Show Business: It's Not TV. It's TV on DVD

DVDs are not going to keep great but risky shows like Freaks from getting canceled, but the discs may ease the sting when they do. Likewise, British TV series have had limited commercial potential in the U.S. because they usually have too few episodes for syndication. Golden Globe winner The Office aired for only two seasons and, despite all its buzz, was available only to digital-TV subscribers with BBC America. DVD allows it to reach a new audience, and could build interest in an NBC adaptation of the sitcom planned for next season. (The BBC's season two hits stores April 20.)

Another beneficiary of the DVD market may be big-budget mini-series, which in recent years have proved to be money losers and have been replaced by reality stunts and cheapo made-for-TV movies. The market is no guarantor of quality, but a Band of Brothers--a $100 million--plus project but a big DVD seller for HBO--has better DVD prospects than would, say, a Saving Jessica Lynch. Even in the world of free TV, sometimes you get what you pay for. --Reported by Jeanne McDowell/Los Angeles