BitTorrent finally announced today the launch of its new website, called the BitTorrent Entertainment Network. The new network has been anticipated for some time and includes a library of downloadable digital entertainment from 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and BitTorrent's newest partner, MGM.
BitTorrent users can rent movies, purchase television shows and music videos, and publish and share their own content.
BitTorrent has long been famous as a peer-to-peer file sharing system that is commonly associated with illegal file sharing. The company estimates around 135 million BitTorrent clients, which naturally was very appealing when it approached entertainment providers with a secure and protected way to promote their products.
BitTorrent's newest entertainment network partner is MGM, which puts the roster of over 35 content partners. At launch, the network will feature over 5,000 titles of movies, TV shows, PC games and music content, as well as over 40 hours of HD programming.
The pricing is anything but unique for the content. 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.
"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."