“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” — Walt Disney
Later this week, Hulu’s content will no longer be available through Boxee. While we never had a formal relationship with Boxee, we are under no illusions about the likely Boxee user response from this move. This has weighed heavily on the Hulu team, and we know it will weigh even more so on Boxee users.
Our content providers requested that we turn off access to our content via the Boxee product, and we are respecting their wishes. While we stubbornly believe in this brave new world of media convergence — bumps and all — we are also steadfast in our belief that the best way to achieve our ambitious, never-ending mission of making media easier for users is to work hand in hand with content owners. Without their content, none of what Hulu does would be possible, including providing you content via Hulu.com and our many distribution partner websites.
Our mission to make media dramatically easier and more user-focused has not changed and will not change. We will not stop until we achieve it and we are sober in our assessment that we have such a long way to go.
The maddening part of writing this blog entry is that we realize that there is no immediate win here for users. Please know that we take very seriously our role of representing users such that we are able to provide more and more content in more and more ways over time. We embrace this activity in ways that respect content owners’ — and even the entire industry’s — challenges to create great content that users love. Yes, it’s a complex matter. A tough mission, and a never-ending one, but one we are passionately committed to.
For those Boxee users reading this post, we understand and appreciate that you’re likely to tell us that we’re nuts. Please know that we do share the same interests and won’t stop innovating in support of the bigger mission.
Jason Kilar (),
CEO, Hulu
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Dumb. Dumb! DUMB. DUMB! DUMB!!!
Like most of your users, I have begun to phase out more traditional forms of content and found Boxee to be a great UI to get hulu.com to the TV, in fact, it’s what made the AppleTV usable. It’s sad to see that content providers don’t understand how to work towards solutions that provide users with a win-win and just pull the plug. Netflix has been such an innovator in this regards and will continue to be my content provider of choice, even more so with this decision. I echo many here when I say that we will find the way to get the content we want, so the content providers would be best off finding ways to capitalize off of that (as you were already doing just fine!) than to try to push it out how they see fit.
My love for Boxee outweighs my use of Hulu. My account has been deleted in protest. I will not be returning to Hulu until Boxee has been allowed back. I guess it’s back to my commercial stripped PVR recordings. Sorry paying advertisers..
Back to torrents for me too.
It’s a shame – because with RSS feeds, torrents and Boxee, it is actually EASIER for me to torrent shows, and I get a better quality show all round.
However, I was delighted that Hulu offered a legal way for me to still quite easily enjoy the shows I wanted in the way I wanted, so I decided to support the service.
As mentioned above – it seems the content providers are desperate to prevent us from finding legal ways to enjoy their content. Oh well – as I said, it makes my life easier – we certainly aren’t the ones who are losing out.
until hulu returns to boxee, all I have to say is…piss off hulu, I won’t watch you anymore.
What next? Watch your content only in Internet Explorer !!
Removing Hulu from Boxee is a mistake. Hulu should be working with Boxee to aggregate viewership. Hulu should work in partnership with Boxee to get as many faces as possible in front of the viewing material. Maybe Hulu and Boxee should actually be teaming up to demonstrate to these short sighted content providers that this is a serious way to reach more potential viewers (and customers!) Sadly, the alternative will probably lead to more piracy. Believe me, pirates won’t leave the 15 second commercial spots in place when they redistribute the content. Boxee and similar technologies are the wave of the future, and this move that Hulu made is a move back to the ways of the past (that didn’t work.) Bad move, Hulu. Move forward, not back.
Hulu, you realize that the fight for your survival has begun, don’t you? You’d better fix this if you want to have a future.
Just need to add my name to the list of responses
Boxee needs Hulu, Hulu needs Boxee
The “content providers” will continue to be idiots, and the more responses to that effect, the better.
My question is: how soon before this decision can be reversed? Boycott Hulu for a day? A week? Something will get the message through.
I’ve watched many, many shows on Hulu through Boxee over the last month, and have watched each and every one of the commercials embedded within those shows.
I have held up my end of the bargain by viewing the sponsors’ messages, and the content providers have decided that my viewing of their ads is not good enough.
Thanks for the short run. I hope you return, and that your content providers develop a little more respect for their viewers.
This is very disappointing. Why would you want to block boxee even though we end up watching the ads in between. Are we not generating revenue for you? I don’t understand. Any ways, I am optimistic that this will be sorted out soon.
