TODAY‘S RATINGS HAD RISEN WHEN CURRY WAS OUSTED

Ann Curry was removed as co-host of the Today show at a time when ratings for the NBC morning show had retaken the lead from ABC’s Good Morning America, according to the latest morning numbers released today (Friday) by Nielsen Research. In fact, according to the audience trackers, Today had held the lead for four consecutive weeks and appeared to be headed for a fifth win when the axe fell on Curry. Last week, Today led with 4.59 million viewers. ABC’s GMA came in at 4.46 million viewers. Among the 25-54 age group the lead was even stronger for the peacock network, which attracted 1.84 million in that group for Today, while GMA managed to attract 1.63 million. For the entire second quarter, Nielsen said, Today held a narrow lead of 72,000 viewers as it clocked in with an average 5.03 million viewers versus 4.95 million for Good Morning America.