RipeTV

While it's not exactly the on-demand network we've been dreaming of, we were pleased to learn that around the end of this year a company called Ripe Digital Entertainment is going to start offering a line-up of TV shows that will be available both as on-demand programming for cable customers and online downloads for broadband Internet subscribers. First up: a variety of magazine-style shows with girls, sports and gadgets for download every Monday. We were hoping for something meatier, like actual drama or maybe a comedy series, but it's a start. The other "gotcha" is that the shows will have "TiVo-proof" advertisements — they'll actually be embedded into the content of the program, or they'll run simultaneously in a window during the show if you're watching on a PC. Come to think of it, maybe RipeTV isn't gonna be so ripe after all.