How CBC torrented a TV show

Here's a great, insider account of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's internal process leading up to their decision to put a high-quality torrent of the show Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister online:

Tessa later said that the approval process was like playing a game of whack-a-mole. As soon as one approval had been given the nod, the next obstacle would pop up. Still, there was broad acceptance to the idea and in the end the approvals were easier than anticipated. It may sound like a difficult process to an uploader, but on the other hand, the list is much shorter than one a private broadcaster would have to check off. As a public broadcaster, our mandate to “be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means” really helped the cause.

Link (Thanks, Steve!)

[#1 posted by RyanH, March 26, 2008 12:11 PM]

I found it highly amusing that the first legal torrent from a North American broadcaster was hosted on Mininova and tracked by the Pirate bay.

[#2 posted by adamrice, March 26, 2008 12:18 PM]

How's this working with Bell Canada dropping torrent packets?

[#3 posted by Takuan, March 26, 2008 12:25 PM]

only Conservative packets have assured delivery

[#4 posted by RyanH, March 26, 2008 12:32 PM]

Oh, and no matter where you live, go grab the torrent here

The more people download it, the more likely we are to see more experiments. The mobile version is only 280 MB, so it's hardly going to break your download caps. Heck, you might even like it.

[#5 posted by The Unusual Suspect, March 26, 2008 12:35 PM]

Hmn. Doesn't seem to work with Bell Canada as my ISP...

[#6 posted by Jeff, March 26, 2008 12:43 PM]

What were some of the concerns/issues that were raised?

[#7 posted by Jardine, March 26, 2008 1:07 PM]

I think they need to consult with some of the groups that release unathorized copies of tv shows. The standard for an hour-long show is 350MB and they usually look better than this one at 545MB. I noticed that this one seems to have some interlacing problems (you can see the image tearing) and pixelation. For a first try though, good job. And I love the idea of a public broadcaster serving the public.

[#8 posted by AdamIsntHere, March 26, 2008 2:18 PM]

God I miss the CBC. Now I wish CTV would do this with Project Runway Canada.

[#9 posted by Bonegnawer, March 26, 2008 4:09 PM]

In Canada, torrents come in bags C:

Thank god for anyone who's open to torrenting, especially uploaders.