Today

As ratings slip below ABC rival GMA, Today staffers are bracing for possible cutbacks and layoffs, and wondering whether Matt Lauer will give up any of his $25 million annual salary to save jobs there, sources tell Page Six

The increasingly intense competition between NBC’s Today and ABC’s Good Morning America took its latest twist last week when the shows produced — in the Nielsen rating sample anyway — a flat-footed, photo-finish tie in the audience measure that counts the most among advertisers.

NBC’s Today was beaten last week by ABC archrival Good Morning America by 357,000 viewers. GMA drew an average of 4.57 million viewers, compared with 4.21 million for Today, according to preliminary Nielsen figures released Monday.

Guthrie has co-hosted the four-hour Today show’s 9 a.m. hour for the past year. But the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. stretch with Matt Lauer is the main event, where it directly competes with morning news shows on ABC and CBS.

Today and Good Morning America both averaged 4.604 million viewers last week.

Beginning Monday, Savannah Guthrie moves from the NBC morning program’s third hour to co-host with Matt Lauer following Ann Curry’s ouster yesterday. The turnover comes as NBC’s profitable morning show faces its most serious ratings challenge from ABC’s Good Morning America since the mid-1990s.

NBC still has to replace Ann Curry as Today co-host (maybe with Savannah Guthrie) with no success guaranteed, and its primetime lineup remains troubled.

She announced her departure on the show this morning, ending a week of awkward television as she continued working after word spread that NBC was looking to oust her.

Sources say that Ann Curry will have a “substantial” role at NBC News, while Savannah Guthrie has been officially offered the Today post.

While the media focuses on Ann Curry’s future, or lack thereof, at the Today show, the fallout from that decision has significantly strengthened the standing of her boss, Today Executive Producer Jim Bell. In fact, many of the news division’s biggest decisions, even those beyond the Today show, are now being run by Bell first.

Ousted Today show host Ann Curry will walk off into the sunset this week with a $10 million payout from NBC, according to reports. NBC is expected to announce a permanent replacement for her later this week.

The Today show’s battle with ABC’s Good Morning America isn’t the only dogfight NBC News shows are locked in to maintain the ratings supremacy the network’s news division has long enjoyed. Meet the Press has been beaten lately with some regularity by CBS‘s Face the Nation. In the evening, ABC World News has been slowly gaining on long-reigning NBC Nightly News, which has lost the most viewers this season to date of all the network newscasts in the 25-54 demographic that advertisers covet.

NBC secretly offered Meredith Vieira a big contract to replace Ann Curry on the Today show … but she turned them down. Sources connected with the network said the offer was made approximately two weeks ago but Vieira wasn’t interested in returning to the show she anchored for six years.

Curry, who has been with Today since 1997, replaced Meredith Vieira last June as Matt Lauer’s partner. It’s still uncertain whether Curry, who has discovered a passion for international reporting in recent years, will remain with Today, according to a source with knowledge of the show who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because the source was not authorized to speak on the matter.

NBC’s Today remained No. 1 in the month of May, winning a nail-biting competition with ABC’s Good Morning America. But the tiny margin between the two shows for the month — 13,000 viewers — showed just how close the morning TV contest has become this spring.

For the second time in three weeks, ABC’s Good Morning America has beaten NBC rival Today, and this time Matt Lauer wasn’t on vacation. GMA averaged 5.297 million total viewers the week ended April 23, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers, compared to 5.131 million for Today, outdrawing its rival by 166,000.

One week after ABC’s Good Morning America snaps Today‘s 852-week winning streak, the NBC show is back on top.

The final score is in for last week’s ratings race between NBC’s Today show and ABC’s Good Morning America, and the winner is ABC. ABC’s morning program surpassed NBC’s by 31,000 total viewers for the week, marking its first full-week victory over NBC since 1995.

Nielsen says Good Morning America drew 5.147 million viewers last week, beating Today by a narrow margin of 13,000 viewers. Those are the preliminary figures released today. The final audience numbers are out Thursday.

The Today host’s new agreement keeps him in the co-anchor chair of the morning show for four years and includes a program development deal, which could give him an ownership stake in a syndicated show outside of Today.

April’s morning showdown concludes with Good Morning America shrinking the gap and the final tally standing in Today‘s favor, with four days of victories among total viewers and a sweep with adults 25-54.

He has signed a long-term contract to remain as co-host of the top-rated morning show.

Sarah Palin’s appearance on NBC’s “Today” yielded a small increase in viewership, as 5.5 million people — about 100,000 more than normal — tuned in Tuesday.

NBC says it will investigate its handling of a piece on the Today show that ham-handedly abridged the conversation between George Zimmerman and a dispatcher in the moments before the death of Trayvon Martin

The booking is clearly an attempt to blunt the impact of Today alumna Katie Couric’s weeklong return to morning TV as a guest host on ABC’s Good Morning America.

With the death of Tim Russert and the retirement of Tom Brokaw, Today‘s Matt Lauer has emerged as the last NBC News star from the era when broadcast still ruled.

NBC and Matt Lauer are closing in on a deal that will pay him an estimated $25 million per year over the course of a multiyear deal, possibly as many as three, but more likely two.

NBC’s Today is celebrating 60 years on U.S. airwaves since its inception on Jan. 14, 1952, when Dave Garroway introduced viewers to the morning news, talk and entertainment program. It spawned copycat programs, made stars of co-hosts such as Jane Pauley, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, and put weathermen like Al Roker on the map. TV has never been the same, experts say.

NBCUniversal is pursuing American Idol host Ryan Seacrest as a possible successor to Matt Lauer on the Today show, if Lauer vacates his co-anchor seat next year, say people close to the company.

As CBS goes serious for sunrise, stars at rival networks grumble about the fluffy fare.

Since Curry replaced Meredith Vieira in June, NBC’s morning show has averaged 2.235 million viewers in the advertiser-friendly adults 25-54 demographic. That’s up 7.6% from the same period last year and, more importantly, the show is expanding its gap over main rival, ABC’s Good Morning America. Since Curry’s elevation, the show has grown the demo ratings gap over GMA by 7%.

Much like their evening news counterparts, America’s morning shows are on the rise as well. In the just finished second quarter, NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS’s The Early Show added a combined 1.2 million viewers compared to the same period last year.

Popular Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira ended her five-year run on Wednesday, telling viewers her decision to go is “right, but it’s hard.” That decision was clearly hers alone. Seated beside co-host Matt Lauer, she has helped keep NBC’s Today the audience front-runner among network morning shows.

Five years after replacing Katie Couric as co-host of NBC’s Today, Meredith Vieira is following Couric’s lead and leaving her job. Vieira confirmed during this morning’s program that she will be exiting the show next month, after weeks of speculation over her future, to spend more time with her ailing husband. Ann Curry, the program’s longtime news reader, will take over as co-host alongside Matt Lauer