Portable Planet

Where have all the cowboys gone? After a long period of negotiations withHollywood, BitTorrent announced today that they launchedthe BitTorrent Entertainment Network for movie rentals anddownload-to-own television shows and music videos.

Movie rentalsare $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. Kosher, thy name is BitTorrent.

The announcement from BT follows:

BitTorrent, the global standard for delivering high-quality media over the Internet, today announced the launch of the BitTorrent Entertainment Network at BitTorrent.com. The new network features the most comprehensive library of downloadable digital entertainment ever amassed on the Web, including content from 20^th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and BitTorrents newest partner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (MGM). The BitTorrent community will have the flexibility to rent movies, purchase television shows and music videos, and even publish and share their own high-quality content to be displayed alongside titles from the worlds largest studios.

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 its by evangelizing their favorite titles; by submitting content theyve 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 industrys most comprehensive catalog of digital content.

As a leading entertainment content supplier across all media platforms, MGM is pleased to have such a significant role in launching BitTorrents groundbreaking and valuable online consumer destination, said Rick Sands, COO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. MGM’s library, the world’s largest modern library of high quality film and television entertainment programming, appeals to a wide range of consumers and should drive significant traffic to the new BitTorrent Entertainment Network.

BitTorrents newest entertainment network partner is MGM, the legendary Hollywood studio and owner of the worlds largest modern film library. With a roster of over 35 content partners, BitTorrent is offering a breadth and depth of content not found in any other download service. At launch, the network at BitTorrent.com will feature over 5,000 titles of movies, TV shows, PC games and music content, as well as over 40 hours of high-definition (HD) programming. Consumers will be able to enjoy both new releases and catalog movie titles such as Superman Returns, Mission: Impossible III, World Trade Center, Jackass: Number Two, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Sideways, and Thomas Crown Affair. TV programming will include hits such as 24 and Prison Break from 20th Century Fox; My Super Sweet Sixteen from MTV: Music Television; Celebrity Deathmatch from MTV2; Muscle Car and Xtreme 4×4 from Spike TV; Emmy and Peabody-Award winning South Park and Mind of Mencia from COMEDY CENTRAL; Hogan Knows Best and Breaking Bonaduce from VH1; SpongeBob SquarePants and Avatar: The Last Airbender from Nickelodeon; Skyland from Nicktoons Network

BitTorrent has the infrastructure, technology and established user base to significantly move the needle on digital distribution with quick, easy and affordable delivery, said Thomas Lesinski, President, Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment. The final piece of the puzzle is a wide array of content and Paramount is very pleased to be providing a vast selection of filmed entertainment to the site.

MTV Networks is constantly seeking new avenues for our consumers to access our content and to deliver it to them across multiple platforms, said Mika Salmi, President, Global Digital Media, MTV Networks. With BitTorrents new entertainment network, our content gains another high-quality, user-friendly touchpoint to connect audiences with their favorite programming.

BitTorrents entertainment network can also be utilized as a distribution platform for independent content creators. Be it film, TV programming, music or podcasts, BitTorrents self-publishing capability offers artists an instant global audience through a personalized BitTorrent URL and online presence. Were leveling the playing field for independent artists who have been turned away by publishers who are traditionally bound by scarce distribution alternatives and limited shelf space. Our entertainment network is a true marketplace that embraces and welcomes contribution from the independents, allowing them to reach a vast user base with their high-quality creative expression, said Navin.

Despite the breadth and depth of BitTorrents entertainment library, consumers can expect a very simple and straightforward pricing model. 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.

Digital distribution represents a significant new revenue stream for the entertainment industry, but up until now, it has been hindered by the combination of long download times and the lack of good content for people to download, said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst for the Enderle Group. BitTorrent has aggressively addressed both problems; first with their unique technology, which moves content closer to the customer and dramatically lowers the amount of time it takes to acquire it, and second with their unusually strong content library. In addition, the fact that they start with 135 million existing clients is incredibly powerful and makes them, at launch, a real force to be reckoned with in this market.