[Infowarrior] - BitTorrent Partners with TV and Movie Companies

[Richard Forno]

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-partners-with-tv-and-movie-companies/

BitTorrent Partners with TV and Movie Companies

BitTorrent Inc just announced that they have teamed up with several TV and
movie companies. The new list of partners includes 20th Century Fox,
Paramount Pictures, G4, Kadokawa Pictures USA, Lionsgate, MTV Networks
(Comedy Central, MTV etc.), Palm Pictures and Starz Media.

bittorrent These deals will add a great deal of content to the BitTorrent
Video Store, including popular movies like Mission: Impossible III and X-Men
The Last Standand, and popular TV shows such as ŒPrison Break¹ and ŒSouth
Park¹. The official launch of the BitTorrent video store was delayed, but it
is expected to go live in early 2007

³We¹re thrilled to be partnering with world-renowned entertainment companies
and TV networks,² said Ashwin Navin, President and co-founder of BitTorrent.
³This is a true testament to the value of our community, technology and the
position we aspire to play in the world of entertainment and content
distribution. Our audience has a voracious appetite for digital content and
by offering the titles they want with a solid user experience; it¹s a
win-win situation for both content providers as well as our users.²

Earlier this year BitTorrent Inc announced deals with several other movie
and TV companies including Warner Bros.

Update: We¹ve just got word that BitTorrent Inc is going to be getting a
massive amount of funding from Accel Partners and Doll Capital Management to
the tune of $15-25 million. This is still unconfirmed, but two separate and
reliable sources have provided us with the same information. We contacted
Ashwin Navin regarding the matter. He told us that there were no fundraising
announcements at this point.

What¹s worth taking note of is the timing of this rumour. It wouldn¹t be
highly unexpected for BitTorrent to receive a large amount of funding at
this point. They have just signed deals with high-profile content companies
and their future suddenly looks bright. It is very possible that the venture
capitalists knew of the deal in advance and were waiting for it to fall
through to confirm their investments.

Another rumour that has arisen once again is the resignation (or firing) of
one of BitTorrent¹s co-foudners, and inventor of the technology. According
to Giga OM, BitTorrent Inc is replacing Bram Cohen with a more experienced
manager. The Silicon Valley-based blog is reporting that a head hunter has
been hired and that the company is already on the lookout for someone to
take his place. ³There is talk about founder and CEO Bram Cohen being
replaced by a more seasoned manager, and apparently have hired a head
hunter, to lead the search,² writes Om Malik. He then goes on to say, ³We
have confirmed this information.²