Ratings: Good Morning America Ends Today's 16-Year Winning Streak

The Today show's 16-year winning streak is over.
ABC's Good Morning America toppled its NBC rival for the week ending April 13 by 13,000 viewers, according to preliminary numbers. GMA averaged 5,147,000 viewers; Today, 5,134,000. Final numbers are due Thursday.

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"This is an exciting day but we will save any celebrating for when the final numbers come in on Thursday," Tom Cibrowski, GMA senior executive producer, said in statement. "Like every week, we want to thank our loyal viewers, our stations, our amazing team of Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Sam Champion, Josh Elliott, Lara Spencer, and our dedicated staff and crew for getting us to this amazing point."GMA's victory came during a week when Matt Lauer was on vacation, which doesn't speak well for co-anchor Ann Curry. (Lauer recently signed a four-year deal to stay with Today.) The good news for Today: It won the advertiser-coveted adults 25-to-54 demographic. In a statement, Today executive producer Jim Bell congratulated GMA and said that Today's streak will likely never happen again in television.

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"Today's 852-week winning streak had taken on a life of its own and as odd as it is to see it end, we should acknowledge just how remarkable it has been," Bell said. "So as we tip our caps to the team at Good Morning America, we can also take a bow ourselves and recognize the work done by countless staffers for so long. It is not an overstatement to call it one of the most incredible achievements in television history, one that is not likely to ever happen again. While the streak has been wonderful affirmation of our work, it has never defined us, and we will continue to innovate, take chances and lead the way."