NBC's TODAY Wins February Sweep in Key Demo

NBC's TODAY was the number-one morning show for the 2014 February Sweep in the key demo A25 - 54, dramatically tightening the overall morning race with GMA. TODAY delivered 2.348 million demo viewers topping GMA's 2.304 million by 44k (+2%). TODAY slashed its year-to-year gaps with GMA by a giant 146% in the demo, and by 95% in total viewers. The win marks TODAY's best February sweep demo delivery in two years, and its best February sweep total viewer delivery in four years.

For the week of February 24 - 28, TODAY retained 93% of its total viewer audience from the previous week, the second week of the Sochi Olympics. This was TODAY's best rate of retention following a Winter Olympics since the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. TODAY cut its pre-Olympic gaps with GMA by more than half - by 55% in the key demo, and by 52% in total viewers. TODAY also grew its demo delivery by +2% and its total viewer delivery by +4% (while GMA's dropped by -3% in both categories), compared to the pre-Olympic averages.

"We were thrilled with TODAY's performance during the Sochi Games, and welcomed the Extra viewership," said TODAY's Executive Producer Don Nash. "We are very pleased to see that some of those additional viewers are still tuning in. There is a great energy at the show, and we are committed to building and maintaining the momentum."

February Sweep Highlights:

· TODAY won the February sweep in the key demo Adults 25-54
· o TODAY delivered 2.348 million A25-54 viewers, +2% (+44,000) more than GMA's 2.304 million and +117% (+1,267,000) more than CBS' 1.081 million
· o TODAY posted a 146% turnaround in the A25-54 demo gap year-to-year (versus -96,000 loss prior year)
· o TODAY had its best A25-54 viewer delivery in 2 years
· o TODAY delivered a 2.0 A25-54 rating, +5% (+1 tenth) more than GMA's 1.9 rating and +122% (+1.1 rating points) ahead of CBS' 0.9 rating
· o TODAY was also No. 1 in Adults 18-49 topping GMA by +15% (+2 tenths) in rating and by +20% (+313,000) among A18-49 viewers

· TODAY closed the February sweep total viewer gap with GMA by 95% (-847,000 last year vs. -44,000 this year)TODAY has ranked #1 among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54 in 20 of the last 21 February sweep periods
· o In total viewers, TODAY delivered 5.804 million for the February sweep
· o TODAY trailed GMA's 5.848 million by just -1% (-44,000) but led CBS' 3.201 million viewers by +81% (+2,603,000)
· o TODAY increased its total viewer delivery by +20% (+985,000) year-to-year and posted its best February sweep average since 2010

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· TODAY has ranked #1 among Men 25-54 for 23 consecutive February sweep periods
· TODAY has ranked #1 among Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49 for 21 consecutive February sweep periods
· TODAY has ranked #1 among Men 18-49 for 24 consecutive February sweep periods

Data for Sweep:

February Sweep Total Viewers A25-54 Rating A25-54 Viewers
TODAY 5,804 2.0 2,348
CBS THIS MORNING 3,201 0.9 1,081
GMA 5,848 1.9 2,304

Week of February 24 - 28 Highlights

· TODAY retained 93% of its total viewer audience from the second week of the Sochi Olympics
· o This was TODAY's best rate of retention during the week following a Winter Olympics since Salt Lake City in 2002

· Versus pre-Olympics 1Q'14, TODAY's demo delivery grew by +2% (while GMA's declined by -3%) and closed the A25-54 viewer gap by 55% (78,000 vs. 175,000 before Sochi)
· o Compared to the same week last year, TODAY cut the demo viewer gap with GMA by 66% (78,000 vs. 231,000 last year) and posted 10% delivery growth year-over-year

· TODAY cut the total viewer gap with GMA by 52% compared to the pre-Olympics 1Q'14 average (-326,000 vs. -678,000 before Sochi)
· o In total viewers, TODAY posted 5.462 million for the week compared to GMA's 5.788 million
· o Versus pre-Olympics 1Q'14, TODAY's delivery was up +4% while GMA's delivery dropped -3%
· o Versus season-to-date levels, TODAY's delivery posted +6% growth compared to GMA's average remaining flat

· TODAY was #1 in Adults 25-54 rating for the fourth consecutive week
· o Tied GMA with a 1.9 rating and beat CBS by +129% (+1,249,000)
· o TODAY was also #1 during the week in Adults 18-49: +17% (+2 tenths) more than GMA and +180% (+9 tenths) higher than CBS

Data for Week:

Total Viewers A25-54 Rating A25-54 Viewers
Week of 2/24/2014
TODAY 5,462 1.9 2,219
CBS THIS MORNING 3,058 0.8 970
GMA 5,788 1.9 2,297