BitTorrent Goes Straight With Legit Vid Store

Category iPhone | Permalink | 27. February 2007

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BitTorrent, long known as a haven for unauthorized file-sharing, on Monday launched the BitTorrent Entertainment Network, an online store selling movies, TV shows and music videos for download. The network can also be utilized as a distribution platform for independent content creators. It faces stiff competition with established players like Apple’s iTunes Store and YouTube

San Francisco-based BitTorrent, a firm infamous for creating file-sharing software Make sense of your IT infrastructure - Click Here. that lets millions of people swap pirated movies and video content online, on Monday launched the BitTorrent Entertainment Network at BitTorrent.com.

The surprising shift comes with the support of major studios, television networks and video game publishers. BitTorrent now boasts the “most comprehensive library of downloadable digital entertainment ever amassed on the Web,” including content from 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

BitTorrent’s 135 million users will now be able to rent movies for US$3.99 for newer releases and $2.99 for older titles. Television shows and music videos, on the other hand, are $1.99 each and can be kept indefinitely. The downloaded copyrighted content will contain digital rights management (DRM) features that will prevent them from being illegally copied.
Double-Edged Sword
BitTorrent’s biggest key to success may also prove to be its biggest challenge: Its own users, while representing a key demographic of Web-using digital entertainment aficionados, also started using BitTorrent’s software so they could share copyrighted material freely over the Web. Getting these users to start paying for content may prove difficult.

In addition, BitTorrent faces strong competitors like Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Latest News about Apple iTunes Store, which sells downloadable television shows and music videos for $1.99, as well as movies for $9.99. Customers who already have iTunes accounts for music may be more likely to simply buy movies from Apple rather than taking a chance with an unfamiliar vendor.

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