Becoming the first network to have made such a deal, NBC announced the acquisition of internet-based series "Quarterlife" which is set to make its television debut early next year.

"Quarterlife" creator-producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick stroke a deal with NBC for six hour-long episodes of the drama, which focuses on the lives of six young artists.

Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, and Herskovitz, described the deal yesterday as a revolutionary step in the creation of television entertainment.

"If there were more people with the (courage) of Marshall who are willing to bet on their own creative vision and finance themselves, then the (business) model becomes something they define," Silverman said.

Originally designed to be a pilot for a series on ABC three years ago, "Quarterlife" began its run on MySpaceTV on November 11 and a new eight-minute "webisode" is posted each week. In all, 36 episodes are planned.

NBC is set to air the show from its first episode and will tap into pre-recorded episodes, with new episodes put on hold by the writers strike. There is even some suggestion that the purchase by NBC is due to the writers strike; stuck with a diminishing supply of fresh content the theory suggests that television networks will look online and to independent productions to fill the airwaves.

Under the deal with Herskovitz and Zwick, who also created shows like "thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life," NBC will become a distribution partner across various platforms including network broadcast, online, DVD, and foreign, but Herskovitz and Zwick still retain 100% ownership and creative control of the series and the social network they created.

"We are trying to do something that's independent," said Herskovitz, who called the experience "thrilling, nerve-wracking and exciting," adding that he wanted "'Quarterlife' to do what I want all my TV shows and movies to do, which is to deeply affect people, to be memorable to people - to move people."