EU partners with BBC on P2P Next internet TV service

The European Union is planning to invest £10m to develop a next-gen BitTorrent client which will allow streaming as well as P2P downloading.

The project, called P2P Next, will see broadcasters such as the BBC, the European Broadcasting Unit (EBU), and 19 universities, collaborating on the development of Europe’s next-generation Internet television distribution system. The partners in the project will also contribute towards funding.

P2P Next will aim to help broadcasters find better ways to reach viewers who download TV, and also help them offer high-quality on-demand television.

The Open Source software-based technology will provide a cross-platform, legal, peer-to-peer system, which will allow content to be shared between PCs and set-top boxes. It will be developed by open-source, decentralised P2P service Tribler.

Rather than replace IPTV services such as the BBC’s iPlayer, the new technology will provide a test bed for new ideas, promoting collaboration with developers across Europe.

It will be possible to customise the service to allow audiences to build communities around their favourite content.