NBC, CBS Offer Downloadable ProgrammingNBC, CBS Offer Downloadable Programming

NBC and CBS have signed separate deals to make some of their most popular TV programs available for download within hours after they air for 99 cents each, a move that followed ABC's deal to offer programming on Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes online store.

NBC Universal's agreement is with satellite TV operator DirecTV and CBS with cable company Comcast. Besides its own top programs, NBC is also offering shows from its cable networks, USA, Sci Fi and Bravo.

Under the multi-year NBC agreement, subscriber's of the DirecTV Plus interactive digital video recorder will be able to download NBC's "Law & Order: SVU," "Law & Order: CI," "The Office," "Monk," "Surface" and "Battlestar Galactica." The shows will be available until the following week's episode airs.

In the CBS deal, Comcast will offer "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" through its on-demand service. The programs will be available as early as midnight following their broadcast. Consumers, however, have to watch the programs within 24 hours of the time they order them.

Both companies said the move was in response to consumer demand to watch programs at their convenience, as opposed to a schedule set by the networks.

"This is an incredibly exciting evolution for CBS and network television -- video on demand is the next frontier for our industry," CBS chairman Leslie Moonves said in a statement released this week.

Apple announced last month that it would sell for $1.99 apiece episodes of ABC's hit TV shows "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" on its popular online entertainment store, as well as music videos and short films from the animation studio Pixar, run by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.