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It was a good morning for Good Morning America on Friday. The ABC show beat out rival Today in the ratings, one day after Today’s Ann Curry tearfully exited the show after over a year as co-host and 14 years on the morning show. Scoring its best numbers of the week, GMA pulled in 398,000 more viewers overall than Today on June 29. Because Curry was already scheduled to be off Friday, the end of the week was Today’s first day with new co-host Savannah Guthrie; Guthrie officially joins Matt Lauer and the rest of the Today team July 9. Today had the upper hand in the 25-54 demo by 97,000 viewers, but among women 25-54 it was GMA that took the lead by 4,000.
Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.
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It was disgusting how Ann Curry was treated. Why is it always the woman that gets the boot? And then gets replaced with the younger model? Guthrie should know better than to take that job–it’s tainted as far as a lot of people are concerned. Maybe it was time to show Matt Lauer the door, instead, fellas!
Curry has like 2,400,000+ twitter followers. Savannah Guthrie, who’s been featured prominently in all NBC News programs, only has 65,000.
Do they really think this is gonna be the bump they need?!
I have watched the Today Show for nearly 30 years, but it has become a vicious media circus instead of the “family” they claim to be. I loved Ann and I like Al, but over the past year I have been offended by Matt’s rude and condescending behavior and the downright vicious way he treats women. I can almost guarantee you that Meredith left because of Matt (I loved Meredith, too). Matt was rude and cutting toward her on many occasions. I was shocked at the way he tore into beautiful Christie Brinkley when she was on the Today show, obviously defending her ex-husband’s shameful adultery with a young girl. This seemed suspicious after Matt was rumored to have stayed behind after reporting the winter olympics to spend time with some woman he was supposedly cheating with–this totally turned me off to Matt!
Hearing how Matt stabbed Ann in the back is too much. I’m sure he did it to save his own worthless butt from getting the boot, which speaks volumes about his lack of character. I can’t stomach watching the show any more. The moment I see Savannah Guthrie, knowing what they did to our precious Ann (the only kind and truly professional anchor they had on the show!!) I just want to throw up.
I can’t stand GMA, either. They are fast becoming a media circus, too. I’m switching to Fox News because that’s the only station that actually reports the NEWS. I will miss Kathie Lee and Hoda. I have always loved Kathie Lee from way back, and she has really helped Hoda to lighten up and be herself. I will miss them both, but the only way NBC will ever get me (and several thousand other viewers) back is to put Ann back in her old seat as anchor, preferably in place of Matt Lauer.
It’s not too late NBC! Do what you’ve done before when you’ve made a terrible mistake as in the case of Conan. They brought Leno back in a New York minute, before ratings could plummet. Ann should be asked back, but who wouldn’t be shocked if she declined? The humiliating, hateful, short-sighted manner in which they put her out to pasture. To reinforce the disrespect shown to Ann is today’s lovefest for wrong-decision Savannah. Ryan Seacrest should replace Matt today, not tomorrow.
I agree 200%.
yes, I agree with all your comments!!
I agree with all your comments. I won’t be watching ‘Today’ again.
Ha…good luck with Fox. Just ask Mitt Romney how real they are…
100% Anne Curry
I have watched the YouTube version of Ann’s goodbye several times. I don’t think I have ever seen anything so humiliating in all of my years of watching television. I was genuinely uncomfortable with the whole thing. It was a gutless, and unprofessional means of transitioning her out of the position of co-anchor. For her to face millions of people in tears while her peers (and presumably freinds) were trite and patronizing must have been the worst possible moment of her life.
I won’t be watching ‘Today’ again.
I have watched the Today show since Dave Garroway hosted along with a chimp.(1950′s)
All these years later I have not watched Today since the horrible treatment of Ann Curry. It was especially bad because of how they said goodbye to Meredith. NO ONE should be treated like Ann was. Sometimes I miss it but not watching is the only way I can send a message to NBC.
PS I loved Meredith too. And the new one. Just HATE the way they treated Ann.
NO MORE NBC.
I can’t remember my wife taking a stand over anything entertainment related. Ever.
After Curry’s exit she said she’s never watching The Today Show again.
They struck a cord and not in a good way.
I too have watched the today show from the beginning and I have to agree it was the worse and most despicable hatchet job on the lovely ann curry by the management, co workers, and everyone associated with the leaks to the media and the humiliation she faced for the last week, too know that matt was behind this is just too much and have lost all respect for the show and the people , boycott the today show as they didnt listen to the viewers. the concept of the show and a the crummy celebrities and cooking shows who needs that, im switching to another network and will never watch that crappy show again what comes around goes around.today i hope this will sink your ratings because maybe if you loose your sponsers you will learn how to be nicer people not idiots.
