UPDATE, 3:32 p.m.: Cox has offered a similar on-demand channel since 2007!! See details below…

After years of offering video on demand, Time Warner Cable says the service is ready for prime time. Literally.

Digital TV subscribers can now watch prime-time shows like “The Office,” “CSI Miami” and “Survivor” anytime they want by going to Time Warner’s on-demand channels. (Hit “1″ or “1033″ on your remote.) The company began turning on its Primetime on-demand channel in Orange County today, along with the rest of the country. New York should get its TWC Primetime channel next week.

CBS, NBC, FX and USA Networks are all offering recent episodes of some of their biggest series (see list below). Each includes three to four recently aired episodes. “Chuck,” for example, lists last week’s show plus two prior. “Survivor” has the last four. But this isn’t going to become a handy online library. Older shows will disappear to be replaced by newer ones. For example, the earliest available episode of Survivor, from Feb. 4, expires on March 11.

Of course, consumers who like watching TV whenever they want to have been visiting Hulu.com for more than a year. Hulu offers many more TV shows and movies on demand for free, thanks to additional relationships with Fox (“The Simpsons,” “Family Guy”) and ABC (“Lost,” “Desperate Housewives”). Plus, Hulu has many more shows from NBC (“Saturday Night Live”) and CBS, not to mention a whole season’s worth or more of episodes. Time Warner’s new channel has one to four episodes of each show.

Also, Hulu offers some shows in high-definition. Time Warner does not. 

Good news is that Time Warner says to expect more down the road, said Darryl Ryan, Time Warner Cable’s local spokesman.

“We do plan on adding more network programming over time. We were excited about launching this for the consumer, and since we have the capability, we wanted to get something out and running as soon as possible,” Ryan said. 

So, while you’ll get more options online, this does offer an easy way for Time Warner customers to watch recently aired TV shows on a TV. Click HERE for Time Warner’s official on-demand page for its Primetime channel.

As of today, here are the shows available on Time Warner’s new on-demand Primetime channel:

• NBC: Chuck, Knight Rider, Heroes, Kath & Kim, The Biggest Loser, Medium, Life, Friday Night Live, ER, 30 Rock, Celebrity Apprentice, The Office
• CBS: Survivor, CSI Miami, CSI New York, CSI, Numbers, NCIS
• USA: Burn Notice, Psych, Monk
• FX: Damages, Nip/Tuck and movies

**UPDATE**: Just heard from Cox Communications. Lana Ong, with Cox O.C., said that the company has offered its Orange County subscribers MyPrimetime since September 2007 (Channel 1). It was the first cable system nationwide to offer on-demand shows from ABC. The service is free to digital cable customers. Current networks include: ABC (“Lost,” “Ugly Betty,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), Fox (“Bones,” “24,” “Fringe,” “Lie to Me,” “Dollhouse”), NBC (“Office,” “30 Rock,” “Heroes,” “Chuck,” “Kath and Kim,” “ER,” “Friday Night Lights”) and Bravo (“Supermodel”).  Also, NBC has been adding content to their lineup for both NBC as well as Cable Networks such as USA, SciFi, Bravo.

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services. Recent Time Warner Cable news:

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