A new TV service debuts in Los Angeles today, eventually  hoping to become an alternative to programming distributed by cable and satellite providers.

It’s called Sezmi, and snares programming through over-the-air signals (including cable channels that it gets by leasing spectrum from local broadcasters) and the Internet.

According to a story at Technologizer, "Sezmi’s lineup of cable channels isn’t as expansive as a higher-tier package on cable or satellite, but it’s got Animal Planet, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery, MSNBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, Oxygen, SyFy, TBS, TCM, TLC, TNT, VH1, and more. The most notable omissions are sports channels–I don’t see ESPN or others in the lineup–and premium movie channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. But Sezmi does offer a store that sells and rents movies and TV shows from a library of thousands of titles (powered in part by Roxio’s Cinemanow). You also get access to Internet video such as YouTube and podcasts."

Sezmi charges between $5 and $25 a month.

You can also read more about the service in stories from the Los Angeles Times and Paid Content.

–Chuck Ross