In the days following Matt Lauer’s firing from the “Today” show, the ratings for the morning news show have skyrocketed.
NBC announced the firing of their longtime anchor on the air during the “Today” show broadcast on Wednesday, November 29. In the days that followed Lauer’s firing, the ratings rose significantly, according to a report by Variety.
The Moment The today Show announced Matt Lauer was Firedpic.twitter.com/RM9mx27TTM
— PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) November 29, 2017
“Today” beat out all of its competitors, including ABC rival “Good Morning America,” last week for the first time in “many weeks,” according to the report. The early morning NBC show attracted over 539,000 more viewers than their competitors over at ABC.
The popular NBC program racked up an average of 4.9 million viewers, whereas “Good Morning America” averaged 4.36 million and “CBS This Morning” attracted an average of about 3.53 million.
Although the Lauer news didn’t break until the middle of the week, “Today” bested “GMA” on both Monday and Tuesday as well, according to the data from Nielsen.
NBC has not announced who will take Lauer’s position since he was fired for sexual misconduct, but it’s not expected to cause a major fluctuation in the show’s ratings. As of now, Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker have been leading the morning show in their former colleague’s absence.