BitTorrent inks licensing deal with studios
BitTorrent is lining up entertainment companies as it prepares to sell downloads of feature films, TV shows and other video entertainment. — The San Francisco-based file-sharing company announced on Monday that it has signed licensing deals …
Context & Ripple Effects
BitTorrent enters studio licensing after a 2005 anti-piracy cooperation agreement with the MPAA and a February 2006 test with NTL of high-speed movie downloads in Britain. The move matters because a technology whose 2005 growth was tied to file sharing is being positioned as a licensed distribution channel for the same category of media.
First-order effects
- BitTorrent can assemble a catalog of licensed films and television programming for sale, giving participating studios an authorized outlet on its download network.
- The studio agreements align BitTorrent's commercial video plans with its existing anti-piracy cooperation with the MPAA.
Second-order effects
- BitTorrent's prospective customers gain a legal paid-download option using a technology closely associated with file sharing, raising pressure on unauthorized distribution to compete on availability and convenience.
- Studios that license to BitTorrent gain another route to digital audiences, while NTL's earlier British download trial illustrates how network operators can become partners in the delivery model.
Third-order effects
- If studios continue to license peer-to-peer distribution, the boundary between file-sharing infrastructure and sanctioned video retail will narrow, with rights holders treating network reach as an asset to contract for rather than only a piracy risk.
The trend: Licensed media companies are beginning to turn widely used file-sharing technology into a controlled digital-distribution channel through licensing and anti-piracy partnerships.