I am an occasional Hulu user, a boxees alpha tester, and a Roku owner. I am also a Linux user. I love the fact that Hulu works properly on Linux. Before getting the Roku I watched more Hulu than Netflix online content. I was also typically watching more Hulu than content from bittorrent. Since getting the Roku box I watch way more Netflix content than Hulu, and more bittorrent content than Hulu. I was really excited about the idea of adding Boxee to my computer connected to the TV. I prefer to watch the content on my TV, but above that I want to watch it when and where and on what device I want — that is non-negotiable. I would prefer to pay for/legally access the content, but when it is not available with the above, I do occasionally download from bittorrent.
I am guessing the content providers in question think that Hulu on Boxee competes with TV viewer ship from Cable and broadcast. At least for myself this is completely wrong (and for most of my coworkders).
They are trying to compete in the dying market of the past and giving up the market of the future to keep it. Its not a question of whether I will watch the shows in question on cable if I can’t connect Hulu via Boxee to my TV, its whether I will go to Netflix, bittorrent, iTunes, some other yet to be named player. It doesn’t benefit the content producers to train people that bittorrent is much easier than viewing the content in a way that provides revenue to the creators.
This is a HUGE disappointment. I realize that Hulu must respect the wishes of the content providers, however, with this decision I cannot in good conscious contribute the revenue of these content providers through the Hulu platform. Until Hulu is back on Boxee, I will no longer be using the Hulu service nor will I contribute to the content providers revenue via cable or satellite companies. Free streaming content via Boxee will be the sole source of external media in my household. Hulu, I hope to see you back there soon. Please urge your content providers to realize that through their decision they are doing you and themselves much more harm than good.
Who can convince the content providers?
I know he is sick and on leave, but call Steve Jobs. He did it back in 2003 with a bunch of REALLY stubborn record labels.
This is history repeating itself.
Call Steve. Seriously.
—- Untill you folks at Hulu grow a pair of balls, I guess I will not be visiting your site any longer… is a shame.
They do realize that we can pirate there stuff… And now they won’t get our add revenue. w/e
It seems to me that complaining to Hulu and their mysterious “Content Providers” is pretty ineffectual. Perhaps the people that we should be complaining to are the advertisers that pay for the content. Think about it, if you were paying someone to increase your bottom line and they decided on a unreasonable whim to reduce the total number of people that are seeing your ads, wouldn’t you be mad too? The “Content Providers” aren’t interested in Hulu, you, me or innovation. They are only concerned with revenue. Advertisers are their revenue! And with as few commercials as there are on Hulu identifying where the money comes from is pretty easy.
btw: I deleted my account and won’t even be watching as guest to see the commercials. I will have to rely on memory. Verizon seems to ring a bell.
content providers vs. tpb – content providers vs. hulu – content providers vs. consumers – content providers vs. god… a never ending story???
Mr. Kilar,
Unfortunately your content providers have apparently left you in the unenviable position of now being a CEO of a company to face certain extinction thanks to this move. Like most of my friends who have PREVIOUSLY used Hulu, I have very little use for Hulu on my computer. Instead, we have BEEN enjoying Hulu through Boxee on our television. The greed that is driving this decision on the part of your content providers (who I am sure are being leaned on by the Cable companies, who are only known for their atrocious customer disservice, threatened by the services of Hulu and Boxee via the Telcos DSL) has been made very apparent by this move. Needless to say, I feel that you may have run your Superbowl ad a little early, as your decision to block Boxee will certainly cancel out any decent mindshare that you may have gained in your employ of your expensive, witty ad.
Best of luck to you and your failed business model.
Former Hulu watcher via Boxee.
I think all of those upset by this should not watch another thing by the “content providers” change their minds. I won’t be watching anything on NBC or Fox until they put things back to the way they were. The studio heads are a bunch of moronic imbeciles and should not let the cable operators strongarm them into making this decision. The content providers in question don’t need cable TV to survive, I can watch their content with an antenna hooked up to my TV just fine. I say they should tell the cable companies, who I am sure are behind this to some degree to shove it. I am getting ready to tell my cable company to shove it. All this is going to do is push more people like me to hook a computer up to my TV and do the exact same thing they are trying to prevent, watching the content available online on my TV. Just because the other way was easier, doesn’t mean it is the only way you idiots. You better get a clue soon or you won’t be around for long, some smart studio will come along and develop good content, give it away for free with ads in it, tell the cable companies to take it or leave it and win the whole race.
Wake up you dumb f—ks
Too bad for Hulu.com, really. Most of us will continue to get the same content via other means (and it’ll probably be better quality and ad free). Hulu.com and the content providers will be the only ones to really suffer from this; the only downside to end-users is the inability to stream the content instantly. Aside from that, all of the content is readily and freely available if one is willing to look for it.
