boxee blog - Latest Comments in the Hulu situation

Re: the Hulu situation

Joe Pemberton — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:19:23 -0000

Avner, I've written a response on my user experience blog, Idlemode. My chief argument is that the real opportunity is for Hulu to bring advertising revenue back to the large screen TV experience in ways that they can't with broadcast and subscription TV modes. Hulu has to achieve this via third-party apps like Boxee and platforms like Xbox, PS3 or others.

The future of TV is the internet. It's not broadcast. And by keeping a broadcast-centric mindset they will only miss opportunities to monetize and stay relevant.

Read my thoughts at Idlemode: http://idlemode.com/2009/02...

Re: the Hulu situation

fritz — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:50:12 -0000

I stopped all subscription TV five years ago and started using less than legal means to obtain shows that I couldn't view anymore or to watch the major networks at my convenience. Hulu, for the most part, eliminated myneed for torrents, excepting media available only in the UK. Boxee has made viewing on my TV an even easier process.

Unfortunately, since Boxee is the interface I now use to watch all online content (rev3, twit.live, etc...), Hulu will be losing me as a viewer. I understand why Hulu made their choice and applaud their honesty, but if content providers refuse to understand that viewing via Boxee is no different than viewing via Firefox, I will take my viewing habit elsewhere. An ad-free, no revenue for the content provider, elsewhere.

Re: the Hulu situation

Joshua — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:56:32 -0000

I'm relatively new to boxee, and i've fallen in love. It saddening that you guys are getting singled out by hulu's providers - essentially because, when it comes down to it, your product is too good, too compelling, i.e too scary of a rapid paradigm shift / tipping point for big media to contemplate and control.

I like hulu a lot and will absolutely continue using boxee, and hope that this great pairing comes back together.

Re: the Hulu situation

Tom P — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:52:09 -0000

Setup every boxee instance you have (ATV, XBMC, PC/Mac) between now and friday to play hulu content as much as possible. Don't watch it necessarily, but generate the traffic. Run a movie when you go to sleep and one before you leave in the morning. Boxee will have stats on this traffic and hopefully it can help present the case for Hulu/Boxee once the traffic drops after Friday.

Re: the Hulu situation

brandall10 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:51:02 -0000

Sorry about the numerous reposts, kept in getting internal server errors, lol.

Re: the Hulu situation

brandall10 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:50:12 -0000

Avner,

First off I feel for you man. I realize Hulu adoption has led to a groundswell of interest in Boxee, to have that cut now just as things are just heating up has to be pretty distressing.

That said i want to throw out another perspective, what I would imagine the content providers are coming from.

I could be totally wrong on this, but I'm going to throw out some big assumptions. You may want to research these assumptions further, it may help you craft a stronger case.

1) Most pirated content is watched on a computer
2) Most people who pirate content still have cable.
3) Set top boxes that promise to reduce the need for cable are having people consider axing #1 + #2 in droves.
4) The content providers provide content to Hulu to thwart #1, to the degree that they actually skim some money.
5) RE #4, the revenue made here still pales in comparison to what's made during normal broadcasts. Sorta like iTunes. This is wresting more control than they're willing to give up.

Re: the Hulu situation

brandall10 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:49:26 -0000

Avner,

First off I feel for you man. I realize Hulu adoption has led to a groundswell of interest in Boxee, to have that cut now just as things are just heating up has to be pretty distressing.

That said i want to throw out another perspective, what I would imagine the content providers are coming from.

I could be totally wrong on this, but I'm going to throw out some big assumptions. You may want to research these assumptions further, it may help you craft a stronger case.

Re: the Hulu situation

andrew — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:49:16 -0000

BOXEE NEEDS TO SHOW THEM SOME MONEY!

Re: the Hulu situation

Beau — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:48:11 -0000

Avner,

First off I feel for you man. I realize Hulu adoption has led to a groundswell of interest in Boxee, to have that cut now just as things are just heating up has to be pretty distressing.

