NBC News vs USA TODAY Co.

CBS Mornings Gains, Today Leads Morning News Ratings

In the week of October 5, 2026, CBS Mornings was the only morning show to post gains in both total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo, according to Nielsen's national live+same-day big data plus program ratings. NBC's Today also gained in the demo and extended its lead over ABC's Good Morning America (GMA) to over 170,000 viewers. Today remained the most-watched morning show with 2.859 million total viewers and 640,000 in the demo. GMA dropped 1% in total viewers and 4% in the demo, becoming the only broadcast to lose in both measurements. CBS Mornings averaged 1.735 million total viewers and 294,000 in the demo, up 1% and 7% respectively from the previous week. Year-over-year, Today was up, while GMA and CBS Mornings were down in total viewers.

• CBS Mornings grew 1% in total viewers and 7% in the A25-54 demo week-over-week.
• NBC's Today remained the top morning show with 2.859 million total viewers and 640,000 in the demo.
• ABC's Good Morning America dropped 1% in total viewers and 4% in the demo, only broadcast to lose in both.

NBC News' Dateline Expands to Canada

NBC News' long-running true-crime franchise Dateline is set to expand internationally for the first time with the launch of Dateline Canada. The spinoff will air on Citytv and Citytv+ starting November 26, under a licensing deal with Rogers Studios. Former CBC investigative journalist Diana Swain will host the series, with the premiere episode investigating the 1990 disappearance of Elizabeth Bain. Additionally, MSNBC anchor Ali Velshi will host a special on data center backlash on Sunday night. In other network news, CNN announced a multi-year partnership with Google for a news AI pilot program, and expanded its subscription product CNN All Access to Canada and the UK. The BBC also made its flagship news channel available on YouTube in the US, among other countries.

• Dateline Canada will premiere on Citytv and Citytv+ on November 26.
• The spinoff is produced under a licensing deal between NBC News and Rogers Studios.
• Diana Swain, a former CBC News senior investigative correspondent, will host Dateline Canada.

ABC World News Tonight Leads Evening News Ratings

ABC World News Tonight with David Muir began the 2026-2027 broadcast season as the only evening newscast to grow or hold its audience, averaging 8.388 million total viewers and 1.153 million Adults 25-54 for the week of September 21, 2026, marking its 11th consecutive year as the most-watched and its strongest season-opening week in six years. The following week (September 28), ABC remained most-watched despite slight declines, averaging 8.346 million total viewers. NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas finished second both weeks, growing 6% to 6.894 million total viewers and 4% in the demo. CBS Evening News posted solid gains, growing 7% to 4.24 million total viewers and 18% in the demo, being the only broadcast to exceed 4 million and post double-digit demo growth. Ratings are based on Nielsen live+same-day data, highlighting a competitive landscape for advertisers.

• ABC World News Tonight was the most-watched evening newscast for the weeks of Sept 21 and Sept 28, 2026, averaging 8.388 million and 8.346 million total viewers, respectively.
• ABC was the only newscast to grow or hold its audience in the season-opening week, marking its 11th consecutive year at number one.
• NBC Nightly News grew in the second week to 6.894 million total viewers and 1.006 million A25-54, finishing second.

USA TODAY Co. and Lee Enterprises Realign Local Newspaper Portfolios

USA TODAY Co. and Lee Enterprises announced a realignment of local newspaper portfolios, a significant strategic move in the newspaper industry.

Palantir’s Quiet Takeover of Media’s Data Stack

Palantir is expanding from government work into media and marketing, striking deals with Fox News Digital, Zeta Global, Stagwell, and USA Today Co. These partnerships involve building internal platforms, analyzing audience data, and integrating AI. Despite employee concerns at USA Today, executives praise Palantir's speed and ontology-based approach. The company embeds forward-deployed engineers and offers interoperability with various AI models. For Zeta and Stagwell, Palantir also serves as a sales channel, taking a revenue share. The push reflects a broader industry shift toward leveraging data for monetization and efficiency.

• Fox News Digital struck a deal with Palantir in December 2025 to build its article production platform, which now handles 95% of its articles.
• Zeta Global signed a seven-year partnership with Palantir in June, rebuilding its data cloud on Foundry after skipping a competitive review.
• Stagwell built two marketing products on Palantir's platform, including an agentic marketing system developed within 16 weeks.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for USA TODAY Co. (2026-09-15)

USA TODAY Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has expanded its size from eight to nine members and appointed Timothy Allen as a director, effective September 15, 2026. Mr. Allen will serve on both the Audit Committee and the Transformation Committee, with an initial term expiring at the company's 2027 annual meeting of stockholders. He will receive standard pro-rated compensation for non-employee directors pursuant to the company's proxy policy and enter into a standard indemnification agreement. The appointment reinforces the board's governance structure and operational oversight as USA TODAY Co. executes its ongoing business transformation initiatives.

• The Board of Directors expanded from eight to nine members and appointed Timothy Allen as a director effective September 15, 2026, serving through the 2027 annual meeting.
• Mr. Allen was appointed to serve on both the Board's Audit Committee and Transformation Committee.
• Compensation aligns with the standard pro-rated non-employee director compensation framework detailed in the April 17, 2026 definitive proxy statement.