Awesome way to alienate a big audience.
I wasn’t aware the streaming the video over the internet, with ads and everything, to my TV to watch is somehow different from doing the same to my computer monitor.
If I watch the shows through my browser with video output to the TV are you gonna cut access for the browser’s as well?
Way to try and sugarcoat a retarded decision. I also doubt that _all_ your content providers requested that you do this. All of them? Really?
So, the content provider’s shot themselves in the foot again. Who is surprised?
I don’t have a television. I don’t subscribe to cable or satellite service. All of my content comes from the Internet. Do you want to make money from me or not?
Radio dramas were replaced by television shows. Cable almost replaced terrestrial television broadcast. The Internet will replace cable.
The best technology must win. What is best for the customer is what should drive business.
Now, users want to view content on their big screen. Let them. More users, more direct revenue, less work.
Do the content providers want to make money, or do they want to continue to focus on primitive methods of delivery, with limited revenue streams?
Hulu means more direct revenue, with less work. Studios are making money from old content that they had long since given up on. Content providers need to wake up and join us in the 21st century, or their companies will be doomed to obsolescence.
Money or no money? Your choice.
Wow… if you guys aren’t doing this for the users who the heck are you doing it for? Who are your customers?
What ever you thought your mission was you just sold out.
Your content providers have just relegated you to being a sorry afterthought while they protected out dated and irrelevant distribution channels.
So _all_ the content providers requested you to do this? I find that hard to believe.
Either way, it’s a dick move. Why the hell would you want to reach _less_ users by alienating something as awesome as Boxee? It looks like it’s time to move to another online streaming video provider since Hulu’s reaching the state of being pointless.
I don’t understand why you are pulling out of this. It’s a win win for both companies. Hulu ads are still shown on Boxee and it actually gets more people to watch them (especially in the future when boxee goes public). I think Hulu has made a HUGE mistake by doing this. I agree with all the other posts here. Thanks for a great product in Hulu, but I’m sad you don’t want to take it to the next level.
Well, just one more way TV providers will get less of my time. I have already quit watching most TV, but Boxee was the one way I still did it. I guess your content providers are thrilled to loose a family of 4! After all – less people watching, means less ad revenue, means less show, which leads to less people watching, and so on….
As for Hulu acknowledging that everybody looses is a really dumb way of trying to get publicity. I had Hulu in beta, but there is no way I will go back to watching it without Boxee!
That’s okay… bittorrent still works great.
Guess I can remove my HULU bookmarks now.
Content providers:
“No, that computer is not the right kind of computer for watching our content.”
You guys are shooting yourselves. Prior to Boxee, many people turned to illegal torrent downloads of their favorite TV shows. Hulu content on Boxee provided a legal way to watch content on my TV when I wanted to. There’s no way I’m sitting down in front of my computer to watch content on Hulu’s website. I want my content on my TV. The torrents haven’t gone away and now you’re just pushing users back to something that doesn’t help you or your content produces. RIP.
Jason,
“Without their content, none of what Hulu does would be possible, including providing you content via Hulu.com and our many distribution partner websites.”
This statement completely summarizes what is so screwed up about the current corporate mindset. That is their thought, here is mine…Without our eyeballs watching their content, including watching it in ways I want to watch it, none of what Hulu does will matter at all.
What a shame…
I will add my voice to these comments. As a regular boxee user for some time now, I will either bittorrent what I wish to watch or choose not to watch your content. It is too bad you are pulling it… I was even fine dealing with the advertisements. Count 1 more person that will NOT be seeing any of the sponsors ads. Perhaps I should be writing this to your ad partners.
See ya!
All you Boxee users, get over it and plug a PC into your TV. With that said, you content providers are idiots. As others have said before me, what is the difference between plugging HDMI from a computer into your TV and watching on Boxee? Didn’t anyone tell you guys you can plug a computer into the TV? Oh you think only technically advanced people can do it? Well, get a clue, we’re all technically advanced now (oh except all the old republican guys running the content providers). All my TV’s have a computer to go along with them now, yes I might be ahead of the curve, but it’s coming to everyone’s home. In fact I bet one day soon TV’s will come with an integrated web browser and 802.11n wireless, but hell, holywood is probably already trying to block those TV’s.
