TV Ratings: Robin Roberts Brings 6.1 Million Viewers With 'GMA' Return

ABC/Heidi Gutman

After a nearly six-month absence from her Good Morning America desk, Robin Roberts returned to the daily broadcast Wednesday and brought 6.1 million viewers along with her.

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Preliminary Nielsen ratings for Feb. 20 give GMA its largest audience since Nov. 7, narrowly missing the haul pulled in by the highly watched morning after the 2012 election.

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Roberts had taken time off following a bone-marrow transplant to treat a rare blood disorder. And while the ABC News vet had made several taped appearances and cameos during her recovery, Wednesday marked her official return to work. The show had been promoting the comeback.

GMA also hit a post-Nov. 7 peak in the key adults 25-54 demographic, with 2.28 million viewers.

Only narrowly beating competitor Today in the demo -- the NBC show was 36,000 viewers short -- GMA had a considerable margin of victory among total viewers. GMA led Today by 1.19 million viewers. The last time GMA won by that much was the morning after the Dancing With the Stars finale (Nov. 28), which always gives ABC a boost.

For the week Today is faring better than GMA in the key demo, averaging 75,000 more adults 25-54. Today also has posted a substantial advantage with adults 18-49.