BitTorrent launches live OTT platform with free channel line-up

Peer-to-peer video sharing platform BitTorrent has launched a multichannel app for live and linear programming at the INTX event in the US.

BitTorrent claims that its BitTorrent Live app solves the problems associated with provisioning and latency of live online broadcasting.

The platform, which will offer a mix of content spanning news, sports, music, technology and youth culture, will use BitTorrent’s proprietary peer-to-peer live streaming protocol to enable the delivery of live video with, it says, a sub-10 second latency and without the need for expensive CDN distribution and pre-provisioning.

“This allows the video stream to remain strong and for the broadcast to be as scalable as traditional Over-the-Air TV,” said the company in a blog posting.

BitTorrent Live will include a free tier of programming with linear channels that contain live events.

Launch partners include AWE, formerly known as WealthTV, about how wealth is achieved, used and enjoyed, new youth channel Clubbing TV (see separate story), action and adventure channel Heroes TV, conservative-skewed news service Newsmax TV and conservative-skewed political analysis channel OANN, music channel NUsicTV, sports service One World Sports, talk radio service OpenNews TV, hunting and fishing channel Pursuit Channel and technology channel TWiT.tv.

The service will also include a raft of channels from SPI International: extreme sports service Fast&Funbox, combat sports channel Fightbox and movie channel Filmbox Arthouse.

“Last year Bob Bowman [head of Major League Baseball Advanced Media] told [Wall Street Journal journalist] Walt Mossberg, in regards to the difficulty of large scale live video streaming of sports, declaring, ‘Is that a business model or is that a stunt? I don’t know.’ Well, BitTorrent Live is the platform that can turn large scale live streaming into a business model,” said Erik Schwartz, vice-president of media, BitTorrent Live.