I just discovered Boxee this week. I finally had a solution to tie Internet Media to the living room. I haven’t even had a chance to visit Hulu yet on Boxee. I was looking forward to discovering this site on Boxee; the notebook just didn’t cut it. Looks like I won’t be using Hulu after all. Loss both ways. Rethink your decision.
Content providers…your content is still going to be watched via torrents…at least you could get some revenue for the content via Boxee users watching the commercials…bad move.
So now I need view Hulu through my web-browser? Boo!
This is very strange, since the content still included the advertising. If it had stripped it out it, then it would make sense.
Are these the same execs who still believe in DRM?
This is one of the most ridiculous requests I’ve seen in a long long time.
Sorry I will not go to hulu.com until this is changed back.
Goodbye Hulu. Hello pirate bay. Take that advertisers and content providers.
has there been a single positive comment made on this blog (or any other) congratulating hulu for their stance and foresight? didn’t think so… – 1 more user…
The content providers really don’t want Hulu to succeed then, do they? I wonder why they are funding Hulu at all? Is it really just so they can ultimately “prove” that on-line distribution won’t work, and get a tax write off on their losses? Hello?
I loved watching Hulu on Boxee, on my AppleTV. And I would sit through the commercials (unfortunately, far too many of the SAME ONES repeated over and over, at poorly selected points in the program, but I was willing to live with it. These ad interruptions counted as impressions for ad revenue somewhere, right?
I am not going to watch Hulu on my desktop or laptop. I want it on Boxee. If Hulu isn’t available to me, I will simply find other content elsewhere. The reality of the world is that there is NO shortage of content.
As a result of the decision to remove Hulu from Boxee, Hulu looses my eyeballs and ad impressions. The content providers loose ad revenue and mind-share. If there is something I really must watch I’ll get it from Netflix, or maybe I’ll just pirate it because they piss me off.
LOL.
The last thing the “content providers” want to see happen is for Hulu to become successful.
They will do ANYTHING they can to kill your company.
I’m paying $49.99 a month to watch 3 shows.
They are not going to end that gravy train any time soon.
What an incredibly stupid move! As an avid Boxee/Hulu junkie, I am flabbergasted by this move. I feel bad for the Hulu team, as they undoubtedly did not have a say in this.
I am not sure how content providers will ever learn, but I just canceled my cable subscription in disgust over this, so I hope this catches someone’s eye.
I was happily watching all my shows over Hulu (not to mention watching the short 30 second ads too, something I haven’t done with traditional TV in the last 5 years…), but now I’m off to download pirated content using BitTorrent.
Because apparently the content providers “know what is best for their business”.
Newsflash to the content providers: You just lost me as a customer; best of luck with your new “business model”.
I’m a Boxee user who was just on the cusp of building my own little PC to run Boxee connected to my TV. Visions of eliminating my cable bill were driving me forward toward this Hulutopia… until this.
Now I just don’t see the point. Now all Boxee does that I care about is play media from my computers. My Xbox 360 can already do that, so I may as well just use that.
I just can’t imagine what difference it makes to content providers whether I watch their advertising-sustained content via Firefox or via Boxee. It’s just a different browser, really.
The only other option is illegal torrents, which I suspect most users will resort to… torrents which have the advertising stripped out.
Way to go, content providers!
The content providers really don’t want Hulu to succeed then, do they? I wonder why they are funding Hulu at all? Is it really just so they can ultimately “prove” that on-line distribution won’t work, and get a tax write off on their losses? Hello?
I loved watching Hulu on Boxee, on my AppleTV. And I would sit through the commercials (unfortunately, far too many of the SAME ONES repeated over and over, at poorly selected points in the program, but I was willing to live with it. These ad interruptions counted as impressions for ad revenue somewhere, right?
I am not going to watch Hulu on my desktop or laptop. I want it on Boxee. If Hulu isn’t available to me, I will simply find other content elsewhere. The reality of the world is that there is NO shortage of content.
As a result of the decision to remove Hulu from Boxee, Hulu looses my eyeballs and ad impressions. The content providers loose ad revenue and mind-share. If there is something I really must watch I’ll get it from Netflix, or maybe I’ll just pirate it because they piss me off.
boxee introduced me to hulu.
interesting that hulu would be willing to spend millions on a super bowl ad, but not willing to use another mechanism that has been proven to work.
This is dumb. All Boxee provides is a specialized browser for handling video. It’s no different than hooking my laptop up to my plasma television and throwing hulu up fullscreen in Firefox or Internet Explorer. Boxee just made it a lot more pleasurable to do.
The whole “it’s the content providers” argument by the Hulu CEO is crap. We’re not too stupid to realize that Hulu IS NBC, Fox, Universal, etc.
