720,000 A18-49 viewers, leading GMA by +180,000 (+33%) and CBS by +383,000 (+114%)

  • TODAY posted its highest A18-49 delivery in 21 weeks (since week of 3/1/2021) and widest advantages over the competition since last Thanksgiving (week of 11/23/2020, best in 35 weeks)
  • TODAY was the only morning news show to increase in A18-49 vs. the same week last season (+20,000) while also increasing its leads over both GMA (67% higher) and CBS (31% higher)
  • Week-over-week, TODAY saw the biggest increase of A18-49  viewers (+156,000, or +28% higher). TODAY’s A18-49 lead over GMA increased eight-fold (+180,000 vs. +22,000 prior week, up 718%) while its lead over CBS rose by 65% (+383,000 vs. +232,000 prior week)
  • Compared to its 3Q’21 average, TODAY grew +30% among A25-54 viewers

TODAY averaged 3.361 million total viewers, +360,000 (+12%) higher than GMA and +897,000 (+36%) more than CBS This Morning 

  • TODAY drew its biggest total viewer audience in 20 weeks (since the week of 3/8/2021), its widest advantage over GMA since the first week of the PyeongChang Olympics (week of 2/12/2018) and best lead over CBS since last Thanksgiving (since week of 11/23/2020)
  • Compared to the same week last season, TODAY’s total viewer audience increased by +65,000 (+2%) while its lead over CBS improved by 34% (+897,000 vs. +668,000 prior year)
  • TODAY added +346,000 total viewers week-over-week while improving its advantage over CBS by 55% (+897,000 vs. +579,000 prior week)
  • Compared to its 3Q’21 average, TODAY increased +10% in total viewers

TODAY Digital reached 14 million unique visitors last week, growing week over and week and year over year

  • TODAY reached 14.0M unique visitors (7 % WoW, 29 % YoY), its best week since early May
  • TODAY All Day had its 2nd strongest week ever with 121K hours viewed 
  • TODAY podcasts drove 182K downloads, its 3rd best week ever 
  • TODAY newsletters delivered 227K visits 
    • These newsletters had an average click-thru rate of 13 % and an open rate of 25 %

2020-21 SEASON-TO-DATE (9/21/2020-8/1/2021)

TODAY has been #1 in A25-54 at this point of the season for six consecutive years and A18-49 for eight straight years