After 16 years reigning as No.1 early morning show, the NBC program is beaten by the ABC show with a margin of 13,000 viewers last week.
- Apr 17, 2012
AceShowbiz - "Good Morning America" appears to be ending "Today" domination as No. 1 early morning show. For the first time since December 1995, the ABC show topped the NBC program with a thin margin of 13,000 viewers in weekly ratings.
According to Fast National Preliminary Nielsen data, "GMA" averaged 5.147 million viewers for the week of April 9, while "Today" delivered an averaging 5.134 million. The final numbers will be released on Thursday, April 19.
"This is an exciting day but we will save any celebrating for when the final numbers come in on Thursday," said Senior Executive Producer Tom Cibrowski. "Like every week, we want to thank our loyal viewers, our stations, our amazing team of Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Sam Champion, Josh Elliott, Lara Spencer, and our dedicated staff and crew for getting us to this amazing point."
"Today" executive producer Jim Bell has also commented on "GMA" accomplishment. "Today's 852-week winning streak had taken on a life of its own and as odd as it is to see it end, we should acknowledge just how remarkable it has been," he said. "So as we tip our caps to the team at Good Morning America, we can also take a bow ourselves and recognize the work done by countless staffers for so long."
"Today" actually won three of the five mornings last week, but "GMA" got rating boosts when eliminated "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Sherri Shepherd visited the show as a guest, and when co-host Robin Roberts traveled to Jacksonville to interview NFL player Tim Tebow and his mother.
