BitTorrent News channel to launch next week

BitTorrent’s live-streaming TV news network, BitTorrent News, is due to go live on July 18.

The service will begin broadcasting at the Republican National Convention on Monday and will thereafter aim to provide an “informed, independent voice on the news”.

“Television news has been stagnating for some time. It’s having trouble appealing to a generation that grew up online. We’re building BitTorrent News to solve that problem,” said Erik Schwartz, BitTorrent’s vice president of media.

“We are using superior data and tools and the Silicon Valley ethos of lean startup to build a nimble news organisation that will learn quickly from user behaviour.”

Earlier this month BitTorrent appointed former Viceland and CNN producer, Harrison Bohrman, as news director for BitTorrent News. The channel will run on BitTorrent’s May-launched multichannel app for live and linear programming.