Because of the drop in ratings, two major networks, ABC and CBS, are compensating advertisers with extra commercial time and another, NBC, has taken the unusual move of giving back cash.
The popularity of digital video recorders, such as TiVo, has resulted in a sharp drop in live viewing of programmes as they are broadcast.
Ratings are expected to take a further hit as the writers' strike reaches its sixth week with no sign of a settlement, meaning that production remains halted on 50 to 60 scripted comedies and dramas.
The Writers Guild of America is looking to renegotiate its contract with the motion picture industry, demanding a greater share of profits when TV shows are repurposed as DVDs, mobile downloads and internet streams.
A writers' strike in 1988 dragged on for five months, disrupting a number of television shows and denting audience figures.Talks between studios and the Writers Guild of America broke down last week, and unless they are restarted, viewers are likely to be disappointed when popular series including 'Heroes', 'CSI', 'The Office' and 'Desperate Housewives' fail to return after Christmas.
Networks are having to fill the schedules with reruns and a wave of reality TV shows including 'American Gladiators' from NBC, 'Oprah's Big Give' on ABC and 'When Women Rule the World' on Fox.
Late-night TV shows were the first to be hit by the strike. NBC's 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' and the CBS 'Late Show with David Letterman' have already suffered double-digit ratings drops for November.
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