NBC Direct to Offer Free Downloads of Popular TV Shows

NBC.com will be launching a service called NBC Direct in October that will let you download full-length episodes of shows like The Office, Heroes, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The episodes will be viewable up to one week after an episode's broadcast date and will come packaged with advertising. An option for users to subscribe to their favorite shows and have them automatically downloaded will also be included.

Only Windows computers will be supported initially.

However, if you're impatient for legal TV downloads and you have an Intel Centrino or Viiv-based PC, you can get VIP access to NBC show downloads right now.