Savannah Guthrie has been off-air for weeks. Her reason for being missing from the screen is simple: her mom Nancy disappeared from her home on the night of Feb. 1.
An earlier report in Page Six stated she had taken a leave of absence and will not appear on the show for the “foreseeable future”.
In these testing times for Savannah and her family, her colleagues on Today came out in full support for the anchor on the show.
“The entire show and network is rallying together in support of our beloved colleague and friend as we navigate this unimaginable time,” the source previously told the outlet.
Amid such an outpouring of support, a surge is reported in the Today show’s ratings. In a latest report by Variety, it states a significant viewership jumped on the morning show as interest in the updates on Nancy’s case continue to grow.
Nielsen, a firm which provides viewership data, compares the show’s ratings from last year’s same period.
It found that 19% more numbers rose, which is 517,000 additional viewers, for the five days ending February 20.
This notable increase is a consistent rating the Today show has been registering since early February, coinciding with the disappearance of Nancy.
But the report in Variety also pointed out that it’s unclear whether this boost can wholly be attributed to the attention to Savannah’s mom’s case because, at the same time, coverage of the Winter Olympics was also underway.
The picture, however, will expectedly get clear in the next ratings reports, where the audience growth truly lies.
