BitTorrent geeks now movie moguls
BitTorrent increased its play in the entertainment industry today. BT has struck a deal with an impressive array of production companies and networks to deliver entertainment digitally to the masses. Among them MTV, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures. BitTorrent is known within silicon valley for its leading peer-assisted digital delivery plaftorm. Scary for theatres is that BT can deliver content before theatrical dates. Cineplex/FamousPlayers plans to be "the Google of entertainment". Note the word "plans". At present, seems only BitTorrent is capable of delivering these massive files over the internet. It is reported that BT accounts for 40% of the traffic on the internet. And once broadband services and their appliances are up to snuff this should spell the end of theatres as we know them, placing the experience first and not the content. That means theatres will have to start cleaning their bathrooms, changing their light bulbs when they burn out, provide snacks that you won't make you ill, shorten the line-ups and acknowledge you when you walk-in. Or else the seat price will never bear the brunt of this diverted access to entertainment. Not to mention, they are losing their key teenage audience. I muse on how this will change the face of TV programming very shortly. In the last few days, our major networks appeared hat-in-hand at the CRTC to obtain the right to levy a fee to their satellite and cable licensees and in turn begin charging consumers for programming–because in fact revenue has dropped at the hands of digital delivery to PC and mobile appliances. Try to explain that to viewers of the Lawrence Welk show! (Isn't the cost of living high enough?) The CRTC said "no". Wouldn't a fee shrink the audiences further? Could these fees offset the increased loss of ad revenue as audiences shrink? This is short-sighted. Bean-counters must be involved, pandering to shareholder nerves. Like the dailies, TV networks simply don't have a Plan B. Or is that Plan BTorrent.
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