Numbers for the “Evening News with Katie Couric” in recent weeks have been bad, but last week’s were downright dismal. The show averaged just 6.05 million total viewers for the week ended May 6, its lowest total since Nielsen began using people meters in 1987.

That was 394,000 fewer than the week before and nearly a million fewer than the same week a year ago, when Bob Schieffer was hosting. That comes just weeks after a much-talked-about Philadelphia Inquirer story claiming that Couric will be out of the anchor chair right after the 2008 presidential elections.

CBS has angrily dismissed that speculation, and even now it looks like its least attractive option.

Fact is, the network doesn't have that many options to work with, certainly in the short term.

CBS’s best option, and near-term its safest, is continued patience and support of Couric, hoping the show will turn around.

To that end, the network recently brought in new executive producer Rick Kaplan to shape up the much-criticized show, and Kaplan has added a harder news edge.

Though viewership has dipped further since, news watchers caution that it often takes months for such tweaks to show up in the ratings in the slow-moving world of evening news.

One option would be to pair Couric with a co-anchor, most likely Bob Schieffer, who anchored the show before her. Though he came in as a fill-in, his ratings grew stronger over the months he was in the anchor chair, eventually passing those of ousted longtime anchor Dan Rather.

But that would be a stopgap, and it probably would not happen. For one, there are reports of tension between the two, and Schieffer would likely reject it. He'd already turned down a permanent anchor position before Couric was hired in.

Another option, the most drastic, would be to boot Couric and replace her with a fresh face, someone entirely new. But that would be an invitation to disaster, and perhaps a bigger ratings tumble, if longtime viewers rejected that new face.

A fourth option would be to start looking for a new anchor to groom for an eventual takeover, after a lengthy exposure on the newscast on high-profile reporting assignments and spells in the anchor's chair.

CBS is where it is because it failed to pursue that sort of talent- building during the Rather years.

But that's not a short-term solution, and that leaves the network hoping Kaplan can build the show up with Couric where she is. So far, Kaplan has made some tweaks, but CBS is not saying what other changes he may have in mind. It could be months before those other changes are fully implemented.

Meanwhile, as Couric struggles, ABC’s newscast posted its best advantage over NBC in more than a year and a half. For the week ended May 6, ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” held onto the top spot among total viewers and 25-54s for the second straight week, with an average of 8.1 million viewers and a 2.0 25-54 rating.

NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was second, averaging 7.49 million viewers and a 1.8 among 25-54s, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with 6.05 million total viewers and a 1.6 25-54 rating.

In other daypart ratings for the week ended April 29, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was once again first among Sunday morning shows in total viewers, averaging 3.27 million, and among adults 25-54 with a 0.9 rating. CBS’s “Face the Nation” was second in viewers with 2.77 million and tied for second among 25-54s with a 0.8 rating, followed by ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” with 2.59 million and a 0.8, and Fox “News Sunday” in fourth place with 1.23 million and a 0.5 among adults 25-54.
 
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was first for the week, averaging 5.2 million total viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS had 4.0 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” bringing in 3.4 million viewers and a 1.1 rating. In late late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.1 million total viewers and a 0.9 in 18-49s, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” had 1.9 million viewers and a 0.6, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaging 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6 and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.2 million viewers and a 0.5 among 18-49s.
 
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.4 million total viewers and a 4.2 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.4 million viewers and a 3.8/14. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.7 million total viewers and a 2.1/8.
 
In daytime, CBS had the largest audience for both daytime dramas and full daytime, 3.8 million and 4.1 million respectively, but was second among women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating for each. ABC had the second-largest audience with 3.37 million watching its dramas and 3.53 million for full daytime, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.7 rating for both dramas and full daytime. NBC had an audience of 2.16 million for both dramas and full daytime, and was third with a 1.2 rating in women 18-49 for both.