Looks like Warner is picking up on the BBC's and Apple's idea.  Took 'em long enough.

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Warner Bros to offer classic repeats for free over broadband

LOS ANGELES, Nov 14 (PG) - US production studio Warner Brothers said Monday it plans to put dozens of old TV favourites including "Wonder Woman" online for free under a deal with America Online.

The two companies, part of the Time Warner group, said they would team up to launch a new broadband network in January called In2TV allowing users to stream thousands of old episodes for free on AOL.com

Billing the new service as a "first of its kind", they said In2TV would blaze a trail for TV over broadband, which is now available in more than half of all US households.

Along with Lynda Carter's star-spangled corset-wearing "Wonder Woman" from the 1970s, other blasts from the past on In2TV will include "Falcon Crest", "La Femme Nikita", "Lois and Clark" and John Travolta's TV debut "Kotter".

The series will be offered on six genre-themed channels on a new DVD-quality video format called "AOL Hi-Q". While free, the shows will feature new commercials to generate additional revenues.

"With In2TV, we are enabling Web users to experience and interact with television programming in an entirely new way, and creating a new distribution platform for TV content," said Kevin Conroy, executive vice president at AOL Media Networks.

"This is an exciting new way to experience these shows, allowing Web users to enjoy what they want, when they want it," he said.

Eric Frankel, president of Warner Bros domestic cable distribution, said In2TV will be "revolutionizing the distribution of television programming".

"Visitors will be able to program their own personal network, making it a TV lover's dream come true," he said.

The service will also have an interactive feature to give viewers behind-the-scenes forays into, for instance, the intricacies of the Shaolin school of martial arts on the "Kung Fu" series.

Apple Computer has shown the way for broadband video by attracting more than one million downloads of select Disney and ABC television shows recently added to its iTunes online music store.

For 1.99 dollars, surfers can add the latest episode of series such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" to their video-compatible iPod a day after they air.

In2TV shows a glimmer of the multimedia promise that was loudly touted by AOL and Time Warner when they announced they were merging in 2000.

The deal has resoundingly failed to deliver, and Time Warner confirmed a fortnight ago that it is in talks with outside investors about the future of the AOL division.

Google, cable operator Comcast and Microsoft are all reportedly interested in investing in the Internet service provider's contents portal.

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