Morning Show Ratings: 'Today' Wins Second Week from London Olympics

Summer Games help show pace ahead of 'GMA' by 1.6 million viewers

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/13/2012 5:14:11 PM

As expected, NBC's Today won the morning ratings race for the week of Aug. 6, its second full week broadcasting from Olympic Park in London.

Today averaged nearly 6 million total viewers for the week, beating ABC's Good Morning America by a margin of 1.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen fast national ratings. In the key adults 25-54 demo, Today drew 2.43 million viewers, topping GMA by 825,000 key viewers.

In its return to its New York this week, Today has been pulling out all the stops to try to maintain its ratings momentum post-Olympics, including renovating its Rockefeller Plaza studio with a new high-tech exterior. It is also stretching its summer concert series, usually reserved for Fridays, to five days this week (the concerts are often big ratings draws).

Before the Olympics, GMA had won the last five consecutive weeks among total viewers. Final numbers for the week of Aug. 6 will be released Thursday.