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Following a number of successful tests in 2008, Norway’s public broadcaster NRK has decided to launch a BitTorrent tracker in order to get its content in front of as many people as possible, DRM-free of course. The broadcaster will be using the same OpenTracker software that powers infamous site The Pirate Bay but, unlike the latter, all their content will be legitimate and eventually moved to a creative commons license.

In all fairness, the state-owned broadcaster can afford making such a bold move because it receives 94 percent of its revenue from a license fee paid by all TV-owning households in the country – so no matter how content is distributed they still receive funds. Nevertheless, getting the rights to distribute unprotected content globally via BitTorrent has proved to be a daunting task, but NRK hopes to find a solution in which they can rightfully distribute their programming while the rights holders get the compensation they want.

Using BitTorrent the company says it will reach more people while gathering better statistics and important data about how the technology works. Hopefully, others will see the benefit in this and realize that the traditional distribution methods are changing, prompting a change in license fee models as well – wishful thinking, indeed.