‘Good Morning America’ Tops ‘Today’ First Time in 16 Years

ABC’s “Good Morning America” attracted an average of 5.15 million daily viewers last week, beating NBC’s “Today” show for the first time in more than 16 years.

“Good Morning America” outdrew “Today” by 13,000 viewers for the week of April 9, according to a statement today from Walt Disney Co. (DIS)’s ABC, which cited preliminary Nielsen data.

“This is an exciting day but we will save any celebrating for when the final numbers come in on Thursday,” Tom Cibrowski, senior executive producer, said in the statement.

The ABC program, which hasn’t led in the weekly ratings since December 1995, is hosted by Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos. “Today” still led by 254,000 viewers in a demographic important to advertisers, those 25 to 54 years old, NBC said in an e-mailed statement.

The NBC show’s “852-week winning streak had taken on a life of its own and as odd as it is to see it end, we should acknowledge just how remarkable it has been,” the show’s executive producer, Jim Bell, said in the statement. “So as we tip our caps to the team at ‘Good Morning America,’ we can also take a bow ourselves and recognize the work done by countless staffers for so long.”

Disney fell 0.5 percent to $41.66 at the close in New York and has gained 11 percent this year. NBC’s majority owner, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), rose 0.9 percent to $29.77 and is up 26 percent in 2012.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Palmeri in Los Angeles at cpalmeri1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ben Livesey at blivesey@bloomberg.net

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‘Good Morning America’ Tops ‘Today’ First Time in 16 Years

Lou Rocco/ABC/AP Photo

Katie Couric, left, co-hosts with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," on April 2, 2012.

Katie Couric, left, co-hosts with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America," on April 2, 2012. Photographer: Lou Rocco/ABC/AP Photo