Los Angeles (CA) - Fox is set to announce today that it will begin offering downloads of its shows on local affiliate websites.  The new initiative tries to expand its digital download presence, and will likely give a traffic boost to the 200+ sites that will carry the service.

Terms of the plan were finalized yesterday.  Single episodes will be available for about $2 each, while entire series will go for discounted rates of $20 - $40.  This is virtually identical to what the other main player in the market, iTunes, charges.

While other networks have relied on existing infrastructures to offer their videos, Fox has tried to implement its own download service through Fox.com and other outlets.  It's part of a corporate plan from parent company News Corp to offer its content without the built-in restrictions of places like iTunes or YouTube.

Additionally, the Fox on Demand e-commerce service offers movie and game downloads.  The complete list of affected affiliate sites was not released as of this morning.