TV networks increase number of shows available on Net

NEW YORK -- Millions of television show episodes have been streamed over the Web by broadcast networks over the past month, with ``Heroes" and ``Jericho" emerging as favorites among people who watch TV on computers.

Within the past month, ABC, CBS, and NBC have begun making some of their entertainment programs available for free download. Fox is set to begin after the World Series. They all claim a rapidly growing appetite for news and entertainment on the Web, but are reluctant to release specific details.

NBC says it has streamed 5 million individual episodes of its shows, and ABC said it streamed more than 2.5 million in the first two weeks. Those numbers are still tiny compared to the number of people who watch TV: nearly 23 million people watched ``Grey's Anatomy," the most popular show on TV, last week.

For primetime shows, the bulk of computer viewing is done to catch up on an episode missed on TV, and is often done within a day of when the shows air, said Albert Cheng, ABC's digital chief.

``I will not lay claim to reducing productivity in the workplace," Cheng said.

ABC last fall began selling episodes of some of its popular shows through iTunes, setting off a rapid transformation that networks are still experiencing. This Sept. 22, it began making video streams of six of its most popular shows -- including ``Grey's Anatomy," ``Desperate Housewives" and ``Lost" -- available on ABC.com the day after the episodes air. Individual episodes remain available for four weeks.

The network is experimenting with shows it believes fit the profile of an online viewer, he said. The average age of ABC's online viewers has been 29; for television viewers, it's 46.