Morning Show Ratings Dip Across the board Despite Major News Events
New ratings data reveals declines for all three major morning news programs – Good Morning America (GMA), Today, and CBS Mornings - during the third quarter of 2025, even as significant national and international stories unfolded.The period included coverage of the murders of Minnesota lawmakers, protests regarding ICE policies in Los Angeles, the summit between donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, and devastating flooding in Texas and Milwaukee. These ratings are crucial for advertising revenue and indicate shifting viewership habits in the evolving media landscape.
Despite the high-profile news cycle,GMA averaged 2.594 million total viewers and 460,000 viewers in the A25-54 demographic for Q3 2025. NBC News’ Today secured 2.444 million total viewers and led in the key A25-54 demographic with 543,000 viewers.CBS Mornings trailed with 1.789 million total viewers and 300,000 in the demo. All three programs experienced quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year declines.
Compared to the second quarter of 2025, GMA was down -3% in total viewers and -1% in the A25-54 demo. Year-over-year, the program saw declines of -8% in total viewers and -12% in the demo.today experienced a -3% drop in total viewers and a -6% decrease in the A25-54 demo compared to Q2 2025. Against the same period in 2024, Today was down -11% in total viewers and -18% in the demo. CBS Mornings saw the largest declines, falling -7% in total viewers and -5% in the A25-54 demo quarter-to-quarter, and -17% and -31% respectively, year-over-year.
The gap between GMA and Today in total viewership was approximately 83,000.
Source: The Nielsen Company, NTI Total Viewers, adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49 Live+SD Current Week (w/o 9/15/25), Previous Week (w/o 9/8/25), and Year-Ago Week (w/o 9/16/24). Most Current Data Stream: 2024-2025 Season (9/23/24-9/21/25) and 2023-2024 season (9/25/23-9/22/24). L+7/Most Current – 3Q25: 6/30 – 9/21/25, 2Q25: 3/31 – 6/29/24, and 3Q24: 7/1 – 9/22/24. Beginning 8/31/20, national ratings also include Out of Home (OOH) viewing. Averages based on regular telecasts.
Q3 2025 Morning Show Ratings
| ABC (GMA) | NBC (today) | CBS (CBS Mornings) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Total viewers: | 2,594,000 | 2,444,000 | 1,789,000 |
| • A25-54: | 460,000 | 543,000 | 300,000 |
