Ratings for “Today” have seen a significant increase as viewers look for updates on anchor Savannah Guthrie’s 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who was reportedly kidnapped from her Arizona residence roughly two weeks ago.
Last week, viewership for the NBC program jumped by 23%, adding 624,000 viewers compared to the same period last year. However, the emotionally affected host has been absent since her mother went missing from her Tucson home on January 31, according to Nielsen data cited in a report.
The average audience for the morning show from February 2 to 6 reached around 3.32 million, surpassing ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which had about 2.91 million viewers, and CBS’s “CBS Morning,” with approximately 1.84 million.
“Today” captured 41% of the morning viewership, outperforming its competitors both overall and in the critical 25-54 age demographic.
Nancy was last seen after her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, returned her home following a dinner with Savannah’s wife and sister, Annie, around 9:45 p.m. on January 31.
She failed to attend church the next day, leading to her being reported missing. Authorities quickly initiated a criminal investigation.
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Currently, investigators have not named a suspect in the case but suspect that Nancy was forcibly removed from her home, with evidence of blood found at the scene.
On Tuesday, the FBI released alarming surveillance footage showing a man in black gloves and a ski mask vandalizing a security camera door. Subsequently, agents discovered gloves during an “extensive search” of the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, a mysterious note was sent to TMZ on Wednesday asking for a Bitcoin payment in exchange for information about Nancy’s situation.
Reportedly, this letter, which is the third sent to Nancy since her disappearance, included details for a legitimate Bitcoin address.
The purported kidnappers are demanding millions in cryptocurrency, with a deadline of February 9th, while failing to provide evidence of Nancy’s well-being or any additional information.
