The satellite television service DirecTV, mostly known as a place to see a lot of N.F.L. football, has a secret dream: it wants to be HBO.

Or at least the service would like to create a new premium network with HBO-like programming for its subscribers. DirecTV plans to turn its 101 Network channel, which previously showed the soap opera “Passions” and a game show featuring the singer Meat Loaf, into a home for more ambitious programs.

The headline attraction so far has been first-run episodes of the NBC drama “Friday Night Lights,” which played on DirecTV last fall before recently beginning their run on NBC. But starting this month, the network added a cult classic, “Wonderland,” a psychiatric hospital drama tried by ABC in 2000 that won HBO-like reviews but lasted just two episodes.

& #8226;

Read the full

New York Times

story.