TV Ratings: Space Ride Briefly Spiked CBS Mornings

"CBS Mornings" experienced a significant ratings surge on Monday, April 14, drawing 3.952 million viewers, which propelled the show to a rare first-place finish among morning news programs, outperforming NBC's "Today" (2.489 million viewers) and ABC's "Good Morning America" (2.655 million viewers). 

The boost was largely attributed to the high-profile coverage of co-host Gayle King's participation in an all-female Blue Origin spaceflight, a roughly 10-minute trip to the edge of space alongside notable figures like Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn. 

The event, part of Blue Origin’s New Shepard program, marked the first all-female crew to travel to space since 1963, generating significant public interest. 

Nielsen reports the coverage  led to a strong performance in the coveted Adults 25-54 demographic, with 593,000 viewers, and was the show’s best viewership since Oprah Winfrey’s 2021 interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, which drew 4.82 million viewers. For the week of April 14, "CBS Mornings" averaged 2.453 million total viewers, a 34% week-to-week increase, and saw a 27% gain in the 25-54 demo, making it the only morning show to record positive week-to-week gains in both categories. Compared to the same week in 2024, the show was up 13% in total viewers and 10% in the demo.

Despite the Monday spike, "CBS Mornings" quickly reverted to its typical third-place position behind "Today" and "Good Morning America" for the remainder of the week. The show’s weekly average of 2.453 million viewers was still 36,000 below NBC’s "Today," and it lagged in the 25-54 demo as well.

By the following week, ratings reportedly dipped to a low of 1.87 million viewers, marking the show’s worst performance since its 2021 relaunch.