MUST-HEAR TV

Fleming & John haven’t had much luck getting on MTV or VH1, but these days one of the rock duo’s songs--with printed, onscreen credit--is all over NBC. The network has built ads for its Saturday night “Thrillogy”--a package of the strange-adventure shows “Dark Skies,” “The Pretender” and “The Profiler”--around the act’s “I’m Not Afraid,” beginning the spots with a short clip of the group’s video, complete with MTV-style ID graphics.

Thus, the network gets a hip, youthful image for the programs, while the generally unknown Fleming & John and their record company, Universal, get the kind of exposure that, well, even money normally can’t buy.

“We’re getting calls from record stores and radio stations about people asking for this song,” says Don Terbush, associate director of film and TV licensing for the record company’s parent, Universal Music.

In the short time since the ad started airing, radio airplay for the single and sales of the duo’s debut album have increased dramatically, and Universal is now re-sending the song to radio.

Expect more of this in the future.

David Zaccaria, NBC director of prime-time drama, says that a campaign featuring a different song will start during the February sweeps. The intent is to extend the music element into the shows themselves.

“We liken it to how ‘Miami Vice’ changed TV drama in the ‘80s . . . using music as part of its style,” he says. “We’re hoping we will create the next generation of this kind of music.”