Good Morning America, The Today Show | featured news

NBC is changing the backstage leadership at its struggling "Today" show, which has consistently been behind ABC's "Good Morning America" in the ratings since replacing Ann Curry as an anchor this summer.

After a 17-year winning streak in the ratings, "GMA" overtook "Today" during a couple of weeks last spring. With the exception of two weeks when "Today" broadcast from the London Olympics, the ABC show has won consistently since Curry's dismissal, by margins as much as 800,000 viewers.

NBC's hopes that the London Olympics would boost the struggling "Today" show have been rewarded and then some. The once-dominant morning news show beat ABC's "Good Morning America" by an average of 1.6 million viewers each day last week, the Nielsen ratings company said Monday. That's the most dominant week for "Today" since the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

A majority of morning viewers has greeted the arrival of Savannah Guthrie with a yawn in her first week as "Today" show co-anchor.

NBC's "Today" was beaten last week by ABC archrival "Good Morning America" by 357,000 viewers, the Nielson Co. said. "GMA" drew an average of 4.57 million viewers, compared with 4.21 million for "Today," according to preliminary Nielsen figures released Monday. This represents the largest lead by "GMA" over "Today" in more than 17 years, while extending its top-ranked status to three consecutive weeks, ABC said.

Sarah Palin helped "Today" maintain its winning streak against "GMA," even with the appearance of its own guest star Katie Couric. NBC's "Today" widened its advantage over ABC runner-up "Good Morning America" by 23,000 viewers Tuesday, compared with the day before, according to the Nielsen Co.