I wasn’t a big fan of Ann Curry. She now has 100% of my support due to the way NBC treated her. Shame on you NBC.
Am I the only person who never warmed up to Meredith Viera? From her days on The View, particularly when she went off on ABC’s Monday Night Football for airing the Terrell Owens/Nicolette Sheridan opener, her lackluster Today Show persona never won me over as a fan. Ann Curry was a far better choice for morning host and she will be sorely missed.
Ditto. Meredith was unimpressive.
I agree. I never liked Meredith. I stopped watching the Today show when she was brought on. I started watching on and off after Ann was made co-host. Will never watch it again!
I am in Australia and even I am disgusted by the way Ann Curry was treated by Today. Have they learnt nothing from the Conan fiasco?We have a similar Today show here-the morning shows are all fluff, news sport, weather, news sport weather. I understand the US today show goes for four hours. there is the problem. bringing Kathie Lee on the show is what killed it. Meredith Vierra was the wrong choice to replace Katie Couric.Matt Lauer should have gone. What is his appeal? None. And this is coming from someone way over in Australia who has been keeping up with the US morning shows for decades.
My thoughts exactly. I “liked” Ann but was never over the top for her. After that public flogging I am 100% team Ann.
That was disgusting. I have watched the TODAY Show since I was a toddler and my grandmother had it on every morning. I am a viewer of over 40 years. No more.
I will admit that getting used to GMA is going to be tough… but there is no way I can watch TODAY any longer.
As many others have stated, it’s The Today Show that is the problem. I haven’t watched that show for years as it is nothing but the basest FLUFF. If I want news in the morning, I listen to NPR’s Morning Edition or, on television, turn to (swallow) HLN. But it’s the ONLY way to just get some friggin’ NEWS. And I have NEVER understood what the fascination of Matt Lauer is! Yes, that condescending tone of his, and the obvious hair treatment system is so SEXY. Listening to him for 2 minutes inspires a Go fuck yourself thought.
I was never a big fan of Curry. Her interview technique is awful: she jumps in and doesn’t let the interviewee RESPOND. So many times when watching an interview she is conducting, her interviewee is on the verge of saying something fascinating and she will jump in with what she anticipates is their answer. Then their answer is lost. Just shut up already!
That said, her treatment by NBC is abysmal, and sadly typical (for them). Though I feel for her in regards to her obvious scapegoating by NBC, the whole program deserves a reboot. It just should have started with that douche, Lauer. Shouldn’t the buck stop with him? (When you’re getting paid $20 million!?? I still can’t believe that injustice.)
Purely anecdotal, of course, but at a recent gathering last month, the TODAY show actually came up in conversation. Most, if not everyone, commented on Curry’s struggles as as co-host: the hurried attitude that seemed to suggest she was more preoccupied with the time than what as actually happening in the segment, the fact that the question’s to guest often seemed lacking or that she over talked or lead their responses.. well, you all saw it.. To a person, no one was ecstatic about her hosting abilities.. But she’s NOT the reason they’re losing to GMA. It’s the slow erosion of genuine news coverage.. or the complete lack of reporting of important issues in favor of seemingly endless segments on the British Royal family.. (just this morning they turned a story about the Olympic torch into A Princess Diana retrospective..) It’s the erosion of a great stable of contributors, reporters and talent to the point that we now have Star Jones as the chief legal contributor over the likes of Dan Abhrams.. or losing Erin Burnett and keeping Jim Cramer.. And last week they lost Amy Roebock.. No, the problem with that show lies squarely on the producers editorial decisions and management’s squandering of a great base of talent..
You have hit the nail on the head. I had watched only Today since I was a kid. I started getting annoyed even before Meredith left because of all the junk they had added to the show. All these segments with cute little names and graphics that would just not stop. I started watching CBS This Morning when it came on. It is not a perfect show, but I don’t feel like I am having this fake, happy family shoved down my throat. They need to know they dont’ need to be constantly making jokes and having every person who has something to plug to come by the show. The little mini-interviews out on the Plaza have become so overdone.
So once again, they are trying to have someone be their scapegoat but the problem is bigger than one person.
My thoughts exactly. I don’t want to see another pop or reality stars, I don’t want to know how to make another salad, I don’t want to know the latest color fad, what I DO want to know in the morning is national and international news and interviews, just for starters. Matt and Al look bored, Hoda and Kathie Lee are a joke. Too bad too because Hoda was a respectable news person until they paired her with the “one sandwhich short of a picnic” wino. Come on, NBC. You lost me permanently with Sarah Palin and the ever present Kardashian klan. Want to win me back? Get serious about delivering substantial information.
