Everyone knows that BitTorrent is the hands down biggest distribution platform on the planet right now transferring billions of files per year. But a large numbers of those files are television shows. Every release is high quality and often hits the net before it airs on TV.This morning I came across an article about TV and BitTorrent and boy was it dead on. Here is a taste of how the producers are reacting to Weeds, a Showtime program, being released on BitTorrent online:

The hit TV series Weeds has had some high profile unofficial? leaks of their shows prior to airing on television. When a show is on BitTorrent that hasn’t yet aired, it’s a fairly good indicator that there are insiders nod-and-wink at play. The Weeds show producer Jenji Kohan hinted at both her approval of the leaks and the reasons behind them, Revenue aside, I don’t expect to get rich on Weeds, I’m excited it’s out there. Showtime is great, but it does have a limited audience? Weeds ratings continue to grow and leaks seem to be part of their ongoing strategy.

Now it is safe to say that media viewing is becoming increasingly fragmented. There are literally hundreds of video platforms out there and figuring out how to measure and monetize video is the next big challenge. The article also was bang on in mirroring our views on the subject:

BitTorrent and the like are simply new distribution models and the number of our viewers choosing to view our content this way is as relevant as those still choosing to watch on broadcast television. What’s missing is the definitive business model for online that has existed for decades for TV. My prediction is that one single model won’t emerge and that we’ll monetize our content in as many different ways as there are to distribute it.

All in all, a great article. Check out the entire article here