BitTorrent to launch legitimate download service

The file swapping and download system developer, BitTorrent Inc., will be introducing a new Web site that will legitimately sell films and TV shows that can be downloaded from your computer.


The service aims to target the market of males between the ages of 15 and 35, that use the BitTorrent technology to barter pirated films and prefers watching shows on their computers.

The BitTorrent Entertainment Network will be distributing films by Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate along with TV show episodes of hits such as "24" and "Punk'd."

The company is confident that there will be a demand for high-quality legitimate content downloaded through the BitTorrent software.

"The vast majority of our audience just loves digital content," Ashwin Navin, president and co-founder of BitTorrent, told The Associated Press. "Now we have to program for that audience and create a better experience for that content so the audience converts to the service that makes the studios money."

Television episodes will be sold for $1.99 per download same as Apple Inc.'s iTunes while movies supposedly can be rented for $3.99 for new titles and $2.99 for old films.

Although for the moment, films will not be offered due to pricing negotiations, because the prices demanded by the studios were too high.

"We're really hammering the studios to say, 'Go easy on this audience,"' Navin said. "We need to give them a price that feels like a good value relative to what they were getting for free."

The new Web site will also offer Japanese anime and high-definition video for downloading.