on demand

iWatchNow, a new Web-based video-on-demand service, launched recently. Normally I don't get too excited about these things because I don't enjoy watching shows on my computer and I don't own a Video iPod. However, the company is offering some cool classic shows, including Dragnet, Bonanza, Jack Benny, and others. What I found personally appealing was the offering of classic cartoons like Popeye and Felix the Cat. Of course, most of these shows you can catch on cable anyway, but then you wouldn't be paying $0.99 to watch them, would you? See what I mean? Because I sure don't?

Did you miss Howard Stern's triumphant debut on Sirius this morning? I didn't; I woke up at 5:30 excited to hear the new show. I even had to devise an "antenna on a stick" in order to get decent reception. But at 6, Howard came on and ended up doing over five commercial-free hours of unrestricted radio. He and the crew sounded energized and loose, and the program, while it didn't have a lot of profanity, did have a nice uninterrupted flow that I haven't heard on the show in fifteen years. It was quite a satisfying listen.

(UPDATE: I forgot about one other new wrinkle to the show: George Takei is the new announcer! He'll be on the show live all week. He meshed surprisingly well with the cast. What a great move.)

What does this have to do with TV? You mean, besides the unyielding coverage that will be on the news and entertainment shows? Well, somewhere during the morning, Howard mentioned that the entire first show will be available on his Howard Stern On Demand channel later tonight. So if you have HSOD and are curious as to what the new studio looked like, keep an eye out for the program tonight.

[Photo: Richard Drew/AP]

FOX Entertainment and DirecTV just signed a deal to offer some F/X programs to viewers up to two days before they are actually broadcast. Those programs include The Shield, Rescue Me, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and 30 Days. Getting programs ahead of time won't be free, of course. It'll cost you $2.99 to see them in advance, and you need to have DirecTV satellite and the DirecTV DVR. The on-demand programming launches in March.

Today, FOX also announced that some of its most popular shows will be available for purchase for up to a week after they air. Those shows are 24 and Prison Break, and they cost $.99 a pop. This is on top of DirecTV's deal with NBC that offers replays of primetime shows that also cost $.99 each.