We can add Netflix to the ranks of companies that want to use P2P. They are looking to hire a BitTorrent expert. http://torrentfreak.com/netflix-needs-bittorrent-expert-to-implement-p2p-streaming-150520/
This will reduce Netflix's server bandwidth requirements and might improve the experience for those with ISPs that aren't part of the Netflix Open Connect Content Delivery Network or those with ISPs that "throttle" Netflix.
BitTorrent (and other P2P protocols) get such a bad rap from the copyright industry (and consequently, the general public believes it inherently illegal). It can be very useful in reducing bandwidth bottlenecks. It's nice to see more major players in the tech industry adopt it.
There's already a company doing this, Vudu. They use a p2p network and the apps are all available on most major platforms:
"Vudu is also available within PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iPad, TiVo Roamio, Roku devices (such as Roku 2/LT/HD/XD/XS, and the Roku 3) and select Android Tablets." - Wikipedia
I've no experience with Vudu to speak on it, but if Netflix is going this route I'm all for it.
Wonder how Netflix will be affected on networks where P2P traffic is blocked like at universities.
This could be a serious issue for people with data caps. Potentially double the data usage for a movie? This may get the ISPs off Netflix's back, however, the ISPs are going to blame Netflix when the customers go over their data limit.
If enough people push it to the limit, ISPs with have to raise their caps regardless otherwise they will lose customers to other ISPs that advertise higher data caps.
I've never had an ISP with a data cap. I was under the impression that your download or upload data per month had to be under the limit. Is it downloaded+uploaded total has to be less than the 200GB per month ( or whatever your particular amount happens to be)?
The purpose of using p2p is so they get better peering agreements at the expense of customers upload.
@Trogdor0 data caps that just got implemented for all cox/Comcast customers is download and upload combined. say i have a 200 GB limit i download a 20 GB game and download nothing else but i upload 180GB worth of game streams i hit my cap for the month. (made example lopsided on purpose)
now lets take this a step further i go over my data cap i now have to pay $X for every 1-10GB of data i go over my cap.
Sure in this ideal world that you have competition between isps. Where I live I'd have to literally move 10 miles to get the same service I receive right now.