Sadly, the alternative for most people is to simply torrent the tv shows (advertising free) that they used to watch on Hulu with ads. Hulu through Boxee provided an easy means to legally watch content and eliminating that avenue is incredibly stupid and shortsighted. I personally will not be using hulu at all until this ridiculous policy is reversed.
There must be a real reason why the content providers wanted Boxee shutdown, because Boxee is nothing but a nice front-end to watch Hulu. I never was into watching Hulu because the hassle of hooking my computer up to the TV, with ATV Hulu became an option to watch, oh is that why? Apple putting the strong hold on Boxee. What a crock, I suppose I have to watch Joost now.
Love the Hulu, hate the political BS.
Whichever content providers are forcing this move are completely out of their minds. A move like this makes no sense. Boxee doesn’t block the ads or even disable user targeting, as far as I’m aware… it just makes it easier for the user to access the content. Boxee is the ONLY way I access Hulu and any of FOX or NBC’s online video content. Without Boxee, they lose my viewership.
“Without their content, none of what Hulu does would be possible, including providing you content via Hulu.com and our many distribution partner websites.”
Not true, it’s still available via torrent sites, news groups, forums, etc. Except now those sites AGAIN offer a superior product. I don’t have to sit through ads. Quality is better. The content partners almost got it. Too bad they’re so adept at shooting themselves in the foot. In the mean time, all the same stuff is still available through other channels, but your partners will be gettin $0 dollars in ad revenue! I guess this is what we get from a system that awards essentially infinite copyright. Monopolies/oligopolies always deliver an inferior product.
I watch TV less and less these days. The reason being is that I can’t watch the shows I want to watch when I want too! Hulu is one of those promising sites that have the right idea of on demand content. Its too bad that the content providers are so backwards thinking that they can’t wrap their tiny little minds of how things are changing for the better.
As much of a fuss that has been made about Boxee it is almost nothing more than a web browser for video. If copyright owners don’t want me accessing content I won’t. It’s THAT simple. No, I don’t watch TV any more. It’s all online or not at all.
Obviously, your advertising is unusually forthright. You folks must be aliens from another planet. You clearly don’t understand the humans whose brains you are sucking away from Hulu.com.
I only accessed Hulu over the web a few times before I installed the alpha version of Boxee on my Linux computer, and back then, Hulu wasn’t available that way. But once Boxee was able to bring me content from Hulu, that became the only way I ever watched it. Now, you are requesting that Boxee disable this feature and block Boxee users from seeing Hulu content. What part of this makes any sense to you at all?
I really liked watching Hulu through Boxee. But now, I won’t be watching Hulu at all, through any mechanism. This is possibly the stupidest decision made by a brain-intoxicated alien CEO in the history of modern media.
I’m outraged…
Users loose again, and The Hate for Big Content grows.
Goodbye Hulu and the providers. I will not go to HULU anymore nor will I watch NBC anymore.
Kevin
Jason,
While I am not a boxee user, I was thinking about setting up an entertainment center based on boxee. With that said, I will quit using hulu.com until this issue can be resolved. While you are subject to your content providers, I make choices as a consumer. I will encourage my friends that use hulu to do the same. I do realize that this puts hulu in a bad place but I think your content providers will only see the value of working with open source distribution with these actions. I think your site hits will fall dramatically until this issue is resolved, and I hope you do fix this issue. I will be waiting to see if you can fix this, however if you do not, I will discontinue use of your site and encourage my friends to do the same.
Great job at taking 30 steps backwards Hulu. Who’s your consultation firm over there? They’re doing a horrible job. I’ll assume that you have no consultation with a move like this. I will now be forced to not update my Boxee on Friday and I will remain being able to view Hulu. Thanks.
Hulu was created by Fox and NBC. YOU ARE THE CONTENT PROVIDERS. LIARS!
My family and I really enjoyed hulu through boxee using our apple tv on the HD-TV. We’re not about to try and watch this same content through a computer screen. Just not the same. Too bad for the content providers, I don’t understand why watching the adds on a big screen is any different than watching on the computer in fact it could only be better since multiple people see them more clearly that way. And all the old TV series were great but I’m not about to go out and find alternative ways that cost money for that kind of content. Overall it seemed a pretty good way to monetize this sort of stuff and I don’t understand what the beef is about? Hulu has lost a pretty loyal bunch of subscribers since this is the only way we’re willing to view your content. Maybe if the content providers realize how many eyes they are losing by doing this then they’ll have a change of heart oops I mean mind (pretty sure they don’t have hearts after this)
This is such an astronomically stupid and short-sighted decision that I have no doubt it will be quickly resolved. The white-hairs who make these sort of decisions are simply proving themselves unworthy of their jobs and unaware of the world they live in. The type of user who uses Boxee are the tech-saavy early adopters who will simply turn to illegal torrents for their content. At the end of the day these “content providers” just lost revenue by way of legal ad-supported streams to the influencers and early adopters, a nonsensical and irrational move in today’s weakened media economy.
