Bittorent, Hollywood Movie Studios' New Best Friend

The Hollywood studios' boogeyman, the file-sharing monster with million tentacles also known as Bittorent, is slowly turning into one of the best friends of the entities mentioned above.

The first step in this direction was taken by Warner Bros, which announced yesterday that it will use the Bittorent peer-to-peer technology to distribute movies and shows online.

By the summer, BitTorrent Inc. will allow users to download and watch "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Natural Born Killers," "Dog Day Afternoon," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and other Warner Bros. titles on their computers.

Movie studios seem to be changing their perspective on one of the most powerful distribution media and to embrace the file-sharing technology, this being largely due to the increase in volume of illegally downloaded movies.

"The problem of piracy is getting worse, not better. The way we're positioning this within Warner Bros. is, let's take the problem and turn it into an opportunity. If we can convert 5, 10 or 15% of these users into legitimate customers, we think it can have a significant impact," Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, the unit working with Bittorrent, told the Los Angeles Times.

Before giving Bittorent a try, Warner Bros. tested the waters in Europe, where it currently offers through peer-to-peer technology some German-dubbed movies and shows.