NBC'S THE WANTED: REJECTED AGAIN

NBC's to-catch-a-terrorist series The Wanted turned out to be every bit as unwanted in the 9:00 p.m. hour on Monday as it was at 10:00 p.m. Ordinarily a program airing in the 9:00 hour generally captures an audience substantially larger than any 10:00 p.m. program. But The Wantedpicked up identical ratings in both time periods. Last week, it counted 2.99 million viewers; this week it counted 3 million. In the same hour ABC's new Dating in the Dark attracted 6.1 million viewers -- not great but certainly nowhere near as depressing as The Wanted's.

NEW NBC HEAD DISCUSSES PLANS FOR RESCUE

Jeff Gaspin, who has successfully guided NBC's cable units of late, even as the NBC broadcast network has often failed to place a single show in Nielsen's top twenty during the regular season, is hoping to apply some of the same lessons he learned from cable to the network when he takes over from Ben Silverman next month. In an interview with Newsweekmagazine, Gaspin said, "I'd like to see NBC brand itself and have a focus. A broadcast network doesn't have to be all things to all people. I think broadcasting can take a page out of cable's playbook." He indicated that NBC executives are already "working on something" to better define the network. "I need to spend time with them and see what that is," he said. Asked what plans NBC has to ensure that the new, 10:00 p.m. Jay Leno show becomes a hit, Gaspin responded, "We're just going to put all the power of NBC Universal behind Jay."

NBC LOOKS GOOD IN SUMMER

Three editions of America's Got Talentput NBC among the top ratings contenders last week. Two AGTairings placed first and second on the Nielsen ratings list. Nevertheless, CBS continued to dominate the list, placing six shows among the top ten, despite the fact that all of them were reruns. CBS was also the only network to show improvement over the comparable week a year ago. Nevertheless, none of the major networks had much to boast about. With an average 4.1 rating and an 8 share, CBS led the field. NBC came in second with an average 3.3/6. Fox placed third with a 3.1/6, while ABC trailed with a 2.6/5.

{@@@newline@@@}{@@@newline@@@}The top ten shows of the week according to Nielsen Research:

1.America's Got Talent (Tuesday), NBC, 8.2/14; 2.America's Got Talent(Wednesday 9:00 p.m.), NBC, 6.7/11; 3.NCIS, CBS, 6.4/11; 4.The Mentalist, CBS, 6.2/11; 5. Two and a Half Men, CBS, 6.0/10; 6. The Big Bang Theory, CBS, 5.7/9; 7.CSI: Miami,CBS, 5.6/10; 8.The Bachelorette, ABC, 5.3/9; 9.America's Got Talent(Tuesday 8:00 p.m.) NBC, 5.1/9; 9. So You Think You Can Dance (Thursday), Fox, 5.1/9; 11. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, 5.0/9; 11. (Tie). CSI: NY, CBS, 5.0/9.

NEWS RANKINGS STAY THE SAME

Among the evening newscasts, NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams continued to lead with an average of 7.64 million viewers. ABC World News with Charles Gibson remained in second place with 6.68 million viewers, while The CBS Evening News with Kathy Couric trailed with 5.46 million viewers.