You are going to take a hit on ad revenues here and drive honest folks to bitTorrent. This seems completely backwards to me.
Very disappointing. I just purchased a system for the purpose of installing boxee. Excited that i’d be able to enjoy hulu on my living room TV. I too would be interested in any contact information you can provide us to let the people in charge know that this is a fairly groundbreaking deal.
Hulu got me hooked on watching TV again. I guess I’ll need to learn how to use bittorrent now. If anyone has any suggesting on good “other” ways to download show, I would love to hear them.
So let me see, I have a Mac Mini, so I will just watch Hulu on my HDTV instead of using Boxee WTF? This is an irrational decision, and makes no sense whatsoever. I will also just load the workaround, and still watch HULU from Boxee, so you folks have just demonstrated that:
1. You have no clue what you are doing;
2. Your marketing needs work;
3. You need to tell your content providers that this will endear the viewing public to these mindless charades;
4. you just push people into doing something offsite, so you lose.
Bad decision, foolish, mindless.
Back to my torrent / XBOX360-Netflix setup.
Jason, thank you very sincerely for your efforts on behalf of your Hulu user base. We (the Internet-literate) fully understand that you are trying to help us get what we want and DESERVE from these media pinheads (the Internet-ignorant).
Never using Hulu again. Big step backwards. People will be resorting to pirating and non revenue generating ways of getting their content. What ignorant idiots these companies are.
i appreciate that your hands are tied here, but reminding us that without the content the networks provide, there’d be nothing to watch is patronizing. let’s call this mess what it is. not your fault, but don’t rehash their played out excuses that have obvious answers (without viewers, no one would be watching!)
the way boxee users are being treated here reminds me of my marriage – my wife wanted a dog, and i didn’t want a dog, so we both compromised and got a dog. ha!
Join the Facebook Group to put Hulu back on Boxee
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51578669580
This is very, very disappointing. I just started using Boxee this week. I love connecting to Hulu through it.
So here’s what I don’t understand
a) Content providers allow Hulu to embed shows
b) Hulu puts commercials in the shows
c) Hulu shares some of it’s revenue with content providers.
d) More Videos watches = More revenue = More money for content providers
a+b+c+d = why????????
Sorry Hulu, but I’m out. I know that it isn’t your fault, but Boxee is what brought me to you, and without it you are dead to me.
I will now do everything in my power to make sure that the content providers responsible for this outrage get zero revenue from any of my actions, both online and off, ever. And I will convince my friends to do the same.
Newscorp and NBC: I know that it doesn’t matter to you, but consider yourself boycotted x 1 consumer. I hope that the boycott multiplies indefinitely.
Just so everyone knows, Fox and NBC (or rather GE and NewsCorp.) own Hulu:
http://www.google.com/finance?q=hulu
Just to add one more: somebody is totally nuts.
I have a Media Center hooked up to my HDTV with a lot more recordings than I can manage to keep up watching(4 HDTV tuners and 2 analog). I am also a Netflix subscriber with a ton more content reachable in few clicks away. The reason I was watching so much content delivered by hulu.com through Boxee was because of the innovative UI and their way of reorganizing the content already available through the web interface. I also have family spread out in US and it was easy for all of us to stay in touch with our TV viewing patterns (didn’t know my brother has started watching so much reality TV). In any case this just signals a turn in hulu.com that will steer me far away from what they have to offer. Netflix is adding more TV shows lately and I hope they continue to do so. I am willing to pay the monthly fee there since they are building the “HBO of the future”. Hulu.com is going to be remembered as a great attempt, but too many NBC dinosaurs were pulling the strings in their puppet show… and as cute as Jason is trying to sound, unfortunately after this change it is apparent he is nothing more than a puppet. And Jason if you can’t use this user outrage to revert this stupid call, you may want to get out of there if you don’t like these strings.
