Savannah Guthrie’s big return to Today was memorable, perhaps culminating in a much-needed boost when Guthrie and Hoda Kotb reunited on the air. It had been a troubling few months for the early morning host after she left the show to deal with her mother Nancy’s disappearance. NBC reportedly thought her return would mark a ratings boost for the show and be a “massive moment” returning the daytime show to its glory days. What’s happened instead is that Today and Good Morning America are still duking it out for eyeballs, and the whole thing has my rapt attention.
If you haven’t been paying attention, it’s been a ratings rat race for both series over the past few months. NBC will push ahead, then ABC will make a push toward that No.1 slot, and this jockeying has been going on for some time. In fact, it’s really ABC that’s made a lot of headway throughout the 2026 TV season, with the Robin Roberts, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos series making major moves.
This past week was nearly a photo finish in the numbers. GMA pulled into second place with (via Ad Week) 2.924 million total viewers and 508,000 viewers in the demo for Adults 25-54, which is where most advertisers are heavily focused. Meanwhile, Today did slightly better with 2.996 million total viewers and 639,000 viewers in the aforementioned advertising demo.
Article continues belowCBS Mornings continued as the distant third place finisher at the end of April with 1.756 million total viewers and 310,000 viewers in the demo. As I said, though, the first two shows remain close.
Look, I get it, Today was still top pony here, but why are these numbers worth discussing? I’ll tell you: GMA continues to close the gap on its closest competitor. It was up 10% in the ratings in total viewers for the week of April 20th, while Today was only up a 1%. In a world where The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri are ending, I’ll be interested to see where those viewers go next TV season.
Meanwhile, Guthrie’s return may not have been the ratings clincher NBC hoped for, but there’s no doubt more people are tuning in to daytime talk shows right now, and there are numbers to be gobbled up with the right programming. Clearly, something magical is happening at GMA right now, as the personalities on Today have long been the fan-favorites. (Though that has changed a bit in the post-Matt Lauer era.) But heightened security in the post Guthrie-disappearance world and more vibes may be impacting the series these days. Now, the dark horse is gunning for the longtime morning show.
To continue these horse analogies, yes, it was less exciting than watching the Kentucky Derby, but it’s been fascinating to watch, nonetheless.
