TORONTO — CTV is putting some of its top television programs on the Internet.

The television network has launched what's being billed as Canada's first multi-channel, on-demand broadband service.

The CTV Broadband Network includes a free video player that users download from www.ctv.ca to deliver full-length programs on four channels: CTV Shows, CTV News and Docs, Etalk on Broadband, and the Discovery Channel on CTV.

Kris Faibish, CTV vice-president of digital media, called the initiative unique in its field.

"A lot of the other broadcasters will have clips or segments of their shows but they're not running a lineup where you can actually go, click on a television show, watch the entire show, watch another television show run right after that,'' Faibish said Monday.

"No one has really brought together a complete viewing experience with a full roster of programming that you can just sit back and enjoy.''

The all-Canadian programming -- mostly half-hour shows -- were to be made available as of Monday afternoon, starting with the most recent seasons of Top 20 hits including Corner Gas (Season 3), Degrassi: The Next Generation (Season 5) and Canadian Idol (Season 4).

News programs to appear online include: CTV National News, hourly business highlights from the Report on Business, Canada AM interviews with celebrities and newsmakers, features from Mike Duffy Live and Question Period; The Best of W-Five, and CTV documentaries.

But TV fans hoping to escape commercials seen on the tube won't find relief online.

Faibish said the average 22-minute show will include five to six minutes of video advertising, interspersed throughout the episode.

"It's just like watching a regular television show where you're going to have a commercial break in it,'' Faibish said, adding viewers won't be able to fast forward through the ads.

Episodes that became available Monday will likely be taken from the site once new episodes begin in the fall season.

New shows that have yet to air will debut online at midnight eastern daylight time on the day they debut on television, Faibish said. The exception is the teen series Instant Star which will premiere online 24 hours before it airs on television.

"People like first glimpses and sneak peeks of things,'' Faibish explained.

"We're hoping that it will help create buzz and get people really interested and hopefully drive them right back into the conventional viewing of the show.''

The tactic is particularly suited to a show like Instant Star, which has a younger audience already inclined towards using the Internet to find shows and preview entertainment, Faibish explained.

There were no fears that broadband would cannibalize the network's television audience.

"Broadband is not meant to replace television. Broadband is another avenue which people can consume entertainment,'' Faibish said.

"I think people's primary consumption continues to be the television in their home and this is there to enhance and support television. It's not meant to ... be a competitor to it.''

Right now, only Canadian programs are available online, but Faibish said the network is looking at offering U.S. shows down the road if they can ever work out a deal to do so.

U.S. network ABC already offers online viewing of its powerhouse programs -- including Lost, Desperate Housewives and Commander in Chief -- but they are blocked from Canadian viewers.

Other CTV programs available online will include the world of celebrity entertainment, by way of Etalk on Broadband. The channel will offer extended interviews with celebrities who appear on the Etalk TV gossip program in brief sound bites.

The fourth online channel, Discovery Channel on CTV, features Discovery's acclaimed flagship program Daily Planet, and the travel show Valerie Pringle has Left the Building.

More programs are to be loaded onto the channels over the next several weeks.

Last month, CTV launched MTV Overdrive, a premium broadband service offering nearly 600 hours of programming on-demand. It features full-length MTV episodes, exclusive music events, performances and videos, artist interviews and breaking MTV News.