Seasonal slump hits new lows as auds tune out Big Six.

Thanks to Variety and CNSNews for the heads up on this story, but honestly, I have no idea what it says.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to officially protest the misuse and abuse of the word "skein".

It's been a bummer of a summer for webheads.

Most of the dozen-plus reality skeins launched by broadcasters since Memorial Day have flat-out flopped. Original dramas like Fox's "The Inside" and ABC's "Empire" were ignored.

And even repeatable warhorses like the "Law & Order""Law & Order" and "CSI" skeins -- while still valuable -- are showing signs of age.

Bottom line? With three weeks left to go, the broadcast nets are down a collective 10% among adults 18-49 vs. last summer -- and 15% in viewers 18-34. ABC is the only net up over last year, while Fox is flat; other four nets are down sharply.

This summer's slump is particularly disappointing after a regular season in which the Big Six managed to stem the tide of erosion with a bevy of buzzmaking skeins.

So what happened?

"There was too much reality, and most of it sucked," says one web wiseguy who's had his own share of ratings disappointments this summer. Exec adds that much of what the nets programmed "felt like burnoff. It seemed like it was just sitting around rather than made for summer."

Indeed, most of the half-dozen reality skeins launched by NBC since June had been languishing on Peacock shelves for months. In the case of "Average Joe: The Joes Strike Back," production had been completed nearly a year ago.

Even shows designed for summer -- like CBS' "The Cut" and Fox's "Princes of Malibu" -- felt like carbon copies of previous reality skeins. Viewers responded with a yawn.

Eye had high hopes for Mark Burnett's "Rock Star," but while the show was visually stunning and featured a stellar cast, it still suffered in comparison to "American Idol."

"A couple years ago, just about any reality show you launched in the summer could at least improve the time period if not move toward the top of the ratings," says NBC scheduling czar Mitch Metcalf. "That's over."

Fox scheduling guru Preston Beckman concludes, "People are more discriminating."

I think that is good news, but it's not like everyone is now reading A Confederacy of Dunces. (They, and you, should.)