NBC has inked a deal with Pando to overhaul their NBC Direct site and to distribute their shows to online viewers via p2p. This will make them the first American broadcast television network to legally use peer-to-peer delivery to air their shows. According to Steve Andrade of NBC Universal:

"After a comprehensive search and intensive due diligence of available solutions, we believe we have selected the ideal partner in Pando Networks to optimize the delivery of our full-length TV programming over the Internet. Working with Pando, we're continuing our proud tradition of innovation and leadership by being the first major US TV network to provide millions of viewers free DVD-quality downloads of their favorite shows."

Pando has already signed content distribution deals with, among others, ESPN, Comedy Central, Major League Baseball and the NBA.

So, if you were wondering why NBC content was pulled from iTunes... That's why.

Press release after the jump.

NBC SELECTS PANDO NETWORKS TO POWER TV DOWNLOADS

P2P Powered NBC Direct Service Ushers In New Era of TV Distribution

NEW YORK - February 27, 2008 - Pando Networks, the leading provider of peer-assisted content delivery services and NBC Universal announced today that Pando has been selected to provide video delivery services for the new NBC Direct service.

NBC Direct will offer free hi-resolution downloads of programs across the NBC prime time line up. Integration of the Pando intelligent content delivery engine is being finalized during the current beta period for NBC Direct. Enhanced versions of the service will be available to consumers in Q1 of this year.

NBC has been a strong advocate for copyright enforcement online and the NBC Direct service will include various anti-piracy features. Pando's managed p2p solution will not only intelligently manage the delivery of NBC content, it will also ensure protection of copyrighted material using hash matching, digital fingerprinting and content watermarking technologies. In addition, the Pando content delivery service includes end-to-end encryption and supports all major DRM platforms. The end result is a secure p2p delivery solution that also provides a superior consumer experience.

"We're thrilled that NBC Universal selected Pando Networks to power the delivery of NBC TV shows for this important new service," said Robert Levitan, CEO of Pando Networks.

"Our industry leading knowledge of peer-assisted CDN technology combined with our extensive experience building consumer friendly media applications, will help NBC Direct be a successful consumer experience."

Steve Andrade, Senior Vice President, Digital Development and General Manager NBC.com said, "After a comprehensive search and intensive due diligence of available solutions, we believe we have selected the ideal partner in Pando Networks to optimize the delivery of our full-length TV programming over the Internet. Working with Pando, we’re continuing our proud tradition of innovation and leadership by being the first major US TV network to provide millions of viewers free DVD-quality downloads of their favorite shows."

Pando Networks' peer-assisted content delivery service accelerates hi-resolution media downloads and streams while ensuring peak performance throughout the content demand curve. The ultra-light Pando networking engine and central control servers intelligently coordinate bandwidth utilization between existing CDN servers and participating viewers. Content providers working with Pando can offer consumers a higher quality viewing experience while significantly reducing delivery costs.

Pando Networks' peer-assisted content delivery service interoperates with traditional CDN services and includes innovations such as intelligent P2P QoS management techniques, seamless HTTP and P2P blending algorithms and consumer desktop "politeness" features.

NBC Direct allows consumers to directly download full length episodes for viewing on Windows based PCs. Viewers are also able to select their favorite NBC shows that they'd like automatically delivered to their computers as soon as they are available.

Programs currently available include "30 Rock", "The Office", "Heroes", "My Name Is Earl", "Medium", "American Gladiators", "Celebrity Apprentice", "Friday Night Lights", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

About Pando Networks Inc.

Pando Networks is the leading provider of peer-assisted content delivery services. Pando combines the reliability and control of CDNs with the scale and cost efficiencies of P2P technology. Pando co-chairs with Verizon the P4P Working Group that is developing protocols to enable ISPs and P2P service providers to rout data more efficiently. Pando is funded by Intel Capital, BRM Capital and Wheatley Partners. In 2007, Pando received numerous industry awards including: AlwaysOn 100 Top Private Company, TechCrunch Connected Innovator, C/net Webware 100, PC World Top 101 Fantastic Freebies and Web Video Summit 2007 Hottest Products of the Year. For more information, please visit www.PandoNetworks.com.