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Fox Shows Available for DirecTV Prior to Airing

Beginning in March, Fox Entertainment Group will make some of its programs available for download to DirecTV subscribers’ DVRs up to two days before they appear on television, The New York Times reports.

FX Network’s The Shield, Rescue Me, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and 30 Days will be available via early on-demand access, provided viewers will pay $2.99 for each and that they have DirecTV’s latest DVR.

Fox’s broadcast network’s shows, including 24 and Prison Break, will be available for up to a week after national broadcast at a cost of 99 cents.

This is the first time that a cable or satellite operator will get to offer a network’s programming prior to its airing on that network - although it is not the first announcement of post network airing VOD deals.

In November, CBS and NBC announced that some of their shows would be available as VOD shows beginning in January 2006. The programs will be available on Comcast systems in all of the CBS markets in which it owns and operates stations, including seven of the top 10 markets.

CBS surveys showed that the average TV viewer would purchase about 100 hours of VOD programming per year.

In October, Comcast announced that more than one billion programs had been viewed on the company’s On Demand service through October, well ahead of expectations that it would hit that mark by the end of 2005.

News Corporation, parent company of Fox and FX, owns 34 percent of DirecTV, which likely had something to do with the move, Mediaweek reports. These offerings will contain some different scenes than those being offered in the FX versions.

DirecTV will also offer free, on-demand access to weekly highlights from Fox shows, some free airings of Fox shows, and extended footage from Fox shows, along with behind-the-scenes features on Fox films and TV shows.