‘Good Morning America’ distances itself from ‘The Today Show’ in May ratings

Remember last summer, when that dramatic Ann Curry incident went down on “The Today Show”? Well, we have a feeling that NBC may have some serious regrets over the way that they handled it, at least based on some new ratings that are coming in now for the entire month of May.

Overall, “Good Morning America” averaged around 5.7 million viewers for each day of  the month, which included a number of major news stories along with May sweeps, finales, and summer movies coming out. This was almost a million viewers ahead of “Today,” which hovered close to 4.8 million. While demo figures are a little different, this marks the largest lead that ABC has had over NBC during a sweeps month in this time period ever since such numbers were compiled over two decades ago.

So who or what is to blame for the ratings domination by one show over another? It has a lot to do with public perception. We don’t know if the Curry situation would have damaged NBC had it been handled better, but it was instead demeaning and cruel to cart Curry out on TV like a sacrificial lamb. There’s truth that the ratings were slipping prior to her dismissal, but Savannah Guthrie has not stopped the bleeding. While she is not terrible, she doesn’t quite pop or resonate with viewers in the same way that Meredith Vieira or Katie Couric did.

As for “Good Morning America,” Robin Roberts has become an inspiration thanks to her health battles in recent months, and while some Americans have grown to dislike Matt Lauer, they root for her. The rest of the team is competent, and while the “tabloid” complaints are valid, this is still a breezy way to get your news in the morning.

If you do want to read some good news about behind-the-scenes action at “Today” (which is pretty rare, when you think about it), be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: ABC