That said i want to throw out another perspective, what I would imagine the content providers are coming from.

I could be totally wrong on this, but I'm going to throw out some big assumptions. You may want to research these assumptions further, it may help you craft a stronger case.

Re: the Hulu situation

Beau — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:47:29 -0000

Avner,

First off I feel for you man. I realize Hulu adoption has led to a groundswell of interest in Boxee, to have that cut now just as things are just heating up has to be pretty distressing.

That said i want to throw out another perspective, what I would imagine the content providers are coming from.

I could be totally wrong on this, but I'm going to throw out some big assumptions. You may want to research these assumptions further, it may help you craft a stronger case.

Re: the Hulu situation

Timothy Idol — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:43:27 -0000

Wait... Hulu's "content providers" requested they turn off access to Boxee? But, that's FOX and NBC... so they told THEMSELVES to turn off access to Boxee? Someone should explain that they've shot themselves in the foot. Oh wait! I just did!!! As other's have stated here, take a close look at the music industry. If it's not readily available, it's gong to get "shared" in all the various means. My message to FOX and NBC is WAKE UP AND GET A CLUE!!! LEAVE BOXEE ALONE!

Re: the Hulu situation

Roy Burns — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:36:54 -0000

This announcement comes on the eve of me canceling my satellite bill forever :-(

Hulu was testing the waters to see if streaming ad supported content to computers would work. Networks love the additional revenue, they know people prefer to watch on their tv but if they can't, they will watch online. This was a huge success... which turned out to be a bad thing.

Once the execs caught on to solutions like Boxee which allowed people to watch Hulu content on their TV's they freaked out. Think about it... networks would much rather you watch tv as they get much more ad revenue that way. Until now networks saw Hulu as extra income, now they see Boxee as a thief of their "potential" income. You aren't supposed to watch online content on your TV that's MADNESS?!?!?

Take a look at the clever superbowl ad with Alec Baldwin, sure it's funny but look at what they are insinuating: "Don't watch Hulu... watch TV AND Hulu."

Some might recall the falling out between Apple and NBC a while back. "The Office" was the number 1 selling show on iTunes so NBC wanted to charge more. How much more? They wanted $5 an episode, making an entire season of the show cost well over $100. NBC basically said, charge $5 because the saps will pay for it, or start allowing ad-supported content. Apple, in their control-freakish nature failed to budge... NBC pulled their content and shortly thereafter Hulu was born.

At first the Apple-fanboy in me was hesitant to support this move, but then I came to realize the two methods of serving media did not have to be mutually exclusive. Hulu turned out to be moderately successful, but NBC was still missing out on their download revenue and eventually came back to iTunes... no concessions were made on Apple's part.

And now yet again we can see the greed, and how out of touch the networks can be. I understand capitalism and subsidy, but because the networks are so out of touch with their users they will alienate themselves and lose out on all of the additional income they hoped to make. TV won't die... Hulu won't die, but of all the bonehead moves to do this one tops them all.

Congrats Hulu you may have won the battle, but I assure you, you will lose the war.

Re: the Hulu situation

dssstrkl — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:36:07 -0000

I only watch Hulu via Boxee. I signed up for Hulu *because* it was supported by Boxee. A web browser is a crap way to watch videos. Boxee allows me to use the 10' interface with my universal remote. No Hulu on Boxee means no more Hulu for me. The Pirate Bay has higher quality, non-streamed, ad-free files anyway.

Re: the Hulu situation

Timothy Idol — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:34:28 -0000

Re: the Hulu situation

Roy Burns — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:31:11 -0000

This announcement comes on the eve of me canceling my satellite bill forever :-(

Take a look at the clever superbowl ad with Alec Baldwin, sure it's funny but look at what they are insinuating: "Don't watch Hulu... watch TV AND Hulu."

Congrats Hulu you may have won the battle, but I assure you, you will lose the war.

