The move will see shows including 'Law & Order', the US version of 'The Office', 'CSI' and 'Survivor' made available for viewers to watch at a time they choose, on their televisions.
CBS, owned by Viacom, is offering the service in a deal with Comcast, while NBC has teamed up with DirecTV to offer the service to its subscribers.
The news follows last month's announcement by ABC that it was making 'Desperate Housewives' and 'Lost' downloadable to iPods without ads for $1.99 a show.
The decision to introduced on-demand TV comes as networks face up to the issue of internet piracy, where hit shows often appear for users to download for free within hours of being broadcast -- and occasionally before they are due to be aired.
It is also a shift away from network television's focus on generating revenue by creating a huge primetime audience.
Leslie Moonves, chairman of CBS, said: "This is an incredibly exciting evolution for CBS and network television -- video on demand is the next frontier for our industry, and we are thrilled to be partnering with Comcast in taking this giant, positive leap forward."
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