BitTorrent Creates Ad-Supported Net TV

BitTorrent announced at the OMMA conference in Hollywood Monday plans to launch a new ad-supported Net TV service.

Eric Patterson, vice president and general manager of consumer services for BitTorrent, said, "We see us moving to an advertising-supported model at the end of the year so people can consume TV shows in the same way they consume programs on television."

BitTorrent has been known to enable illegal downloads until this February when it announced the release of a new website that would sell licensed music and TV shows.

The new Net TV service is meant to rival Joost, the company that created Kazaa, another popular venue for illegal downloads. Joost most recently penned a deal to host videos from Viacom after copyright clashes with YouTube.

The new Net TV allows users to rent movies for $4 and download-to-own TV shows for $2 each. BitTorrent also plans to add a digital-rights-management-free music download service in the near future.