TODAY Tops GMA in Total Viewers on Halloween
TODAY Delivers Tightest Total Viewer Margin with GMA in 10 Years
TODAY Posts Largest October Demo Lead over GMA in 3 Years
The 3rd Hour of TODAY and TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Post Highest-Rated Shows All Season
NEW YORK – November 2, 2021 – NBC News’ TODAY was the number-one morning show outright, topping ABC’s “Good Morning America” in total viewers on Halloween. TODAY posted its best Halloween advantages over GMA in four years and its biggest week-over-week demo gains in 15 years. Additionally, The 3rd Hour of TODAY and TODAY with Hoda & Jenna each posted their highest-rated shows of the season on Halloween.
For the month of October, TODAY delivered its closest total-viewer margin with GMA in 10 years, and its largest October key demo victory in three years. TODAY’s October demo win marks 74 straight months in first place.
Last week, TODAY was the only morning program to grow across the board versus the prior week and to post gains in total viewers versus the prior year. TODAY had its biggest demo lead over GMA since August and posted its best total viewer delivery in eight weeks.
TODAY Digital reached more than 50 million unique visitors for 10 out of the last 11 months, and TODAY ALL Day had its second straight record-breaking month. Additionally, TODAY podcasts more than doubled their downloads from the prior year and saw nearly half a million downloads just last week.
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OCTOBER 2021
Among A25-54 viewers:
- TODAY averaged 907,000 A25-54 viewers, outperforming Good Morning America by +110,000 (+14%) and CBS This Morning by +378,000 (+71%)
- This represents TODAY’s largest October A25-54 lead over GMA in three years
- Month-over-month, TODAY increased its demo lead over GMA by 33% (+110,000 vs. +83,000 in September).
- TODAY widened its A25-54 advantage over GMA by 57% compared to the same month last year (+110,000 vs. +70,000 in October 2020).
Among A18-49 viewers:
- TODAY averaged 654,000 A18-49 viewers, topping GMA by +126,000 (+24%) and CBS by +267,000 (+69%)
- TODAY posted its biggest monthly A18-49 lead over GMA in seven months (March 2021) and widest October lead in four years.
- Compared to prior month, TODAY improved its A18-49 lead over GMA by 18% (+126,000 vs. +107,000 in September).
- TODAY’s A18-49 lead over GMA increased 12% compared to the same month last season (+126,000 vs. +113,000 in October 2020).
Among total viewers:
- TODAY averaged 3.178 million total viewers, leading CBS by +664,000 (+26%)
- This is TODAY’s closest October competitive position vs. GMA in total viewers in 10 years
- Versus October 2020, TODAY reduced the total viewer gap against GMA by 52% (-96,000 vs. -199,000 prior year) and increased its lead over CBS by 5% (+664,000 vs. +634,000 prior year).
TODAY Digital has reached more than 50M unique visitors for ten of the last eleven months.
- TODAY continues to rank among the top 10 entities in the Lifestyle category for video views and minutes and ranks among the top 5 entities for video viewers
- TODAY All Day had its second straight record month as the last five months have all been among the stream’s five best months on record (June, July, August, September & October)
- TODAY podcasts also had a record month, more than doubling their downloads from the prior year (+182%)
WEEK of OCTOBER 25-31, 2021
TODAY averaged 949,000 A25-54 viewers, leading GMA by +164,000 (+21%) and CBS Mornings by +425,000 (+81%)
- TODAY has ranked #1 among A25-54 viewers for 317 of the last 322 weeks
- TODAY posted its biggest A25-54 delivery and lead over CBS in seven weeks (week of 9/6/2021) and its widest demo advantage over GMA in 12 weeks (week of 8/2/2021, Tokyo Olympics)
- Compared to the same week last season, TODAY widened its demo lead over GMA by 16% (+164,000 vs. +141,000 prior year) and CBS by 7% (+425,000 vs. +397,000 prior year).
- Week-over-week, TODAY was the only morning show to increase its A25-54 audience (up +28,000) while also improving its lead over GMA by 33% (+164,000 vs. +123,000 prior week) and CBS by 10% (+425,000 vs. +388,000 prior week).
