Drudge Notes Network News Nosedive

Matt Drudge, with some apparent glee, given the black and white picture he used, reported something yours truly has followed for some time: The Big Three networks' evening newscasts continue to lose viewers.

He reports that the numbers, even in a presidential election year, are down from last year:

ELECTION REJECTION: NETWORK NEWS SLUMPS; VIEWERSHIP FADES

..... All 3 evening news shows experienced audience drops year-to-year for the week of Oct. 13-19, 2008.

CBSNEWS w/ Couric shed a half a million viewers, falling from 6.4 million to 5.9 million; ABCNEWS dropped from 8.1 million to 7.6 million; NBCNEWS slumped from 8.2 million to 7.8 million.

Media Bistro's TV Newser confirms this (Oct. 13-19, 2008, Oct. 15-21, 2007).

Looks like the nets are going to have to come up with the money Team Obama is demanding for Election Night coverage from something other than evening news advertising.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.