Warner Brothers planned to announce yesterday that it will make hundreds of movies and television shows available for purchase over the Internet using BitTorrent software, which is widely used to illegally download movies and other copyright material.
The agreement between Warner Brothers and BitTorrent is an unusual deal between a major Hollywood studio and a company whose file-sharing technology has raised the ire of the movie industry in the past.
For its part, Warner Brothers says it is trying to stem the piracy of movies on the Internet by offering consumers an easy and fast way to download movies legally.
"We've been struggling with peer-to-peer technology and trying to figure out a way to harness the good in all that the technology allows us to do," said Kevin Tsujihara, the president of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group.
"If we can convert 5, 10 or 15 percent of the illegal downloaders into consumers of our product, that is significant," he added.
A spokeswoman for Warner Brothers declined to disclose the terms of the deal.
The service will begin sometime this summer, with prices beginning at about US$1 for some television programs and increasing to about the price of a DVD or video rental for full-length movies.
The initial offerings will include movies like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rumor Has It and Natural Born Killers.
The television shows will include older fare like The Dukes of Hazzard and Babylon 5.
To use the service, consumers will visit www.bittorrent.com, download the software and then browse the selections on the Web site. They will be prevented from copying and distributing the files they purchase through two mechanisms: One that requires them to enter a password before watching a file, and another that allows the file to be viewed only on the computer to which it was downloaded.
Online piracy has become increasingly vexing for Hollywood studio executives as faster Internet connections have made it easier to copy large movie files. A study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America concluded that piracy cost the studios about US$2.3 billion in revenue last year.
BitTorrent, which is widely used by college students and other tech-savvy people, has legitimate uses, offering a way for creators of video documentaries or of open-source software to share their work easily and cheaply. But it is best known as a tool for illegal downloading.
For example, at any given moment in the week ending May 2, an average of 47,069 people were downloading the movie The Chronicles of Narnia using BitTorrent, according to BigChampagne Media Measurement, an online market research firm in Beverly Hills, California. Scary Movie 4, which hit theaters just last month, was being downloaded by an average of 37,287 people in that week.
"There's a significant amount of peer-to-peer usage, which takes place because not many online options exist," said Ashwin Navin, the president and co-founder of BitTorrent.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College