BitTorrent Hopes You'll Pay For P2P Streaming Video

BitTorrent may best be know as the leading company behind the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing protocol. However, in one of the company's latest attempts at going to a fully legitimate service, they have announced the launch of a new live streaming TV service with both free and paid options.

As announced today, BitTorrent Live is "a multichannel, live, and linear video streaming platform" based on a peer-to-peer live video streaming protocol that BitTorrent has been developing for a few years. In other words, BitTorrent Live will in effect make every viewer a broadcaster, as you'll be simultaneously sharing the videos you are watching with others.

The company's announcement said that today's live streaming services usually use HTTP Live Streaming and are "notorious for latency issues, also known as lag." The BitTorrent Live protocol is an attempt to solve that problem.

Live television is a communal event that is shared by a society. The vast majority of the most watched television in the history of the medium have been live sports, news, and events, simultaneously consumed. Yet, there has been very little innovation around the distribution of live video on the internet. Currently, HTTP Live Streaming (or HLS) is most commonly used for live video streaming. But it is notorious for latency issues, also known as lag.....

Powered by our proprietary and patented peer-to-peer live streaming protocol, BitTorrent Live allows for large audiences to view live video with sub 10-second latency and without the need for an expensive CDN or pre-provisioning. With BitTorrent Live, every viewer is also a broadcaster. This allows the video stream to remain strong and for the broadcast to be as scalable as traditional Over-the-Air TV.

As for BitTorrent Live programming, the following channels will be available at launch time with more expected down the road:

• AWE: Formerly known as WealthTV, AWE is a 24/7 network devoted to taking viewers on a journey of how wealth is achieved, used and enjoyed.
• Clubbing TV:  The official media partner of some of the planet’s biggest electro festivals, Clubbing TV offers exclusive, quality electronic music content from artists and labels all around the globe embracing the entire the Dance Music lifestyle.
• FAST&FUN is a new Television Channel offering an action-packed, adrenaline-including medley of extreme sports, from car racing and motocross to snowboarding and skateboarding; a large variety of disciplines, shows and competitions from all over the world.
• Fightbox: From MMA and boxing to arm wrestling and sumo, Fightbox is a compilation of the finest combat sports from around the globe all on one channel.
• Filmbox Arthouse: Every month FilmBox Arthouse also airs special presentations devoted to a particular creative movement (German Expressionism, New Romanian Cinema) or individual filmmakers (The Surreal Art of Salvador Dali, Rossellini’s War Trilogy, etc.)
• Heroes TV: Delivers what action, adventure fanatics want.  Heroes TV targets audiences with Multiple programming categories to offer the most comprehensive action, adventure line up on TV.
• Newsmax: Newsmax TV provides the latest news, expert views and live programming from your favorite TV hosts and A-list guests. (conservative programming)
• NUsicTV:  Delivers the finest new independent artists at the forefront of music in a linear broadcast, allowing viewers to discover the vanguard in music without having to search the internet.
• OANN: Features political analysis programming and political talk shows, along with network special documentary-style reports; its news coverage attempts to maintain objectivity while its political shows illustrate a stronger conservative lean.
• One World Sports: It features exclusive, live, world-class sporting events and premier matchups from around the world, with over 3,000 hours of unduplicated sports programming annually. Content focus is on live and same-day action of league, championship and qualification competitions in soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, table tennis, badminton, darts, and more.
• OpenNews TV: OpenNews TV brings you live video talk shows from the best progressive talk radio personalities.
• Pursuit Channel: Pursuit Channel is a television network that airs programming geared to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation.
• TWiT: The TWiT.tv Netcast Network with Leo Laporte features the #1 ranked technology podcast This Week in Tech, along with over 20 other top-ranked online shows.

BitTorrent Live will add a number of other channels over time, including an as yet details subscription service, ad-supported services, and Pay-Per-View offerings. BitTorrent has not yet announced a launch date for the app, though they have confirmed it will be available on Apple TV, iOS, Android, and Mac later this year. Sorry Windows fans, no word on a release for you as of yet!