Fire Matt? Lauer & TODAY Fall To New Low In Ratings War

Nov. 29 2012, Published 7:00 a.m. ET

By David Perel - Executive Vice President/Managing Editor Radar

Things are going from awful to even worse for Matt Lauer and TODAY, as their ratings plunge shows no sign of abating.

The once-dominant morning show lost to rival Good Morning America on Wednesday by the biggest margin in more than 10 years, RadarOnline.com is reporting.

The gap was 1.3 million people, according to Brian Stelter of the New York Times, who reported the news via Twitter and credited GMA's tie-in with Dancing with the Stars for the historic victory.

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Dancing with the Stars wrapped up its season Tuesday as Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani claimed victory.

TODAY lost its decade-long grip on first place in the morning wars amid its controversial move of dumping Ann Curry.

Executive producer Jim Bell seemed to take the fall for the show's problems, leaving this month.

But that hasn't stemmed the criticism of Lauer, who is so unpopular with some that he was barraged with criticism on Thanksgiving for mispronouncing a Gershwin song. Others are calling for him to be fired, and that crowd is sure to grow larger in the wake of the show's latest ratings debacle.