ABC's vitamin pill
New anchor pairing boosts 'GMA' ratings
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The Alphabet ayemcast attracted an average audience of 4.1 million total viewers (3.6 household rating/15 share) for the week of Jan. 18-22, the first frame for the new "GMA" anchor duo of Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer. That's up 16% in viewers from the week before the change and 9% from the same frame a year ago.
The increases for "GMA" didn't have much of an impact on its competish. NBC's "Today" juggernaut rolled along last week, averaging 6.1 million viewers and a 5.2/21, a decrease of just 4%. The Eye web's "This Morning" fell back to third place with 3.1 million viewers and a 2.6/10.
While the Gibson/Sawyer duo got off to a more than respectable start overall, first week ratings data show most of "GMA's" initial Nielsen gains seem to be coming from advertiser-unfriendly older viewers.
Compared to a year ago, the new "GMA" was flat among adults 18-49, and actually down among the key news demo of adults 25-54. By contrast, "GMA" was up 13% with viewers over 50, surging 26% with viewers over 65.
Versus fourth quarter 1998 figures, the pattern is pretty much the same: "GMA" last week was up 18% with adults 18-49, 15% with adults 25-54 and 36% among viewers over 50.
ABC execs have said they're not concerned with initial ratings for the new "GMA," arguing the long-term trend is the main priority for the web.
