I am – Hercules!!


I've lured you in here with a misleading headline. There are no plans afoot to make “Veronica Mars” or “Caprica” or “Star Trek” available only to DirecTV customers.

But the supernatural soap opera “Passions” is going that route, according to a press release issued Wednesday. And it got me to thinking.

NBC is dropping “Passions” from its daytime schedule in a few months, and satellite colossus DirecTV will be offering exclusive new episodes on its The 101 channel (free to all subscribers I believe) starting Sept. 17. Which means “Passions” fans won’t be able to watch it on broadcast, cable or Dish Network systems.

Will this drive millions of “Passions” fans to DirecTV? Maybe!

And if this works for “Passions,” could it work for “Drive”? Or a new “Firefly” series? Why not “Caprica” (since SciFi has apparently shelved it)? Why not “Veronica Mars” (assuming the CW foolishly elects not to pick it up for a fourth season)? Or a “Lost Room” series? Or a new “Buffy” spinoff? Or a new “Star Trek” series masterminded by J.J. Abrams?

(Yes, I get that 22 hours of “Star Trek” likely cost more than the – what, 250 hours a year? – of “Passions.” But 250 hours of a soap can’t be supercheap, can it?)

But I tell ya. If DirecTV was the only provider of “Veronica Mars” or “Battlestar Galactica” or “Lost” or “Star Trek” or “Heroes,” I believe I’d have a hard time resisting a switch.

The press release:

NBC'S PASSIONS TO WORK ITS MAGIC ON DIRECTV VIEWERS WITH ALL NEW EPISODES BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 17

Fan Favorite Daytime Drama Joins DIRECTV's The 101 Lineup; New Episodes Produced by NBC Universal Television Studio Will Air on DIRECTV

El Segundo, Calif., April 25, 2007-NBC Universal Television Studio and DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television provider, today announced that the NBC niversal-produced daytime drama Passions has found a new home on DIRECTV where the popular program will continue for a 9th season. Under the new agreement, NBC Universal Television Studio will produce brand-new episodes to air Monday-Thursday on DIRECTV's original programming channel, The 101.

The celebrated daytime drama, which currently averages over 2 million viewers and enjoys an intensely dedicated fan base, will end its network run on NBC September 7 with a series of cliffhangers and will resurface on DIRECTV September 17, picking up where the series left off. The show will remain in its current time slot of 2 PM ET and DIRECTV will air encore marathons of the show each weekend.

"Passions fans no longer need to mourn the demise of their beloved program as it has found new life on DIRECTV," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of Entertainment for DIRECTV. "We care about this show and are extremely proud to give it an exclusive home here at DIRECTV."

"This new arrangement with DIRECTV is truly a landmark development that allows NBC Universal to extend the Passions brand in a fresh and entirely new way, to DIRECTV's 16 million homes," said Marc Graboff, president, NBC Universal Television, West Coast. "It will reward the dedicated fans of the daytime drama who can continue to enjoy it on DIRECTV and also opens up a great new model for other television programs to find new life on other non-traditional platforms."

The majority of the cast and crew is expected to return when the one-hour series begins shooting the new DIRECTV episodes in August.

DIRECTV will make it easy for Passions viewers to keep track of the happenings in "Harmony" by providing fans free installation, a DVR or HD receiver upgrade, and a portable DVD player by calling a special phone number (866-788-0003) or visiting the Web (www.directv.com/passions) that will give those without DIRECTV plenty of time to switch before the new season begins. Passions fans can also visit www.nbc.com for more information about the show.

Passions will be the first scripted drama series to join The 101 original program lineup which includes viewer favorites like Project MyWorld, The Fizz, havoc on The 101, and Championship Gaming Series. The series will broadcast four one-hour episodes per week, as well as a weekend marathon of that week's shows so fans can catch up on the action each week.

Passions explores the lives, loves and losses of four core families in the small New England town of Harmony: the Cranes, the Lopez-Fitzgeralds, the Bennetts and the Russells, each of whom have their own distinct and diverse personalities. The series debuted on NBC in 1999 and has routinely been amongst the top daytime programs for women ages 18-34, and currently is tied for #1 among all daytime dramas in both women ages 18-24 and females 12-24.

New episodes of Passions will begin shooting in August and will continue to be taped at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Calif. The show is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Outpost Farms Productions, Inc.

About DIRECTV
DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 16 million customers in the United States, through exclusive content, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed cable for six years running) and superior technologies. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 250 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere, including NFL SUNDAY TICKETTM and MLB EXTRA INNINGS®. DIRECTV (NYSE:DTV) also leads the digital television technology revolution with exclusives such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFanTM, US Open Interactive and YES Network Interactive and will soon have the capacity to offer over 150 channels in HD. For the most up-to-date
information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.

About NBC Universal:
NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and ntertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80 percent owned by General Electric and 20 percent owned by Vivendi Universal.