James Delahunty
25 Feb 2007 11:54
BitTorrent is to launch a download store tomorrow. The BitTorrent Entertainment Network, will distribute more than 5,000 titles from movies, TV shows, games and other media. The company is not afraid to go up against stores like iTunes or newer contenders like Joost or YouTube, touting a user base of up to 135 million users.
BitTorrent has managed to strike deals with major names such as 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, despite that fact that BitTorrent software is used for mass piracy around the world. In order to sell BitTorrent as an option to studios, the company had to agree to deploy digital rights management (DRM) on content it sells or rents.
The initial challenge of course for BitTorrent as a company, is to offer consumers an attractive legitimate way to purchase content compared to its competitors, while also making sure not to alienate the current BitTorrent users who get their DRM-less downloads for free. BitTorrent President Ashwin Navin is not worried about the included DRM, saying this is just the early stages.
"Our partners require DRM protection for their titles," Navin said. "They are being cautious with a new distribution model. As the demand goes up, our partners will probably explore DRM-free options." When the store opens tomorrow, feature films offered will include Superman Returns, Mission: Impossible III and An Inconvenient Truth. TV shows will include 24 and Chappelle's Show.
At first, movies will only be available for rental at $3.99 for newer titles and $2.99 for older titles. Users can keep a movie on their HDD for a month, but after starting playback, will have 24 hours to watch the movie. TV shows and music videos are available on a "download to own" basis, costing $1.99.
One of BitTorrent's biggest selling points is its speed, which already is proven to reliable send thousands of copies of large files around the world within hours.
Source:
News.com