'Today' Show Ratings Are On The Rise Since Megyn Kelly Got The Boot

Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

The Show Has Also Been Beating Out ‘GMA’

Ever since Megyn Kelly left NBC’s Today show following her blackface comments, it seems things have been looking up for the network.

According to Variety, viewership for the 9 a.m. show by their key demographic is up around 10% since Kelly left. On top of all this, for the last three weeks, the overall audience for the first two hours of the NBC show has been larger than that of their rival — ABC’s Good Morning America. Experts are attributing the larger audience to recent tragedies such as the Pittsburgh shooting.

NBC canceled Megyn Kelly Today on October 26, just two days after she made comments diminishing the harm of blackface.  Despite Kelly’s show ending, sources say she is still negotiating terms with NBCUniversal for her departure.

It’s not certain whether NBC’s rating surge will hold or fall back to more average levels. GMA usually beats them out as the biggest morning-news audience overall, although Today usually takes the lead in the group that matters more — the viewers between 25 and 54 who advertisers favor for news programming.

In Kelly’s last week on air, Today captured 675,000 viewers between 25 and 54, according to Nielsen and approximately 2.52 million viewers overall. Last week, the third hour of Today gained 741,000 viewers between 25 and 54, and more than 2.63 million viewers overall, showing jumps of about 10% and 4%.

Since Kelly’s show was canceled, Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have become co-hosts of the Today show. They are currently the only all-female morning anchor team on national broadcast TV. Many people seem to be all about their presence, considering Barbie just revealed them as the latest addition to their “Sheroes” collection. According to the company, their “sheroes” dolls represent women who “break boundaries to inspire the next generation.”

There’s no word if Megyn Kelly got the email to be apart of the “Sheroes” collection.