No More Monoculture: How The Morning, News, Late-Night Shows Lost Half Their Viewers

BreakingBusinessNo More Monoculture: How The Morning, News, Late-Night Shows Lost Half Their ViewersByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorApr 21, 2026, 04:28pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineThe network morning, evening news and late night shows have seen their audiences fall by nearly half in the last decade—after some, including The Hollywood Reporter, claim the monoculture has officially ended—as streaming and social media platforms have changed the media landscape.TV ratings have plunged after the surge in social media and streaming platforms.gettyKey FactsThe three largest network morning shows—NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “CBS Mornings”—have seen a shared drop in viewership of roughly half their audiences in the last 12 years. "Good Morning America," still the most popular of the big three, was watched by an average of 2.6 million people in the 2024-2025 television season, down 46% from 4.9 million in 2015-2016."Today" saw a 45% viewership decline over the same period (from 4.71 million viewers to 2.6 million) and "CBS Mornings" dropped 47% in viewers, from 3.67 million to 1.94 million. NBC has been the biggest loser of late night audiences over the last decade—from the 2015-2016 season, Jimmy Fallon’s average “Tonight Show” audience has fallen 64% from 3.6 million viewers to 1.3 million in 2025. ABC’s longstanding show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” lost about 13% of its audience in the last 10 years (from 2.3 million to 2 million in 2025) and CBS’ “Late Show,” which Stephen Colbert took over in 2015, managed the smallest drop of its peers with a decline of 2.75 million viewers in its first season to 2.5 million (or 9%) in 2025. Network nightly news shows have fared slightly better than their morning and late show counterparts, though CBS’ “E...