Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Fox TV fare on sale at Vudu

NEW YORK — Digital download service Vudu will begin selling "24," "Prison Break," "NYPD Blue" and other 20th Century Fox Television titles in beta mode using its set-top box technology, the company is set to announce Tuesday.

Before the announcement, Vudu had only made films available for paid download. The company has partnered with all the major studios and 22 independent and international film distributors to make more than 5,000 titles available.

The company is now testing download-to-own TV shows at $1.99 per episode with the initial offering featuring only shows from News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox.

Included in the offering are several shows no longer on air: "Lost in Space," "Arrested Development," "NYPD Blue," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly" alongside such current shows as "Family Guy," "24," "Prison Break," "Shark," "My Name Is Earl," "The Riches" and "The Shield."

A Vudu spokeswoman said "multiple episodes per season" will be available in the beta test with an expanded TV slate coming in 2008.

Vudu said last month that it partnered with Paramount, Universal and Lionsgate to deliver HD titles on a VOD basis. In the first implementation of this deal, the company has made Universal’s "The Bourne Ultimatum" available for HD download today day-and-date with its DVD release.

The Vudu box, which utilizes peer-to-peer technology, went on sale in October. It connects to the Internet and requires no software downloads.