BitTorrent has announced that it is closing down its music and video streaming service BitTorrent Now.
The peer-to-peer file sharing platform also removed its two CEOs - Robert Delamar and Jeremy Johnson - and laid off an unknown number of employees. BitTorrent Inc. also decided to close down its Los Angeles-based media production studio. The company's chief financial officer Dipak Joshi has also been dismissed from his post as interim chief executive officer.
BitTorrent Now was launched in April under the leadership of Johnson and Delamar. Sources told Variety that the company spent millions of dollars on BitTorrent Now, but the ambitious project failed due to "out of control" spending.
"BitTorrent founder Bram Cohen laid out the changes in an email to staff earlier this week but layoffs apparently began as early as two weeks ago," unnamed sources told Variety. "In addition to being ousted as CEOs, Delamar and Johnson were also removed from the company's board of directors."
However, the California-headquartered company has not issued an official statement in this regards.
BitTorrent is currency under the spotlight due to piracy related allegations.
Last month, Malibu Media filed a complaint in a US district court against a BitTorrent user for illegally distributing its movies. The Recording Industry Association of America said in a report last year that BitTorrent software accounted for 75 percent of online piracy.
"BitTorrent software, including the popular uTorrent client, facilitated approximately 75 percent of the over 1.6 million torrent based infringement of our members works last year in the US," the RIAA said.