The LA Times is reporting that beginning this week, season premiere episodes of seven Fox Broadcasting programs will be made available for free through Apple's iTunes store, a move that highlights the TV industry's race to harness the Internet and try out potential business partners.

Executives with the News Corp.-owned network hope that free downloads of such shows as "Prison Break," "Bones," "American Dad" and "K-Ville" will entice viewers to watch later installments on TV or pay to download them from the iTunes Store, according to the report.

Meg James, an LA Times staff writer, said that "the deal underscores the television networks' predicament: They are trying to protect their lucrative businesses at a time when more viewers are catching their favorite shows when they want, thanks to TiVo and digital video recorders." That, in a nutshell, is the problem the networks are facing.

Fox tries new lure for iPod crowd [LA Times]