‘GMA’ Wins Olympic Feat: Beating ‘Today’ in Audience Ratings During Winter Games
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV EditorIn TV’s never-ending morning wars, one law has been immutable: When NBC shows the Olympics, its “Today” wins in the ratings.
That is not the case in this go-round.ABC’s “Good Morning America” won more viewers overall during NBC’s first week of coverage of the Winter Olympics from Beijing, the first time it has done so in more than three decades, according to data from Nielsen.
While “Today” continued to lead in the critical audience demographic of people between 25 and 54 — the viewership most preferred by advertisers in news programs — it was by just 4,000 people. “GMA” has not won the ratings gold medal during the Olympics since the week of February 7, 1992, according to historical Nielsen data. “Today” outmaneuvered “GMA” in all audience categories during the first week of NBC’s broadcast of the Summer Olympics last year.The numbers illustrate the challenge NBCUniversal has had with its Olympics telecasts during the pandemic era.
Because of coronavirus, the company has had to televise two different sets of Olympics Games — summer and winter — in a span of just six months, potentially leading to some viewer fatigue around the global sports extravaganza.
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