‘Today’ Ratings Boosted by Vieira’s Swan Song
by Reuters | June 17, 2011 at 8:11 AM | The Today Show
Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer (NBC)
By Marisa Guthrie
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Meredith Vieira’s tearful farewell gave the “Today” show its biggest advantage — more than 1.5 million viewers — over rival “Good Morning America” since January.
More than 6.1 million viewers tuned in to Vieira’s June 8th swan song, which included a live, star-studded lip-dub to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.’”
By comparison 8.4 million people watched Katie Couric’s final “Today” show in May 2006.
Ann Curry’s first day as “Today” co-host on June 9 was watched by 5.5 million viewers, marking gains week-to-week in total viewers and news’ target demographic of viewers 25-54.
For the week ending June 10, NBC’s “Today” averaged 5.58 million viewers compared to 4.54 million for ABC’s “GMA,” and 2.19 million for CBS’ “The Early Show.” In the demo, “Today” averaged 2.0 million viewers to “GMA’s” 1.4 million and “Early’s” 700,000.
