ABC Television will offer some of its most popular shows, such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," for free on the Internet in a two-month trial, Walt Disney Co. officials told Reuters.

"Commander in Chief" and "Alias", along with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives", will be available on the Web for anyone to download for free in May and June, starting the day after they are first broadcast.

 

The ABC Television’s policy is aimed at making profit from advertisements in the shows and on the site. The profits should be at least enough to recover the money gained by a pay-per-download system.

The iTunes trick, wich enabled fans and viewers to pay $1.99 per download for iPod, seems to be seriously challenged, if not blown to tiny pieces.

Advertisers AT&T Inc., Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co. and Universal Pictures have signed up for the ad time encrypted in the episodes, so it cannot be skipped by users.

The same source told Reuters that Disney will be launching, on April 17, a high-speed Internet channel for soap opera fans, called Soapnetic, for subscribers to Verizon Communications Corp.'s Internet services.

Desperate Housewives, created by Marc Cherry, began airing on ABC in 2004, in HDTV.

Set on Wisteria Lane in fictional Fairview, Eagle State, Desperate Housewives series tracks the lives of four housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries involving their husbands, friends and neighbors unfold in the background.

Buena Vista Games have recently announced a computer game based on Desperate Housewives, in which Brenda Strong reprises the role of the disembodied voice of Mary Alice Young. The game is due in September 2006 for Windows (XP or higher) computers, and conveniently deals with murder, blackmail, stealing, love and even husband-stealing.

Teri Hatcher is being paid $1 Million dollars US to lend her voice as Susan Mayer for the PC game.  

 Other news