• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 14, 2006

In an effort to spark interest in its new Fall TV lineup, NBC will stream its six new prime-time shows online starting next month.

The NBC.com streams will be entirely ad-supported, with at least one video ad slated to run at each point in the program where TV commercials normally air, said a network spokesman.

NBC intends to offer the first four episodes of its new sitcoms--"30 Rock," created by and starring "Saturday Night Live" alum Tina Fey, and "Twenty Good Years," starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor.

The network will stream eight episodes of its new dramas "Kidnapped," "Friday Night Lights," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and "Heroes."

In addition, the Web site will carry blogs written by the creators, producers or stars associated with all of the network's prime-time shows.

The network hopes the extra Web exposure gives fledgling shows a boost. "When you launch a new season, it's important that you get the shows in front of as many eyeballs as possible," Jeff Gaspin, president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content and Cross-Network Strategy, said in a statement.

Historically, only about one in 10 new shows come back for a second season.

The move comes the same week that NBC unveiled plans to distribute short video clips (under seven minutes long) to a host of other sites, including sites owned by competitors. But the company said Tuesday that it might add prime-time shows to the roster of content available for widescale broadband distribution.

NBC this week also debuted "Studio 60" and "Twenty Good Men" on AOL. The network also plans to make "Heroes" available on Yahoo for one week, starting Monday.