Viewership for “Today” has soared as audiences tune in for updates on anchor Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old missing mother, Nancy, who was abducted from her Arizona home nearly two weeks ago.
The NBC program’s audience jumped 23% last week, adding 624,000 viewers from the same period last year while the heartbroken TV host has been away from the morning juggernaut since her mom disappeared from her Tucson home on Jan. 31, Variety reported, citing Nielsen data.
Between Feb. 2 and 6, the morning show averaged nearly 3.32 million viewers, surpassing ABC’s “Good Morning America” at about 2.91 million and 1.84 million for CBS’ “CBS Mornings,” the data shows.
“Today” dominated the morning airwaves, grabbing 41% of viewers and leading its rivals both overall and in the crucial 25-to-54 demo.
Nancy hasn’t been seen since Jan. 31 around 9:45 p.m., when her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, dropped her off at her Tucson home after a dinner with his wife, Savannah’s sister, Annie.
She was reported missing the next day when she failed to show up for church. Soon after, police launched a criminal investigation.
Here’s the latest on Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom
Authorities have not identified any suspects behind the kidnapping, in which the elderly grandmother seems to have been forced from her home, leaving a trail of blood behind.
On Tuesday, the FBI released chilling footage of a man with black gloves, a ski mask, and a holstered gun destroying the security camera on her door, with federal investigators later finding a black glove as part of an “extensive search” of the neighborhood.
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Meanwhile, a mysterious note was sent to TMZ Wednesday morning demanding a Bitcoin transfer in exchange for information about Guthrie’s captor.
TMZ reported that the $67,000 payment would be in exchange for the “name of the individual involved.”
The letter — the third alleged note sent out since Nancy was last seen — contained details of a working bitcoin address, TMZ host Harvey Levin said during Wednesday’s appearance on Fox News’ “America Newsroom.”
The self-proclaimed kidnappers have demanded millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, setting a final deadline for Monday, Feb. 9 — but have failed to provide proof of life or additional information.