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Must P2P TV: NBC Strikes Online File-Sharing Deal

by Wayne Friedman

LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED IN the world of alternative windows for TV programming, now NBC Universal has struck a deal with Wurld Media, a peer-to-peer computer/Internet service.

Wurld Media’s legal peer-to-peer service, Peer Impact, would offer up to 75 to 100 NBC Universal movie titles, commercial-free, for rental on a 24-hour basis such as “Ray,” “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Meet the Fockers,” and “The Bourne Supremacy,” as well as upcoming premieres of “The Skeleton Key,” “Cinderella Man,” and “The Forty Year Old Virgin.” NBC is the first movie studio to strike a deal with Wurld Media, and represents the company’s efforts to offer a legal alternative to digital piracy. “This agreement is a significant step forward in our goal to capitalize on the myriad possibilities of new digital-media services, in a way that allows us to safeguard our content from illegal distribution,” said Bob Wright, chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, in a press release.