Aside from the obvious (Hulu being OWNED by the content providers themselves–NBC/FOX)this is yet another example of a brand (Hulu), whose ads paint them as ground-breaking innovators (thanks giant PR firm, fancy commercial director guy, and millions of $$$$!!) being nothing more than a new (green) face for giant corporation executive idiots to hide behind.
How soon they forget the lessons of the music industry. They tried to control distribution this way too (although they didn’t say it as nicely as Jason). In the end we won. Oh, and Steve Jobs too.
Viva la Boxee!
Just for the record, I end up seeing far more commercials by watching Hulu via boxee than by watching on the website, by a factor of 10 easy. Sad to see the marketing foolishness…
Hulu and it’s content providers cannot make a penny from Boxee users except for ads. I can guarantee that Hulu will start licensing it’s service to LCD TV makers to have Hulu pre-installed in their LCD TV’s. Boxee is nice for us users, but it’s a like a “pirated cable box” for the providers.
My usage of Hulu increased with Boxee. That in turn introduced Hulu to numerous friends. Now the solution reverts to using EyeTV to record, editing to eliminate ALL commercials and viewing on AppleTV.
Seems like a net loss to Hulu’s advertisers. One wonders how well these moves are thought out?
you know, this is so stupid. I was finally watching most of my tv shows on hulu instead of via torrent downloads….content “providers” need to understand that if they refuse to change, piracy will get worse
if Hulu is a step in the right direction then boxee is a leap …it was an attractive alternative to downloading via p2p. I can still get hulu on my tv but it’s not worth it to me if i have to close my media center of choice. I like most boxee users who know better, will just rss feeds and bit torrent to get my shows with “limited commercial interuption” and by limited i mean none.
I really liked hulu, and i understand that to do what you do legally you have to work with the providers but also you need to make sure they hear us. They should know that the internet kids will get thier shows free one way or another. It’s like i told my 15 year old girlfriend’s father when i was 17
“you can either let me see your daughter at your house where you know what’s going on, or you don’t allow me to see her at your house…and i’ll just sneak her out the back door when you’re sleeping”
and believe me, i did
Just wanted to add this disappointed bump to the comment-fest.
I don’t own an Apple TV but watch Hulu through the aging G4 Mac Mini hooked up to our TV. That Mini is just a wee bit underpowered to do fullscreen Flash, and we don’t use it for much else (PS3 handles DVD/Bru-Ray (mostly DVD…)), so I’ve had the ATV-Boxee virus stuck in my head for a while now. Good thing I didn’t go through with it.
Hulu on the Mini with a bluetooth mouse is a decent experience, but I was excited for that svelte Apple remote.
Not going to repeat what others have said here… it has all been covered quite accurately. I can say that you and your content providers are indeed missing the boat here by not providing alternative interfaces into your content (boxee, Vista Media Center, XBMC, etc). It always shocks my that you would purposely try and limit, yes limit the amount of exposure to your content and in turn ad revenue. Idiotic.
i am very disappointed with this decision from the ‘content providers’ to remove hulu support from boxee. i love hulu. in the past i would hook up my laptop to my television just so i could watch hulu with my family. boxee made that a whole lot easier. we dont mind the ads built into hulu because we are watching quality programming. they are one of the few places online that figured out how to do this intelligently. unfortunately this decision from the ‘content providers’ will point me in the direction of pirating your content from other sources… and i have a feeling a lot of other boxee users will do the same. and you know what, when i find the content from other sources there are no ads or commercials built in… so you content providers are losing out…
Um… aren’t the content providers Hulu? Everyone seems to be digging on the content providers, but the content providers own Hulu (NBC and FOX)
I don’t get it.
Sounds like a fantastic way to drive people back to Torrents (as if serving in Flash doesn’t serve that purpose already…). Way to go big content.
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!!!
Not sure what the content provider’s problem is with Hulu being accessible from Boxee?! Think it’s a little short-sided to remove a feature that provides a larger viewing base for the content providers. Since it appears that the content providers are concerned with the inability to make $$$ off Boxee, why can’t this option be offered as a fee service? Not that I would be thrilled to “pay” for a service that is offered for free via a “web browser”, but it would follow the same model as Netflix on Boxee. The folks at NBC should watch their Today Show which featured Boxee and Hulu as cable alternatives for this “tough economic climate”!!!! It would be nice to get contact info for Boxee users to voice their complaints to the content providers, instead of grilling the folks at Hulu.
I guess we can now watch as Hulu dies a horrible death at the hands of stupidity.
Why not tell them, NO?!?!
Anyone with ANY technical knowledge can explain why content released publicly cannot be protected.
