BitTorrent Scores $20M in Funding, Signs More Movie Studios
Venture capitalists and entertainment industry bet on BitTorrent
BitTorrent, Inc. today announced it has closed $20 million in Series B financing. New investor Accel Partners led the round with participation from initial investor DCM. This latest round of funding will support the company's plan to power other websites with BitTorrent’s content delivery service.
"When I created BitTorrent in 2001, my mission was to solve the problem every website has when distributing large, popular files," said Bram Cohen, CEO and Co-Founder of BitTorrent. "This mission is still what drives BitTorrent today and couldn't be more relevant as the Web grows into a channel for consuming large, high-value entertainment and information content. This financing is a clear testament to the strength of our technology and potential growth, and I look forward to spearheading the continued development of BitTorrent."
Also announced this week is BitTorrent’s partnerships with the following film and television companies: 20th Century Fox, G4, Kadokawa Pictures USA, Lionsgate, MTV Networks (including Comedy Central, Logo, MTV: Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons Network, SpikeTV, The N, TV Land and VH1), Palm Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Starz Media. will publish movies and TV shows on BitTorrent.com. BitTorrent previously announced partnerships with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Egami Media, Hart Sharp, Koch Entertainment and The Orchard
Movies such as "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Mission: Impossible III," and TV shows such including "Ghost in the Shell," "24" and "Chappelle's Show" will be published on BitTorrent.com. Most film titles will be available for purchase on a Download-to-Own (DTO) basis or for rent on a Video-on-Demand (VOD) basis, while TV content will be available for DTO only.
"We're thrilled to be partnering with world-renowned entertainment companies and TV networks," said Ashwin Navin, President and Co-founder of BitTorrent. "This 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; it's a win-win situation for both content providers as well as our users."
:source: Source: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5167
