The end of sweeps last week marked Today's eleventh consecutive year as the number one morning news program in the nation. The big ratings all started in 1995, when Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric hosted together. The addition of Matt Lauer in 1997 only strengthened the show's ratings. And now, with Katie gone to CBS, the addition of Meredith Vieira seems to be fine with viewers. In fact, they seem to really like her since about 20,000 more people are watching Today than they were at this time last year.Why is Today still number one? I think it's simply tradition. Today was the first of its kind. Good Morning America and The Early Show both are copycats of the successful format but neither show has ever been able to match Today. Even now, the anchors on Today all seem much more relaxed. The show seems to flow much smoother than Good Morning America, which is legendary for its awkward transitions, and The Early Show, which constantly seems to be fumbling. Also, NBC has 'hosts', while the other networks have 'anchors'. NBC gets that the morning programs stopped being about news a long time ago.
[Via TV Newser]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-20-2006 @ 1:02AM
Kevin Price said...
I appreciate your comments and am a fan of the Today Show myself, However, I'm curious, does this website belong to GE just like virtually everything else on the Today Show (which owns NBC and, therefore, the program)? I'm just kidding, of course and I hate to admit it, I love the show, but it has evolved into little more than a long infomercial. Disclaimers are now heard in virtually every segment, because the entire show seems designed to promote GE's interests.
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