For the past three weeks, The Today Show on NBC has outdrawn Good Morning American (AMA) on ABC in the ratings, reversing a four-year trend. Being a consultant, I thought I’d find out why.

And I have. Momentum is shifting because of whether or not people are negatively or positively influenced by what follows. They’d rather not have to change the channel.

Today has moved toward an elongated morning:

7-10: The Today Show

10-11: Kelly and Mark, a show in the “mood” of Today

11-12: The final hour of Today

But ABC is now programming this way:

7-9: GMA

9-10: The 700 Club, a religious show originating with Pat Robertson and now hosted by his son

10-11: The Flip Side, an awful, inane game show

11-12: The View, with the highly leftist and biased women dominating this pseudo-intellectual liberal cant. Whoopi Goldberg here is 69 and Joy Behar 82, the two most vocal progressives.

Thus, NBC identifies an audience and programs to keep it from changing the channel, while ABC programs helter-skelter, probably focusing on ad revenue and not viewership. (It doesn’t help that GMA cohost George Stephanopoulos and ABC were forced to settle out of court with Donald Trump’s lawsuit against them for defamation. CBS will probably be next for “doctoring” the Kamala Harris interview on 60 Minutes, editing her responses to try to improve her appeal after poor responses originally.)

The people who draw great, loyal audiences—Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Don Imus, Phil Donahue—knew exactly who their audiences were and are and provided what that audience needed. The didn’t try to “convert” or to simply make money. They tried to please their “customers.”