Didn’t we hash all this out YEARS AGO with television and radio? Then again recently with .mp3?
Good luck guys. I turned on ad blocker again and will just scape the videos I want.
Disappointing, but I thought this was a thoughtful response to the problem. I hope that this can one day be resolved. I guess it’s back to more Netflix streaming instead of Hulu for now.
Well it looks like there is a Micro Soft partner in the wood pile. The site that caters to Mac and Linux must be turned off.I just hope that you are not told that it is Silverlight or nothing next. It is not going to effect me in any why as I do not use boxee but as asked earlier please let your viewers know as it will influence my buying decisions. My money has been missing from Warner music group if they think YouTube was a bad decision then I have no way of previewing music Cd’s so I dont need to buy a CD just a song that I like here and there. Same thing with boxed sets and old seasons of tv shows.
I am a boxee user and just wanted to say that this blows. Really bad. Thanks to all the content providers who continually don’t listen to fact. Durr.. I may not be a super smert executive type but der gonna be many torrent downloads from pissed off people because of dis here decision.
Jason,
There indeed is a win for consumers, it will just take a bit. People will use other providers for their content (those good fellows in Sweden, etc). Hence, consumers will still get their content while depriving studios of ad revenue. You’d think the owners of Hulu would’ve learned from the music industry. Clearly they’ll be learning the hard way as well.
I must join the choir of disappointed hulu users… ops, i have to say ex-users, since this move heavily limit the usability of Hulu in my current life.
Too bad, I was really starting to enjoy your content guys. I suggest you to talk with your content providers and convince them to embrace the change before they will be forgotten.
Best Regards,
Carlo
Goodbye Hulu…
It was fun, but with this single decision you just forced me to delete my account and never visit your site ever again. Thanks for not listening.
100,000 Hulu streams were viewed last week via Boxee. Big media pinheads can’t see opportunity when it’s streaming out of their servers. And you’re right: We lose. Thanks, corporate media.
Oh well again the old media companies do not get it.
time to fire my bittorent client back up.
Bad Idea!
I will go back to downloading my shows with BitTorrent.
Technology is great but scary. Really the only people that get hurt along the way is the crowd which would like to embrace technology but doesn’t have the know-how or time to learn, and the crowd which tries to do things legally. The rest of us will always find ways around the limitations put on us. The thing is, since we have to go through the effort anyway, we may as well make it as convenient and reliable as possible, which happens to often be illegal (it’s amazing how much more reliable and user friendly illegal downloads are).
I currently have my computer hooked up to my tv with an HDMI cable, and while I enjoy most of my TV through Media Center, I watch hulu on it’s website. I’d prefer to watch it through Media Center, but I make due. As far as I know there’s nothing illegal about this yet. So I don’t get hurt, but everyone else who uses a computer running boxee or any other media center application gets inconvenienced. How long before someone writes a plugin which simply launches a browser linking to the same content on Hulu? Problem solved, but the user experience suffers.
Could you do us a favor and tell us why everyone has to suffer, rather than just saying ‘they told me to’? Surely there were discussions, no? Someone had to have had some reasonable argument for making this happen, right? I, and everyone else here, would really love to hear it.
I believe another commenter mentioned this but it bears repeating. The ads are the seen exactly the same way on Boxee as online through the Hulu site.. so what am I missing here? Its not as if Boxee is doing something like stripping the ads out or otherwise violating the distribution method of Hulu…
Not sure what the content provider’s problem is with Hulu being accessible from Boxee?! Think it’s a little short-sided to remove a feature that provides a larger viewing base for the content providers. Since it appears that the content providers are concerned with the inability to make $$$ off Boxee, why can’t this option be offered as a fee service? Not that I would be thrilled to “pay” for a service that is offered for free via a “web browser”, but it would follow the same model as Netflix on Boxee. The folks at NBC should watch their Today Show which featured Boxee and Hulu as cable alternatives for this “tough economic climate”!!!! It would be nice to get contact info for Boxee users to voice their complaints to the content providers, instead of grilling the folks at Hulu.
We cancelled our cable, and hooked up AppleTV and have been streaming Hulu on Boxee.
This is a huge disappointment!
I don’t understand why it matters to Hulu where I watch the content. It’s ridiculous! I’m considering our options, I don’t think I can continue to watch videos on hulu.
This is quite sad. I agree with the “browser theory,” that Boxee is a browser optimized for the 10ft TV experience and should be treated as such. Let’s make this work fellas! Let people consume their media via the channels they prefer. Stick your neck out on the line Hulu! stand up for the future!