The Tony telecast takes a hit

Did Tony help whack the Tonys?

Viewership of Sunday’s 2007 Tony Awards telecast on CBS was 6.24 million, down 17% from last year, according to preliminary figures released Monday by the network, attracting just 7% of the available audience.

If that holds up when the final numbers are announced today, it will be the least-watched Tonys show ever. But then, between 9 and 10 p.m. Sunday, the Tonys were up against the final episode of “The Sopranos” on HBO.

“We always knew we had a particular challenge,” said Howard Sherman, executive director of the American Theatre Wing, which co-produces the Tonys. “We do know that while we were down from prior years, we also know that CBS overall still did very strongly for the night, relative to the other networks.”

Last year, the ratings for the Tonys improved a bit over the 2005 telecast, reaching 7.71 million viewers.