Re: the Hulu situation

Brian — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:30:18 -0000

I hope you'll be willing to share the presentation-in the spirit of open source :)

Good luck. We're all pulling for you

Re: the Hulu situation

Timothy Idol — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:29:06 -0000

Wait.... The "Content Providers" requested hulu be removed from Boxee... That would be Fox and NBC. So... They told themselves to request hulu be removed from Boxee? Someone should explain to them that they just shot themselves in the foot... Oh, wait! I just did. This is an EXTREMELY short sighted move. As other's have posted here... Take a close look at the music industry. If you don't make it available easily, and really, what could be easier than Boxee, and enjoy the advertising revenue (Which BTW, "limited commercial interruptions are WAY more effective than normal broadcast)... Or, your content will get "shared" in all it's various forms. It's that simple. Boxee is absolutely the best and most full featured media interface available... AND IT'S ALPHA! So all those complaining about it being ugly and clunky, get a freaking clue. It's in its' infancy. It WILL be so much more in the future! So, my message for FOX and NBC is WAKE UP AND LEAVE BOXEE ALONE!!!

Re: the Hulu situation

avneron — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:28:40 -0000

i agree. it does not make sense.

Re: the Hulu situation

Jonathan Wilson — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:27:39 -0000

This is just stupid, the number of people who have said that without Hulu. they will go back to BitTorrent or a PVR with ad-skip (and then multiply that number by the silent majority who will do the same thing and not post here about it) should give the content providers pause.

I guess as some have said, the real problem is the number of people who are using Boxee + Hulu to replace an expensive cable/satellite plan (either by not having cable/satellite at all or by dropping down to a much cheaper tier)

Re: the Hulu situation

avneron — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:27:33 -0000

i think there are many ways in which Hulu's content partners can benefit from working with boxee. we will try to share with them our vision. i hope they will be open to listening.

Re: the Hulu situation

alex — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:27:10 -0000

Let the content providers cling to their out dated business model, its not our job to give them tips on how they can implicitly discourage viewers from illegally obtaining content in a way that costs them (the providers) nothing and only boosts viewership. Let them catch on at their own rate.

Re: the Hulu situation

Chris — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:23:10 -0000

Here's my question... isn't Boxee open source? Hulu can tell Boxee to stop supporting thier content, but they can't tell other developers not to create their own Hulu plug-in that everyone could just add on themselves, right? Hulu didn't give anything special to Boxee to allow it to interface, so it's really not taking anything away from what the open-source community can do. Maybe you guys at BoxeeHQ should look into that....

This move shouldn't stop Hulu from appearing in Boxee, if we get enough smart people involved.

Re: the Hulu situation

Sergio — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:21:49 -0000

One of the reasons I love HULU on Boxee on TV is that it is "WIFE FRIENDLY", EASY to USE. I can hook my laptop up to the TV, or watch on the small laptop screen but why??? if I am the only one in the house that will do that. Now with Hulu on Boxee, thru the AppleTV, my Kids, and my wife can just click a few buttons and watch their content, to be honest there is not a day that has gone by that hulu has not been being used, and for quite sometime, my kids love the old shows the old man used to watch, wife and I catch up on episodes of things we have not seen, or movies we would otherwise not rent etc. Sad that the future of content delivery is being shunned by the content providers themselves. Rest assured we will continue using BOXEE, just now I will have to get back to torrents & newsgroups.

Re: the Hulu situation

Greg — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:19:09 -0000

Bring Hulu back! This is madness! Boxee is just like Safari or Internet Explorer!

Re: the Hulu situation

kevin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:18:28 -0000

I am one of those people who have been excited by the prospect of hulu, where I can watch the tv shows I want to watch, when I want to watch them. Legally. Boxee is one of the few products that allows me to do so in a clean interface. I don't mind the ads, but certainly am not going to pay a couple bucks per episode to purchase TV episodes from places like itunes.

Please tell your content providers that they are only sending the masses back to illegal downloads of the television content, where they are not getting ad revenue like they do with Hulu.