GMA is No. 1 for 28 Days Straight in Total Viewers

For the week of September 17, 2012, ABC News' GOOD MORNING AMERICA won the final week of the 2011-12 season in both Total Viewers (4.969 million) and Adults 25-54 (1.913 million), according to Nielsen Media Research.  In fact, "Good Morning America" stood as the No. 1 morning newscast in the final 4 weeks of the season in both overall viewers and the key adult news demo. Further, "GMA" has been No. 1 in Total Viewers in all 6 weeks after the end of the Olympics, marking its longest stretch at the top in more than 18 years – since an 8-week streak from w/o 4/25/94 – w/o 6/13/94.

"GMA" led "Today" (4.085 million and 1.676 million, respectively) by +884,000 Total Viewers and +237,000 Adults 25-54.  In the final week of the season, "GMA" scored its largest Total Viewer and Adults 25-54 advantages over "Today " in more than 18 years – since w/o 5/16/94 and w/o 8/8/94, respectively.  

For the 5th week running, "GMA" outdrew "Today" in every head-to-head telecast of the week in Total Viewers (Mon: +1.159 million, Tues: +814,000, Wed: +718,000, Thurs: +888,000 and Fri: +832,000).  In fact, "GMA" has beaten "Today" in all but one telecast since the end of the Olympics (the first Monday after the Games), representing a string of 28 straight single-day victories (regular telecasts).

In addition, for the 3rd time in the last 4 weeks, "GMA" outdelivered "Today" in all 5 telecasts of the week in Adults 25-54 (Mon: +305,000, Tues: +15,000, Wed: +238,000, Thurs: +433,000 and Fri: +184,000).   "GMA" concluded the 2011-12 season by beating the "Today Show" in the final 11 telecasts of the season in the demo, and on 25 of 29 days overall (regular telecasts) since the end of the Olympics. 

Compared to the final week of the 2010-11 season (4.576 million and 1.792 million, respectively, on w/o 9/12/11), "GMA" grew in both Total Viewers (+9%) and Adults 25-54 (+7%). "GMA" improved the most among the morning programs, as "CBS This Morning" (+1%/flat) was mixed, while NBC's "Today" (-25%/-33%) dropped by double digits.

"GMA" nearly doubled the performance of "CBS This Morning" in Total Viewers (+97%), while more than doubling in Adults 25-54 (+102%).  

3Q 2012:

"Good Morning America" won the 3rd Quarter 2012, ranking as the No. 1 morning newscast in Total Viewers (4.757 million) during a quarter for the first time in more than 17 years (since 2Q95), according to Nielsen Media Research.  Impressively, "GMA" outperformed NBC's Olympics-fuel "Today Show" (4.588 million) by +169,000 viewers during 3Q12, finishing No. 1 in all 11 non-Olympic weeks of the 13-week 3rd quarter.

In Adults 25-54, "GMA" narrowed its quarter-to-quarter margin with "Today" (-51% - 117,000 vs. 241,000 – 2Q12) for the 7th straight quarter to turn in its smallest news demo gap with the NBC program in more than 17 years – since 2Q95.  Notably, "Good Morning America" ranked No. 1 in the key adult news demo in 6 of 13 weeks of 3Q12, finishing strong by beating "Today" in the final 4 weeks of the quarter.

For the 2nd quarter in a row, "GMA" improved on the year-ago 3rd quarter in both Total Viewers (+6%) and Adults 25-54 (+4%) – 4.484 million and 1.701 million, respectively, for 3Q11.  In fact, "GMA" saw its most-watched 3rd quarter in 7 years and strongest news demo performance during a 3rd quarter in 5 years – since 3Q05 and 3Q07, respectively.  

"GMA" more than doubled the performance of "CBS This Morning" during 3Q12 in both Total Viewers (+106%) and Adults 25-54 (+104%).  "GMA" delivered its largest 3rd quarter advantage (+2.450 million) over CBS' morning program in 7 years and largest 3rd quarter lead in Adults 25-54 (+902,000) in 5 years – since 3Q05 and 3Q06, respectively.

2011-12 Season:  

"Good Morning America" averaged 4.870 million Total Viewers and a 1.6/12/1.897 million in Adults 25-54 during the 2011-12 television season.  "GMA" improved on the previous season in both Total Viewers (+4%) and Adults 25-54 (+6%), standing as the only morning program to grow over the prior season (NBC's "Today:" -6%/-11%, respectively; CBS' "This Morning:" -6%/-8%, respectively).  Further, "GMA" attracted its largest overall television season audience in 6 years – since the 2005-06 season.

During the 2011-12 season, "GMA" slashed its gaps with "Today" by more than half in both Total Viewers (-67%) and Adults 25-54 (-55%) versus its 2010-11 season gaps. "GMA" posted its smallest margins with "Today" in 17 years in Total Viewers (242,000) and Adult 25-54 (315,000) – since the 1994-95 Season.

Further, "Good Morning America" had a historic year in hitting major milestones versus "Today" during the 2011-12 season.  During the week of April 9, 2012, "GMA" snapped "Today's" 852-week winning streak in Total Viewers, and has ranked No. 1 in 15 of the final 24 weeks of the season.  In Adults 25-54, on the week of July 23, 2012, "GMA" shattered "Today's" even longer 879-week winning streak in the key adult news demo.  "GMA" ranked No. 1 in Adults 25-54 in 6 of the final 10 weeks.

"GMA" beat CBS' "Early Show" during the season by +2.424 million Total Viewers and by +923,000 Adults 25-54, turning in its largest Total Viewer lead over the CBS program in 7 years and biggest advantage in Adults 25-54 in 5 years – since the 2004-05 and 2006-07 seasons, respectively. 

Finally, in August, Goodmorningamerica.com reached 24M users and served over 99 million page views.  It is the #1 morning news website and beats MSNBC's Today by millions of users every month. This summer, visitors spent +16% more time on Goodmorningamerica.com compared to Today.

WEEK OF 9/17/12      TOTAL VIEWERS     ADULTS 25-54    HOUSEHOLDS
ABC                    4,969,000      1.6/12; 1,913,000     3.8/14
NBC                    4,085,000      1.4/11; 1,676,000     3.2/12
CBS                    2,527,000      0.8/ 6;   946,000     2.0/ 7

3rd Quarter, 2012   
ABC                    4,757,000      1.5/12; 1,772,000     3.6/14
NBC                    4,588,000      1.6/12; 1,889,000     3.5/14
CBS                    2,307,000      0.7/ 6;   870,000     1.8/ 7

2011-12 Season 
ABC                    4,870,000      1.6/12; 1,897,000     3.6/14
NBC                    5,112,000      1.8/14; 2,212,000     3.9/14
CBS                    2,446,000      0.8/ 6;   974,000     1.8/ 7

Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 Live + SD weeks of 9/17/12, 9/10/12 & 9/12/11, or as dated.  3Q11: 6/25 – 9/23/12.  2Q12: 3/26 – 6/24/12. 3Q11: 6/27 – 9/18/11.  Television Season 2011-12 (9/19/11 – 9/23/12) and 2010-2011 (9/20/10 – 9/18/11).

Emmy Award-winning "GMA," featuring the anchor team of Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Sam Champion, Lara Spencer and Josh Elliott, airs live Mon.-Fri. (7:00-9:00 a.m., ET) on ABC. Tom Cibrowski is senior executive producer.

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