A few months ago, BitTorrent made the move into original content territory, announcing that it would take on the likes of Netflix and Hulu with its own original content. It’s already announced one program, Children of the Machine, that’s on the way, and today it moves forward even more with a new partnership.
TechCrunch has reported that BitTorrent has teamed up with Rapid Eye Studios – the same team that’s producing Children – in an effort to identify, produce and distribute even more original video content for the company’s program, which is called BitTorrent Originals. The company hopes to reach out to an audience within the ages 14-25 market with these shows, although additional titles weren’t announced yet.
As part of the deal, part of BitTorrent’s Bundles team, which handles paid content for the site – will relocate to offices in Los Angeles, working closely with Rapid Eye. “It signals how serious we are about being a media company,” said a spokesperson for the company.
The move should shift BitTorrent away from what it’s usually known for, unlicensed content sharing that’s become a bit of a hassle in running. “This landmark deal with Marco (Weber, CEO of Rapid Eye) is a major milestone for us and an aggressive expansion into the media space for BitTorrent, Inc.” said Eric Klinker, CEO for BitTorrent, in a statement by the company. “In the last two years, we’ve become a trusted and valid channel for creators and publishers to reach a monthly global audience of 170 million fans directly. Expanding into the world of original content is a move that makes us a serious player in the media business, and takes us another step closer toward our goal: creating a sustainable digital future for creators of all kinds.”
There’s no word yet when the Originals program for BitTorrent will launch, but it appears to be set behind a Bundle “pay gate” model. From there, the content could be sold to other social channels. “All of those are possible,” said the spokesperson, when TechCrunch talked about the likes of Amazon and Netflix.
