BitTorrent strikes a deal with Hollywood

You might consider BitTorrent to be the discerning pirate's choice when it comes to obtaining everything from movies to software. Well, it's about to go mainstream, given that BitTorrent, Inc. announced a partnership with pretty much everyone in Hollywood, including 20th Century Fox, G4, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and plenty others. This isn't the first time that the establishment has saddled up with everyone's favorite file sharing company, although we're not exactly sure what the effects were on the seedy underground of the internets, nor what new revenue Warner Bros. saw from that deal. Still, this new unnamed service's offerings and prices will be made available in February 2007, which will be when the BitTorrent's new online retail marketplace opens for business.

[Thanks, Alan]

[Ben @ Dec 1st 2006 4:31AM]

Ridiculous!

[Davis Cooper @ Dec 1st 2006 4:53AM]

Unacceptable!

[Jypson @ Dec 1st 2006 4:55AM]

Ludicrous!

[Moonwhaler @ Dec 1st 2006 5:03AM]

Genious!**



** This is a GOOD idea, using the bittorrent network for their own good, spell "making more money by using the clients bandwidth, thank you"

[akijikan @ Dec 1st 2006 5:10AM]

W-T-F, mate?

[Kroc Camen @ Dec 1st 2006 5:19AM]

Good because maybe ISPs will not have an excuse for packet shaping and blocking BitTorrent traffic if it starts being used for legitimate purposes. Acceptance of BitTorrent by the mainstream will only make pirating even easier.

[Xavier Gill @ Dec 1st 2006 6:20AM]

Fucking sellouts

[Eddie @ Dec 1st 2006 6:26AM]

Wait, wait. Once someone buys that content, they can just distribute it for free, so it's open to the public for pirating.

[Dave @ Dec 1st 2006 8:34AM]

Interesting, thanks

--
spamevade.com

[Cody @ Dec 1st 2006 6:46AM]

Bbspot?

[Tynan @ Dec 1st 2006 6:50AM]

It's true, once people figure out how to crack whatever protection they're planning on putting on these films, people will be able to download the files straight from legitimate users allowing everybody who pirates to just get movies quicker.

[Matt @ Oct 2nd 2008 12:20PM]

Its already been Cracked becuse Bittorent plan on using Microsoft DRM .

http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/25/fairuse4wm-strips-windows-media-drm/V

[gazzano8 @ Dec 1st 2006 11:19AM]

eh?

where's the point? where's the benefit? where's the hidden meaning?

sounds like another napster to me.

[Kaizen Maven @ Dec 1st 2006 10:31AM]

WTF, FTW.... BT why are you trying to sleep with the enemy. That is really fucked up.

That's ok though, the underground world will just have to dig a little deeper.

[Jeff @ Dec 1st 2006 11:29AM]

My first reaction was "what? BitTorrent is a protocol not a service." I forgot that the guy who invented it had actually started a site and tried to make it legal.

Somehow I think more people relate bittorrent to PirateBay than BitTorrent.com.

I don't know, I don't see the point personally. If I'm downloading Linux ISOs or something I like helping the community out by seeding. But if I'm downloading content that I paid for, from a multibillion dollar studio that should really be able to support a direct download...eh...I'm going to set my upload to 0 and forget about it.

[Murc @ Dec 3rd 2006 3:25AM]

This is no biggy. Bit torrent cant be like the whole napster debacle, because that was a PSP sharing program and everyone needed that program to get the songs (and pics, movies, etc). While bit torrent...and one can do it, all you need is a server like setup (or a server), and upload whatever you have onto of of many many sites for someone else to see it, and then download it. All the content is spread acroos millions of servers, and theres litterally hundreds of torrent listing sites, and dozens of torrent downloading programs.

in other words...its all good.

This will just give you an option...to download and pay...or download and pay nothing... They (refering to the big movie company guys) will likely have there own site, in which they will advertise that, and that only...they will not bring up that on other sites you can do the same thing that you are doing on there site...only on other sites you dont have to pay any money to get the content.
it will probably called...:buyaretorrents.com

[braindead @ Dec 1st 2006 8:38PM]

Who cares? You can still connect to your trackers and get whatever it was you used to get before this deal. The only thing that changes is that the movie industry will be using the BT system to make a profit. I doubt this will change the current public image of torrents in general.