I agree with you why in the world did NBC pair Kathie Lee with Hoda? Kathie Lee does not give Hoda a chance to speak! I am so tired of the kitchen routine, it is terribly sickening.I heard a couple of weeks ago they were thinking about bringing Reggis to the show what in the world is the problem. Television has gone to the dogs, I am so sick of the Reality Show mentality. I don’t want to see a bunch of young women or men who have screwed their way to the top off the name of a dead parent. The nation and the Global community at large have to many problems for us to see a lot of nothing on television. Who owns NBC anyway? they showed their incompetence,stupidity when the Bush daughter interviewed her grandfather the entire interview was senile .
More people will tune in to Today now that she’s gone. She was crap as co-host.
Well Columbo, that wasn’t the case last Friday, was it?
I disagree dream on.
I am appalled at how Ann was unceremoniously exited. We all know Matt lauer had a lot to do with this. It’s clear Ann knew also but she remained “grace under pressure” when he tried to hug her.
You all should be ashamed of yourselves. I’m watching GMA from now on.
Ann was full of grace she is such a lady,Matt is so very phony his pretense was very evident. Ann made eye contact with Al and Natalie but did not look at Matt. When she was crying and he went to console her,it was visible from her body language which spoke volumes don’t touch me.
Please, what is the deal with you ladies and Matt Lauer? I’ve never thought of him as a misogynist, or boring, or inept. Savannah is now in place essentially for one main reason; she’s young and cute. She’ll likely never develop into what Ann Curry was, and as far as the future of the Today show is concerned,it will likely recover.I’m simply put off a bit that daytime television directs ALL of its focus toward women as evidenced by such things as cooking segments,shows like The View, Wendy Williams,and advertising that almost certainly bases its conceptual approach that women are simply a goldmine of gullible airheads. Please…tell me that advertisers don’t have that right.
Love Ann Curry….Matt Lauer not so much…Are you paying attention NBC?
I’ve tuned out the Today Show until both Matt Lauer and Steve Capus are fired by NBC. Two despicable people that trashed Ann Curry. NBC should publicly apologize to her. Disgusting.
Although Ann Curry did not have the natural talents to co-host the show, the way they ousted her was totally wrong. At the end of the day, that is what stays with viewers.
She had a lot of hardcore fans. While their numbers weren’t astronomical, I believe that there were just enough of them to make a difference, whether it be last Friday, or in the long run. Bravo to them for taking a stand, and leaving the show.
Savannah has an annoying voice, and right now, her appearance on the show makes me uncomfortable to watch.
The numbers will pick up as soon as the Olympics are here, but I do believe this whole fiasco will have a negative effect on The Today Show after the Games are over.
NBC continues to drop the ball…
I’m afraid with the Olympics coming this will be only be temporary but I hope that the today show goes down for constantly treating their on air personalities with such disrespect
People should tune in to the Olympics on line and deny NBC the ratings. That would really crush them!
That’s an excellent idea….She does have 2.2m twitter followers too. I think NBC miscalculated….
Yes, what a horrible way to be treated, what with getting $10 million to go away & still get another job with NBC News that will pay at least $1 million a year.
I wish my boss would do that!
A year from now, the reactions will be the same as with the Leno/O’Brien mess: At first, all the cognoscenti were ripping Leno & praising O’Brien. Now that his TBS show is anything but a hit, they’ve come to their senses & realize that while Leno is boring, NBC never should have dumped him from “Tonight” & simple paid off O’Brien to go away or made a deal for him to stay on his show after Leno.
Conan blew it & so did Ann Curry!
I think you are wrong I am stubborn I will never go back to Today. It’s Good Morning for me and Good Afternoon. Very Charming People all of them.
Wow. People sure have an emotional stake in a multimillionaire (who still has a job) who they’ve never met and probably never will.
@LH —
No one deserves to be humiliated regardless of how much money is in his/her bank account. This was a shameful way to treat Ms. Curry and it won’t be forgotten by viewers. Now the show will always be known for treating a lovely lady like sh it and making her cry. The Today Show is now must-miss TV for me.
For many viewers, the way in which NBC dismissed Ann Curry generated anger. Obviously, Capus could have handled the situation with much more tact and diplomacy and not left a 15 year employee to stand in front of the TV audience and explain the situation. No one likes to see someone publicly humiliated. As a long time Today show viewer, I pretty much gave up on the show in the past year, not due to AnnCurry, but due to the lack of true news coverage and the constant coverage of reality TV garbage, Donald Trump, and focus on soft news, cooking, YouTube videos and mindless gossip. Now, I’m done for good.
I cannot watch NBC anymore after what they did to Ann. And did you see what the NBC President Capus said about her? Keep going NBC. You are well on your way to totally alienating all women.
