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Warner Bros. First Studio to Offer File Sharing

In a benchmark agreement within the entertainment industry, by this summer, Warner Brothers is expected allow file-sharing technology to distribute television shows and movies online through BitTorrent Inc., writes the Los Angeles Times.

Despite last year’s court victory for Warner Bros. and other studios’ U.S. Supreme Court case against pirating amongst file-sharing networks, the studios are now taking the attitude that new forms of file sharing offer reach to new audiences and increased revenues.

“The problem of piracy is getting worse, not better,” said Kevin Tsujihara, president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, which works with BitTorrent. “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 percent of these users into legitimate customers, we think it can have a significant impact.”

Apple Computer Inc.‘s iTunes store set the standard for capitalizing on file sharing for the music industry. “ITunes converted people who were doing downloads illegally into legal users,” said Allen Weiner, analyst for Gartner Inc. “It’s got to be as simple as what Apple is doing. That’s the standard that’s being set.”