BitTorrent is continuing to use significant content partnerships to shake its reputation as a haven for illegal file sharing. The torrenting service has teamed up with Sony Pictures Classics to distribute bonus content for Red Army, a documentary about the national hockey team of the Soviet Union.
Users who access Red Army‘s official BitTorrent page can download “four free video, image files and more” or provide an email address to unlock a premium package from BitTorrent Bundle that includes the aforementioned video and image files as well as “14 premium video files and more bonus features and added content.” BitTorrent’s bundling service also has plans to distribute sci-fi series Children of the Machine and David Cross’ Hits. Users are required to install the BitTorrent client before they can download the film.
Red Army explores the rise and fall of the Soviet squad, which famously lost to the United States during the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980. The BitTorrent Bundle for the flim has already received more than two million downloads, while the full-length feature doc has received universal critical acclaim; Red Army currently holds a 95% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The deal between Sony Classics and BitTorrent is significant. It’s the first time BitTorrent Bundle has made a deal with a major film studio, and it’s particularly interesting that the studio in question is Sony, which recently saw several of its films leaked on file sharing sites as part of the highly-publicized hacking spree it suffered. With this partnership, BitTorrent gets to improve its reputation, while Sony gets utilize file sharing on its own terms.