TODAY averaged 674,000 A18-49 viewers, leading GMA by +113,000 (+21%) and CBS by +265,000 (+68%)
- TODAY delivered its highest A18-49 audience in seven weeks (week of 9/6/2021), its largest lead over GMA in 12 weeks (week of 8/2/2021), and its widest advantage over CBS in five weeks (week of 9/20/2021)
- TODAY’s A18-49 lead over GMA rose 9% compared to the same week last season (+166,000 vs. +152,000 prior year).
- Week-over-week, TODAY added +21,000 A18-49 viewers (+3%) and increased its lead over GMA by 47% (+166,000 vs. +113,000 prior week) and CBS by 9% (+290,000 vs. +265,000 prior week).
TODAY averaged 3.265 million total viewers, +713,000 (+28%) higher than CBS
- This was TODAY’s highest weekly total viewer average and closest gap vs. GMA in seven weeks (week of 9/6/2021) and its widest advantage over CBS in five weeks (week of 9/20/2021)
- TODAY led GMA in total viewers on Monday (+21,000) and Friday (+53,000)
- Compared to the same week last season, TODAY was the only morning show to increase its total viewership (up +16,000) while cutting the total viewer gap with GMA by 56% (-56,000 vs. -127,000 prior year) and increasing its lead over CBS by 22% (+713,000 vs. +586,000 prior year).
- Week-over-week, TODAY increased its total viewer delivery by +89,000 (highest among the morning shows), narrowed the gap with GMA by 10% (-56,000 vs. -62,000 prior week), and improved its lead over CBS by 8% (+713,000 vs. +661,000 prior week).
TODAY reached 13.4M unique visitors last week (9% WoW)
- The brand delivered 31M video views across on and off net platforms (5% YoY)
- TODAY All Day saw 200K hours viewed, one of its top three weeks on record
- TODAY podcasts saw a record 420K downloads ( 75% vs. prior 13-week avg.)
- TODAY newsletters garnered 210K visits (3% vs.13-week average)
- These newsletters had an average click-thru rate of 8% and an open rate of 28%
For Friday, October 29 (TODAY’s Halloween broadcast):
TODAY (7-9A)
- TODAY led GMA by +53,000 total viewers and +191,000 A25-54 viewers, its widest advantages for a Halloween special in four years
- TODAY’s Halloween broadcast increased 8% in total viewers vs. the same day prior week, its biggest week-over-week increase in seven years
- Among A25-54 viewers, TODAY’s Halloween broadcast saw a +24% lift vs. prior week, its biggest week-over-week gain in 15 years
- TODAY was also the only morning show to improve its audience across-the-board versus the same day last season: up +7% in total viewers, +5% among A25-54 viewers, and +1% among A18-49 viewers
3RD HOUR TODAY
- THE 3RD HOUR OF TODAY had its highest-rated day of the season in total, A25-54, and A18-49 viewership
- Versus the same day prior week, 3RD HOUR TODAY’s Halloween broadcast was up +26% in total viewers, +47% among A25-54 viewers, and +42% among A18-49 viewers
- Compared to the same day last season (10/30/2021), 3RD HOUR TODAY increased +15% in total viewers, +22% among A25-54 viewers, and +21% among A18-49 viewers
TODAY with HODA & JENNA
- TODAY WITH HODA & JENNA posted its highest-rated day of the season in total, A25-54, and A18-49 viewership
- Versus the same day prior week, HODA & JENNA’s Halloween broadcast rose +35% in total viewers, +48% among A25-54 viewers, and +51% among A18-49 viewers
- Compared to the same day last season (10/30/2021), HODA & JENNA increased +25% in total viewers, +27% among A25-54 viewers, and +30% among A18-49 viewers
2021-22 SEASON-TO-DATE (9/20/2021-10/31/2021)
TODAY has ranked #1 in A25-54 and A18-49 at this point of the season for seven consecutive years
TODAY’s A25-54 advantage over GMA (+113,000) is up 45% from the same point last season (+78,000) and is at its highest level in three years
- On a percentage basis, TODAY’s demo lead over GMA (14.2%) is the highest in five seasons
TODAY’s A18-49 lead over GMA (+128,000) is 11% better than the same point last season (+115,000) and the highest level in four years
- On a percentage basis, TODAY’s A18-49 lead over GMA (24.2%) is at its highest level in 10 seasons