The Today Show is pure garbage. It’s forced and unwatchable. I have zero interest in what is deemed middle America stories…do I care that a four-year old called 911 because his sister got her head caught in a toilet…this is the crap that the Today force feeds viewers.
Moreover, Savannah Guthrie comes off as a bobblehead. I don’t care what her background is. She does not have the chops to lead a show. As with almost everything they do, NBC dropped the ball.
GMA has long the been the show to watch, has the chemistry, and deserves to be the team to beat.
ABC and GMA becomes the big winner in this race now as TODAY will start to sink some and then who do they place the blame if and when that happens with the ratings heading south on TODAY? Lauer? Guthrie? Jim Bell and Steve Capus? All of them?
Nobody is forgetting that Ann is going to make millions from this. The thing that is bothering people is the way NBC handled this whole thing. Such disrespect for someone that worked with them for 15 years. And like it or not Ann was a big part of the success of that show. So the message is we treat you like sh*t because you didn’t do what we never thought you could do in the first place. It is about respect. Something very lacking in our society. The way you treat people. And to not give her a proper send off because the heads at NBC were allowing leaks in the media. That sucked. I sent them an email saying as much and that I was showing them more respect by telling them I was no longer a viewer.
I’m watching CBS mainly because it is not full of all that gossipy crap. Much more in-depth interviews. More real news and they are very professional. I totally agree with some of the comments. Ann is being blamed because the Today Show thought they were the best and could coast along. Doing the same thing they did years ago. The didn’t change and that is why the ratings dropped. Plus Matt thinks he is some hotshot reporter. Grilling people like they are on trial. Can’t stand him.
So I say Good Morning to CBS.. and so long to Today.
Would I like to know Ann personally ? Absolutely., Did I think she was a good fit for today ? No, her interviews were all one-note (super sincere) and overlooked the first rule of this kind of tv….deal with what’s in front of you. Actors call it “in the moment”. I did tv talk for over 15 years. Much as I personally abhorred them, you have to make SOMETHING happen for a cooking segment to work. The downfall of many a news person is telegraphing that they’re too good for this. Viewers pick up on that in a heartbeat.
Like it or not, Guthrie’s their absolute best bet. Good luck to Ann back in news.
I have talked to quite a few people about this in the last few days. Everyone seems to be pissed at NBC’s treatment of Ann Curry. She is well liked and respected. I think there will be a backlash against NBC and at Matt Lauer for not going to bat for her.
I’ve watched the today show since i was a child watching with my mother prior to her going to work. As an adult i continued to watch mainly because of Ann Curry because you can feel that she honestly cares for people and the news she reports. Im never watching the today show again.
Is everyone sure TODAY is losing ratings to GMA because of Anne? Perhaps it’s because of George Stephanopolous leading the news on GMA.
For years I have watched The Today Show every day because of Ann Curry. I couldn’t understand why they would choose Meredith Viera as Co-Host over Ann Curry. I would think the type of viewers that watch morning T.V. relate to Ann. It’s nice to watch a real person. Do we really want to watch someone that perfectly reads and reports the news every single day? That would get redundant and boring. But in my opinion, Ann can do it all and does it very well. I will never watch The Today Show ever again. With Ann gone there’s no point in it anyway. So, I tried watching GMA and The Morning Show and noticed that in one commercial break there were 16 commercials, yes 16 commercials. What the heck? I know advertising revenues are important but this is overkill. After every segment they broke for 16 commercials. In my opinion, this is putting advertising revenues over content for their viewing audience. I never noticed this with The Today Show because I watched it so much, but while making the switch I noticed it. So, The Today Show must be doing the same. I will not know because I won’t turn on NBC. It’s hard because I’m so used to watching it, but I’m comitted to never watch The Today Show again and probably will not watch morning T.V. due to so many long commercial interruptions.
Yes, I agree with all you say. I think Ann Curry is the very best nbc had and has nothing to do with being a lady. She will be greatly missed!! What on earth is nbc thinking!!!
I also am committed for the same reasons, I will NEVER watch Today again.
I think that Savannah Guthrie will be the sacrificial lamb and herself replaced by Natalie Morales.
The Mad Men writers could not have scripted a more dramatic scenario.
Natalie Morales was passed too. I love her but NEVER will I watch Today show. I love GMA.
The Today show just stinks. GMA and the CBS show for news are so much better. It’s time for NBC to send Matt Lauer packing. The show is getting stale. I won’t watch anymore because of how they treated Ann Curry. The show is just a hugs clunker. Plus who wants to hear Star Jones and Donny D. debate what’s in the news… YAWN!!!
For sure.