Midterm Week Lifts All Three Morning Shows Past 2 Million Viewers

NBC News' Today finished the week of November 2 just 1,000 viewers short of 3 million total viewers, holding first place in both total audience and the Adults 25-54 demographic as midterm election coverage lifted all three morning broadcasts above 2 million viewers.

Nielsen's national live+same-day big data plus panel ratings show Today averaged 2.999 million total viewers and 588,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo for the week. Against the same week in 2025, Today grew 7% in total viewers but fell 8% in the demo — the only morning show to post a decline in that yearly comparison.

ABC News' Good Morning America trailed Today by only 76,000 total viewers. GMA averaged 2.923 million total viewers and 471,000 in the demo, and recorded its most-watched week since the week of April 27, 2026. Year over year, GMA rose 7% in total viewers and 8% in the demo.

CBS Mornings averaged 2.053 million total viewers and 370,000 viewers in the demo. Compared with the same week in 2025, CBS Mornings gained 6% in total viewers and 10% in the demo — the largest demo increase of the three broadcasts.

What does the week change for marketers?

The midterm spike delivered a rare simultaneous lift across the board. For media buyers, the numbers confirm that news-adjacent inventory still commands broad reach when a national event concentrates attention: every show converted the election week into both total-viewer and demo growth against year-ago figures, with Today's demo decline as the sole exception.

The tight ABC-NBC gap carries the sharpest implication. Seventy-six thousand viewers separate the two leaders in a week when GMA posted its best audience in more than six months. A single strong news cycle could flip the total-viewer lead, which would matter for rate negotiations and positioning claims heading into the new year.

The demo picture favors NBC — for now

Today's 588,000 A25-54 viewers beat GMA's 471,000 by 117,000, a wider cushion than the total-viewer margin suggests. That gap lets NBC charge premium rates against the audience segment most advertisers target, even as its demo number erodes 8% year over year while both rivals grow.

The week's totals, per Nielsen (week of November 2, 2026):

• Total viewers: NBC 2,999,000; ABC 2,923,000; CBS 2,053,000
• Adults 25-54: NBC 588,000; ABC 471,000; CBS 370,000

Nielsen's figures cover live+same-day big data plus panel program ratings for the current week (w/o 11/2/26), the previous week (w/o 10/26/26) and the year-ago week (w/o 11/3/25).

With election-driven interest now behind them, the three broadcasts face the harder test: whether the gains hold in ordinary weeks. Today's demo slide and GMA's momentum make the post-midterm ratings reports the ones to watch.