Broadcast networks see drop in season’s viewers

Broadcast networks faced another chilly summer of historic lows this year.

And while cable networks seized the opportunity with a record number of original series, they didn’t have ratings to match.

Overall TV viewership was down 1 percent this summer, according to Nielsen Media Research estimates.

But the Big Four networks collectively lost another 2.2 million viewers, or 9 percent of their audience from last summer.

For the second straight summer, there were no new breakout hits.

And though top shows – “America’s Got Talent” overall, “Hell’s Kitchen” with young-adult viewers – were up in the ratings, they couldn’t compare with past summmer megahits such as “Dancing With the Stars” and “American Idol.”

Instead, the diet of low-rated reality series, plus sharply lower ratings for series repeats, led networks to lose nearly half of their regular-season audience.

The effects might linger. Low viewing levels will hurt marketing efforts for new fall shows, since fewer viewers have been exposed to promos.

Cable networks have scored with strong new performers such as Lifetime’s “Army Wives” and History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers,” both setting channel records.

Returning series, including TNT’s top-rated “The Closer” and Bravo’s “Top Chef,” are up from last summer.

And Disney Channel’s top-rated “High School Musical 2”, with 17.2 million viewers, set all-time cable records and was the top telecast on any network.

Still, most top cable networks were down year to year; original series were more than offset by lower ratings for network reruns, which make up a far greater percentage of prime time.

“The perception is the networks lose all this audience (each summer), and they all go to cable,” says ABC prime-time research chief Larry Hyams.

“The reality is that cable numbers are pretty flat versus what they were last year.”

Gaining ground: Internet usage and summer movie blockbusters.

Media by Numbers reports box-office figures hit $4.15 billion, a record.