There was a number of TV-related announcements that have come through over the last few days and mostly in regards to Android TV. However, BitTorrent also made an announcement this week and one that will see them entering the live streaming market. The announcement was to confirm the company is releasing a new app which BitTorrent calls ‘BitTorrent Live’.
The basic idea behind BitTorrent Live is that it will look to improve on the already available choices of live video streaming by making use of peer-to-peer technology as its main driving force. While live TV channel streaming services like Sling TV have been proving problematic for traditional cable companies, by offering access to live TV content without the need for a cable subscription, the one aspect that cable companies can still rely on is the reliability of their feeds. This is where BitTorrent Live looks to establish its presence by focusing on proving feeds which maintain a lower level of lag (latency). By making use of their peer-to-peer live streaming protocol, BitTorrent state that “every viewer is also a broadcaster” and that they will be able to offer video stream content that will “remain strong and for the broadcast to be as scalable as traditional Over-the-Air TV.”
In terms of the actual service, it seems BitTorrent Live will come in a multi-tiered structure. At the ground level, the service will be free at launch with access to a select number of live channels with a clear focus on sport, news, music, tech and youth culture. However, BitTorrent does intend to introduce additional tiers which will include a subscription option, an ad-supported option and a Pay-Per-View option. Although, few details were provided on these higher tiers including pricing. Likewise, BitTorrent has yet to confirm when the service will become available, but has confirmed that it will be available on Android, as well as Apple TV, iOS and Mac. Those interested in reading more on the service and examples of some of the channels you can expect to receive, can do so by heading through the source link below and reading the full BitTorrent blog posting on the new BitTorrent Live service.