BitTorrent, the file sharing service often used for pirate video, music and software, announced a slate of partnerships with a wide variety of leading film and television companies this week. 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, MTV, Paramount Pictures and more will all publish movies and TV shows on BitTorrent.com. The service has clearly seen the right moment to strike deals, with the rapid rise of broadband tv viewing through IPTV and the phenomenal success of clip sharing sites like YouTube.

BitTorrent users will be now be able to legally select films to download such as X-Men The Last Stand, Ringu, Mission: Impossible III, and Ghost in the Shell. TV programming will include 24, and South Park.

BitTorrent previously announced a partnership with Warner Brothers. The material will be released at the same time as DVDs, except Palm Pictures, who will release full-length feature films before the theatrical and DVD release dates. Most film titles will be available for purchase on a Download-to-Own (DTO) basis or for rent on a Video-on-Demand (VOD) basis, while TV content will be available for DTO only.

Ashwin Navin, President and Co-founder of BitTorrent, tells us:

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with world-renowned entertainment companies and TV networks. This is a true testament to the value of our community, technology and the position we aspire to play in the world of entertainment and content distribution. Our audience has a voracious appetite for digital content and by offering the titles they want with a solid user experience; it’s a win-win situation for both content providers as well as our users.”

BitTorrent traffic accounts for as much as 40 percent of all worldwide Internet traffic. The new commercial services will offer music and games alongside video material. BitTorrent is holding back the pricing plans until nearer the launch of their service, set for February 2007.

Looking ahead, Navin says:

“We see a future that involves BitTorrent’s content delivery platform powering thousands of websites including those of content creators themselves, offering them the profound benefits of our technology.”

Swiftly following the announcement, BitTorrent secured $20 million funding in venture capital from Accel Partners. They’ve previously invested in successful ventures like Brightcove, Double Fusion, Facebook, Macromedia, RealNetworks and UUNet.