For the second week in a row, the “Today” show ratings are continuing to dominate early morning television programming in the wake of former host Matt Lauer’s firing.
In the days following Lauer’s firing, the ratings for the “Today” show rose considerably, beating out all of their competitors, including ABC rival “Good Morning America.” Now the early morning segment at NBC has gone two straight weeks on top with their longtime host out of the lineup, according to Variety.
Matt Lauer has been terminated from NBC News. On Monday night, we received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer. As a result, we’ve decided to terminate his employment. pic.twitter.com/1A3UAZpvPb
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 29, 2017
“Today” had an average of about 4.58 million viewers overall from December 4th through the 8th. Its top competitor, “GMA,” came in slightly below with 4.38 million total viewers and “CBS This Morning” trailed behind them with just 3.57 million total viewers, according to the Nielsen ratings. (RELATED: ‘Today’ Ratings Skyrocket In Wake Of Lauer’s Firing)
While “Today” came out above its competitors for the second straight week, the numbers were down from the 4.9 million viewership the previous week. This trend suggests that the ratings were abnormally high in the week before due to the news of Lauer’s exit after more than two decades on the NBC program.
NBC announced the firing of their longtime anchor on air during the “Today” show broadcast on Wednesday, November 29. Since his departure Savannah Guthrie and Hod Kotb have served as co-anchors of the popular morning show.