• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 2, 2007

Highlighting its aggressive efforts to harness new media, Fox will let consumers download shows like "24" and "Prison Break" through the Web sites of its 200 affiliated TV stations in the coming months.

The new initiative, involving Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and Twentieth Century Fox, expands the Fox on Demand service. Launched in October, it offered only ad-supported streaming of episodes on sites such as Fox.com, MySpace and Fox's O&O stations.

While other nets have their own on-demand offerings, Fox will be the first broadcast network to offer prime-time shows for download via affiliate sites. Tim Bajarin, principal analyst at technology consultancy Creative Strategies, says the move was a nod to the Internet's "consumer-in-control" movement.

"People want to be able to access TV shows on their terms and view them in multiple ways and often on multiple devices," Bajarin says. "This shows that at least one network is acknowledging consumer demands and responding accordingly."

Parent company News Corp. and Fox affiliates will share ad inventory, with 70% going to the corporation and 30% of ad spots earmarked for local stations. Transactional revenue will also be shared with affiliates, but a Fox Interactive spokesman declined to disclose the split. Singles episodes, available the day after their prime-time airing, will cost $1.99, with entire seasons ranging from $19.99 to $39.99.

Analysts say the downloads could provide a much-needed boost to local TV sites, which are crowded by video-sharing sites and newspaper sites offering news video. "We're not seeing a lot of people going to local TV news sites," says Barry Parr, a media analyst with JupiterResearch. "To have something that brings people to these sites could be terrific for affiliates," he says, adding that affiliates would have to promote access to the streaming and downloadable episodes on their sites.

To that end, Fox Interactive plans to work with some local affiliates to help them rebrand their sites with the "MyFox" Web address, used by all of Fox's O&Os.

After launching Fox on Demand last year with four anchor sponsors--Burger King, Toyota, Lions Gate and Paramount--Fox plans to expand its ad roster for streaming episodes as it rolls out the new service to affiliate sites.

Bajarin said Fox's network rivals would have to take notice of its latest bid to fuse old and new media. "I don't know of any other network that's doing this, but I'm sure they'll be watching this Fox move with great interest."