BitTorrent will launch its new live-streaming news network July 18, with coverage of the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, the file-sharing and video platform company announced.
BitTorrent News will be carried on BitTorrent Live, the company’s multichannel OTT app, with former CNN producer Harrison Bohrman directing coverage. Michael Shure, former chief political correspondent for Al Jazeera America, and Rita Chan, a former producer with Fox News, will be among those covering the RNC for BitTorrent News.
“Television news has been stagnating for some time,” said Erik Schwartz, VP of media for BitTorrent, said in a statement. “It’s having trouble appealing to a generation that grew up online. We’re building BitTorrent News to solve that problem. We are using superior data and tools and the Silicon Valley ethos of lean startup to build a nimble news organization that will learn quickly from user behavior.”
BitTorrent’s RNC plans include nearly a dozen hours of live coverage, with two hours of live programming in the morning, daily coverage through 2 p.m. ET, and an hour-long wrap-up segment following the final speeches each day. BitTorrent News plans a similar tact for the Democratic National Convention July 25-28 in Philadelphia.
The infant news service plans post-convention election coverage, along with coverage of alternative sports. Alice Anil, a documentary filmmaker and journalist, and Justin Robert Young, a podcaster and comedian, are also members of BitTorrent’s first news team.
“We are marrying the internet’s principles of open access to information with society’s need for unfettered — and unfiltered — access to news,” said Jeremy Johnson, co-CEO of BitTorrent. “Not to be too grandiose, but I’m really excited about our news initiative. I think what we’re doing is important for the world.”
BitTorrent News will be available via BitTorrent Live, which is available on Apple TV and OS X.
