BitTorrent has launched the BitTorrent Entertainment Network, featuring a comprehensive library of digital entertainment content available for free, for rent and for purchase from 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and MGM. The BitTorrent community is offering movies, television shows and music videos for download, as well as the ability to upload and share user-created content (a great opportunity for independent artists and amateurs alike). "BitTorrent has the infrastructure, technology and established user base to significantly move the needle on digital distribution with quick, easy and affordable delivery," said President Thomas Lesinski of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment.
At launch, the BitTorrent Entertainment Network will feature over 5,000 new and old titles of movies, TV shows, PC games and music content. At this time, the majority of content is available only in standard definition; about 40 hours of content is encoded for high definition (plans are in motion to increase this number). Movie rentals are priced at $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. Videos are protected using Microsoft"s Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM), meaning playback is limited to Windows-based machines, and a single PC at that. A wide variety of entertainment content, however, will be offered for free, without DRM and designed to be distributed across all platforms.