The number of gay characters appearing on television is declining on network TV and rising on cable channels, according to a new study by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

“In the last year, we've seen a tremendous amount of visibility on the big screen, reaching a large audience anxious to see our stories,” GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said. “The networks, though, are not tapping into this audience and are failing to represent the reality and the diversity of their viewers and the world around them.”

GLAAD’s estimates seem to support Giuliano’s conclusion.

In the 2007-08 TV season, only seven series on the five broadcast networks will feature regular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters. There were nine such characters last season, according to the LGBT media advocacy group, and ten characters the season before that.

There is only one non-heterosexual regular character appearing in on a new show – Bonnie Somerville's bisexual Caitlin Dowd on “Cashmere Mafia,” which premieres on ABC in December.

ABC is also home to three other series, “Brothers and Sisters,” “Ugly Betty” and “Desperate Housewives,” that account for six of the seven LGBT characters. The seventh is Oscar Martinez on NBC's “The Office,” the only one such character of color on broadcast TV.

“Desperate Housewives” will introduce the first gay couple on Wisteria Lane with its new season, played by Kevin Rahm and Tuc Watkins in recurring roles.

As far as recurring LGBT characters go, ABC once again holds the record, with six of the 13 on broadcast series next season: “Brothers,” “Housewives,” “Grey's Anatomy,” “Men in Trees” and the new drama “Dirty Sexy Money.”

Fox places second, with four characters on animated series “The Simpsons” and “American Dad,” while NBC has three on “ER” and “Friday Night Lights.”

GLAAD says in its study, titled “Where We Are on TV,” that the seven regular LGBT characters on broadcast television represent only 1.1% of all regular characters on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CW, compared to 1.3% in 2006.

“While we acknowledge there have been improvements made in how we are seen on the broadcast networks, most notably on ABC, our declining representation clearly indicates a failure to inclusively reflect the audience watching television,” Giuliano said in a statement.

A total of 87 comedies and dramas with 650 characters were analyzed.

Cable channels on the other hand will feature 40 gay characters as series regulars and an additional 17 in recurring roles in the new television season, GLAAD said. They will be depicted on 21 scripted shows on channels such as HBO, Showtime and FX.