CNN, Fox News, MSNBC … BitTorrent.

The addition of BitTorrent, Inc. to the list of news channels is about to become reality, with the company announcing that it will be launching its new live news channel BitTorrent News at the Republican National Convention July 18.

BitTorrent News will feature exclusively on BitTorrent’s Live television streaming platform and is pitching itself a destination for an informed, independent voice on the news in real-time as news breaks.

The channel is being headed by former Vice and CNN producers and will include a number of reporters, most of whom previously worked with now defunct channel Al Jazeera America.

For the conventions, the channel will include play-by-play commentary on all developments and speeches, interspersed with guest commentary in real-time both on issues raised and issues omitted. Each day will include 10-12 hours of live coverage.

Post-conventions the channel will provider election coverage and other news, as well as news from action and alternative sports.

“We are marrying the Internet’s principles of open access to information with society’s need for unfettered – and unfiltered – access to news,” BitTorrent Co-Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Johnson said in a statement. “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.”

Limited distribution

BitTorrent launched its live television service back in May with an initial lineup of 13 channels covering a variety of different formats and it’s not an unappealing mix, but it still has one major problem, and that’s limited distribution due to a lack of platform support.

The company claims that it is now available on both Apple TV and OS X, but it’s own website for the service says it’s only available on Apple TV with support for iOS, Android and OS X coming soon.

That lack of support for Android not only affects mobile device users but smart televisions owners and those who own Android TV boxes, meaning that BitTorrent Live could be the best service in the world but many people in the world are not able to watch it.

If you do own a current model Apple TV and BitTorrent Live app can be downloaded from the Apple TV App Store.

Image credit: BitTorrent