QUICK TAKES - May 28, 2009

NBC set a low-water mark of historic proportions for TV viewership last week.

The network averaged 4.4 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Though it’s not the smallest ever recorded by ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, it’s the smallest to come in a week outside of the summer doldrums of June, July, August or early September.

Only once before has NBC been lower, during August 2007, Nielsen said. The company’s precise records go back to the advent of “people meters” in 1987, but given how dominant broadcast networks were before then, it’s likely NBC hasn’t had such a small audience since the medium’s early days.