NBC News’ Today managed to retain its crown as America’s most-watched morning show across total viewers and the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic for the week of September 7, 2026. However, the victory came with a notable caveat: Today was the only broadcast network morning program to shed viewers in both measured categories during the post-Labor Day week.
This rare double-decline for the long-running NBC franchise significantly altered the competitive landscape of morning television. Because of Today‘s downward trajectory paired with gains by its chief rival, the viewership gap between NBC’s flagship morning franchise and ABC News’ Good Morning America shrank dramatically, falling below the 100,000-viewer threshold in total audience size. Meanwhile, ABC’s Good Morning America capitalized on the momentum, standing out as the sole program to finish the week up in both key measurements.
Across the network competition, viewers also tuned in to see the return of Norah O’Donnell to CBS News’ CBS Mornings. The program registered a modest uptick in total viewers for the just-concluded week, generating curiosity among morning news audiences.
The ratings landscape for the week was shaped by unique scheduling adjustments across all three major networks. All three morning shows were retitled and broadcast as specials on Monday, September 7, 2026, coinciding with the Labor Day holiday. Additionally, the individual broadcasts for Friday, September 11, 2026, were coded separately as breakouts. Consequently, these specialed and breakout telecasts have been entirely excluded from the standard weekly and season averages compiled by ratings authorities. To ensure fair and consistent comparison, the weekly averages for ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News were calculated strictly across three days of regular broadcasting, running from Tuesday through Thursday.
According to Nielsen’s national live-plus-same-day big data plus program ratings, Good Morning America averaged 2.742 million total viewers and 488,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week of September 7. When compared to its performance the previous week, the ABC News morning flagship grew by one percent in total viewers and saw a notable seven percent surge in the key demographic. Looking at a year-over-year comparison against the exact same week in 2025, Good Morning America maintained its steady presence, growing by two percent in total viewers while holding completely flat in the demo.
Despite its week-over-week declines, NBC’s Today successfully finished in the number one spot in both total viewers and the demographic. The morning powerhouse drew 2.834 million total viewers and captured 598,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week that just ended. However, those figures represented a one percent drop in total viewers and a five percent slide in the A25-54 demo compared to the previous week’s numbers. As a direct result of these contrasting trajectories, Today‘s lead over runner-up Good Morning America narrowed sharply to just 92,000 total viewers.
When evaluated from a broader historical perspective against the same week in 2025, Today demonstrated stronger year-over-year growth, climbing 11 percent in total viewers and four percent in the demo. Industry analysts note that year-over-year comparisons for this period reflect methodological updates, specifically utilizing Nielsen Big Data plus Panel measurements for 2026 contrasted against traditional Panel measurements from 2025.
Further down the ratings ladder, CBS Mornings secured 1.64 million total viewers alongside 247,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demographic for the week of September 7. Compared with the previous week of programming, the CBS News morning offering experienced a mixed result, growing by two percent in total audience size while declining by nine percent within the primary advertising demographic. When measured against the corresponding week in 2025, CBS Mornings faced steeper challenges, sliding 10 percent in total viewers and dropping 21 percent in the demographic category.
For the week of September 7, 2026, based on Nielsen Big Data and Panel metrics, Today led the field with 2,834,000 total viewers and 598,000 viewers in the A25-54 demographic. Good Morning America followed closely behind in second place with 2,742,000 total viewers and 488,000 demographic viewers. CBS Mornings rounded out the major network competition with 1,640,000 total viewers and 247,000 viewers in the A25-54 category.
These figures are part of the broader data streams tracked by Nielsen, encompassing NTI Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49 national live-plus-same-day big data plus program ratings for the current tracking week, the previous week, and the equivalent week from the prior year. Season-to-date metrics continue to provide context for the ongoing 2025-2026 television season, spanning from September 22, 2025, through September 13, 2026, as networks prepare for upcoming fall programming shifts and continued audience competition across the morning news daypart.
