NBC Universal makes deal with Peer Impact.

Byline: John Boudreau

Nov. 18--In a sign that Hollywood is beginning to embrace Internet file-swapping after spending years trying to crush the technology, NBC Universal on Thursday announced it will rent movies and television shows through Peer Impact, a new legal file-sharing network.

The deal will allow movies to be commercially distributed for the first time through a file-trading network. And it is yet another indication of how technology is upending the entertainment industry as it adjusts to the TiVo generation, which has grown accustomed to recording TV shows and watching them on their schedule, not that of the networks.

NBC Universal did …