Katie who? ‘Today’ hasn’t missed a beat

In the measurements that mean the most to television executives – ratings and ad sales – NBC’s “Today” show appears not to have suffered from the departure of Katie Couric, at least not yet.

“Today” beat ABC’s second-place “Good Morning America” by an average of 1.3 million viewers in the two weeks following Couric’s last show on May 31, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The NBC show’s margin of victory was a little less than 1 million viewers, 5.85 million to 4.92 million, during Couric’s last full week on the air.

“We’ve always said that the show was more than the sum of its parts,” says NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker. “It has weathered the departure of Barbara Walters, Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel and now Katie Couric and often has come out of it stronger. And that’s what you’re seeing here.”

ABC cautions not to make too much of the numbers, pointing out that preliminary ratings indicate the gap between the two morning leaders narrowed toward the end of last week.

Longtime “Good Morning America” host Charles Gibson has his last day next Wednesday. The real morning show battle will be joined in September when Meredith Vieira starts at “Today” in Couric’s place and, presumably, ABC has settled on a new morning team.

– David Bauder, Associated Press