CBC adopts DRM-free BitTorrent format
This is a pretty impressive move from Canada's national broadcaster. A big day for online TV and freedom of consumer choice.
Earlier today, the CBC announced that one of its major primetime shows ("Canada's Next Great Prime Minister") will be made available for free, unprotected download in the popular BitTorrent format so often associated with digital piracy.
No - I'm not making this up. Canada's greatest copyright guru, Michael Geist, leaked the story yesterday on his blog, and the CBC have both confirmed it and been actively involved in the comment thread at Michael's place. From the show blog:
The torrents will be completely free of nasty DRM too. One of the show's interactive producers, Guinevere Orvis, is quoted in this CNET piece, saying:
Earlier today, the CBC announced that one of its major primetime shows ("Canada's Next Great Prime Minister") will be made available for free, unprotected download in the popular BitTorrent format so often associated with digital piracy.
No - I'm not making this up. Canada's greatest copyright guru, Michael Geist, leaked the story yesterday on his blog, and the CBC have both confirmed it and been actively involved in the comment thread at Michael's place. From the show blog:
The show will completely free (and legal) for you to download, share & burn to your heart’s desire.This is courageous, smart, and just plain awesome.
The torrents will be completely free of nasty DRM too. One of the show's interactive producers, Guinevere Orvis, is quoted in this CNET piece, saying:
I think DRM is dead, even if a lot of broadcasters don't realize it ... if it's bad for the consumers, it's bad for the company.Amen. Times like these, I'm proud to be living in Canada.
