BitTorrent, Inc. Launches the
BitTorrent Entertainment Network
MGM is Latest Hollywood Studio to
Join the BitTorrent Network, which
Offers Thousands of Movies, TV
Shows, Music and Games
San Francisco, CA
– February 26, 2007 – BitTorrent,
the global standard for delivering
high-quality media over the
Internet, today announced the launch
of the BitTorrent Entertainment
Network at BitTorrent.com. The new
network features 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 BitTorrent’s
newest partner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Studios, Inc. (MGM). The BitTorrent
community will have the flexibility
to rent movies, purchase television
shows and music videos, and even
publish and share their own
high-quality content to be displayed
alongside titles from the world’s
largest studios.
“The BitTorrent Entertainment
Network is created by and for the
BitTorrent Generation, which has a
vast appetite for high-quality,
on-demand entertainment,” said Ashwin Navin, President and Co-founder of BitTorrent.
“BitTorrent.com engages our
community to contribute in profound
ways – whether it’s by evangelizing
their favorite titles; by submitting
content they’ve created; or by
contributing their bandwidth to
enable faster downloads and an
improved entertainment experience.
Our uniqueness lies in the strength
of our community, delivery
technology, and the industry’s most
comprehensive catalog of digital
content.”
“As a leading entertainment content
supplier across all media platforms,
MGM is pleased to have such a
significant role in launching
BitTorrent’s groundbreaking and
valuable online consumer
destination,” said Rick Sands, COO,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc.
“MGM's library, the world's largest
modern library of high quality film
and television entertainment
programming, appeals to a wide range
of consumers and should drive
significant traffic to the new
BitTorrent Entertainment Network.”
BitTorrent’s newest entertainment
network partner is MGM, the
legendary Hollywood studio and owner of the world’s largest modern
film library. With a roster of over
35 content partners, BitTorrent is
offering a breadth and depth of
content not found in any other
download service. At launch, the
network at BitTorrent.com will
feature over 5,000 titles of movies,
TV shows, PC games and music
content, as well as over 40 hours of
high-definition (HD) programming.
Consumers will be able to enjoy both
new releases and catalog movie
titles such as “Superman Returns,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “World Trade Center,” “Jackass: Number Two,” “An
Inconvenient Truth,” “Napoleon
Dynamite,” “Sideways,” and “Thomas
Crown Affair.” TV programming will
include hits such as “24” and
“Prison Break” from 20th Century
Fox; “Laguna Beach” from MTV: Music
Television; “Celebrity Deathmatch”
from MTV2; “Muscle Car” and “Xtreme
4x4” from Spike TV; Emmy and
Peabody-Award winning “South Park”
and “Mind of Mencia” from COMEDY
CENTRAL; “Hogan Knows Best” and
“Breaking Bonaduce” from VH1;
“SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Avatar:
The Last Airbender” from
Nickelodeon; “Skyland” from
Nicktoons Network
“BitTorrent has the infrastructure,
technology and established user base
to significantly move the needle on
digital distribution with quick,
easy and affordable delivery,” said
Thomas Lesinski, President,
Paramount Pictures Digital
Entertainment. “The final piece of
the puzzle is a wide array of
content and Paramount is very pleased
to be providing a vast selection of
filmed entertainment to the site.”
“MTV Networks is constantly seeking
new avenues for our consumers to
access our content and to deliver it
to them across multiple platforms,”
said Mika Salmi, President, Global
Digital Media, MTV Networks. “With
BitTorrent’s new entertainment
network, our content gains another
high-quality, user-friendly
touchpoint to connect audiences with
their favorite programming.”
BitTorrent’s entertainment network
can also be utilized as a
distribution platform for
independent content creators. Be it
film, TV programming, music or
podcasts, BitTorrent’s
self-publishing capability offers
artists an instant global audience
through a personalized BitTorrent
URL and online presence. “We’re
leveling the playing field for
independent artists who have been
turned away by publishers who are
traditionally bound by scarce
distribution alternatives and
limited shelf space. Our
entertainment network is a true
marketplace that embraces and
welcomes contribution from the
independents, allowing them to reach
a vast user base with their
high-quality creative expression,”
said Navin.
Despite the breadth and depth of
BitTorrent’s entertainment library,
consumers can expect a very simple
and straightforward pricing model.
The site offers content for free,
for rent and for purchase. Movie
rentals are $3.99 and $2.99 for new
release and catalog titles,
respectively. TV shows and music
videos are download-to-own at $1.99
each. There will also be a
significant collection of HD titles
available. Furthermore, a wide
variety of entertainment content
will be offered for free and without
digital rights management (DRM),
designed to be distributed across
all platforms.
“Digital distribution represents a
significant new revenue stream for
the entertainment industry, but up
until now, it has been hindered by
the combination of long download
times and the lack of good content
for people to download,” said Rob
Enderle, Principal Analyst for the
Enderle
Group. “BitTorrent has aggressively
addressed both problems; first with
their unique technology, which moves
content closer to the customer and
dramatically lowers the amount of
time it takes to acquire it, and
second with their unusually strong
content library. In addition, the
fact that they start with 135
million existing clients is
incredibly powerful and makes them,
at launch, a real force to be
reckoned with in this market.”
·
About BitTorrent
BitTorrent is the global standard
for delivering high-quality files
over the Internet. Millions of users
worldwide are using BitTorrent’s
leading peer-assisted content
delivery platform to publish,
discover and download digital
entertainment content quickly,
easily and securely. Founded in
2004, BitTorrent is a privately held
company headquartered in
San Francisco,
California.
For more information, visit
www.bittorrent.com.
BitTorrent is a trademark of
BitTorrent, Inc.
