“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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-1 hulu user.
Why would the content publishers do this? Sure they arent getting money from Boxee, but its going through Hulu who they ARE getting money from. I really hope they aren’t trying to now make a deal with Boxee so they can generate cash from BOTH sources. That would be really unfortunate. For me, that really cuts down on my Hulu time. I loved watching on Boxee and Im afraid won’t as much anymore because of these unfortunate events.
Hulu, please do everything in your power to stop this. (Boxee, you too!)
February 19th marks the day that I stopped using Hulu for my entertainment purposes. That’s because not everyone likes to enjoy their shows in front of a computer, and my Boxee-enabled AppleTV allowed me to enjoy my favorite shows legally on my TV on my own time. And I watched the ads as any other user, so not even the media giants got hurt.
I am going to watch my shows through other means, now. I invite every Boxee user to do the same to show them how wrong their decision was.
:(
i only watch hulu on boxee.
I checked out Hulu when it launched, but never watched anything on it. Then I found Boxee–and watched a lot of Hulu content, programs I had missed on broadcast. Now Hulu will go back to my “forget it” list. I will continue to use those providers that provide to Boxee. Your providers apparently don’t understand how they can succeed in the Web world . . .
I want to watch the shows on Hulu on my TV, while I’m sitting across the room on my coach with a remote. boxee makes that possible. today. your Web site does not.
I don’t have broadcast TV service; I’m not generating any ad impressions through the legacy distribution model. if you want to reach me it’s online or not at all. I’m more than happy to view advertising and cough up some demographic info in exchange for watching high-quality full TV episodes and movies online. I might even pay a reasonable subscription fee for the privilege!
hope you work this out swiftly. or you’ll lose me and many other customers to non-revenue-generating distribution methods.
hulu guys – please pass this along to your content providers
idiots. buh bye hulu…
That is a tough break for consumers. I support Hulu’s work and progress in opening media and working with content owners. I think that Boxee was a great venue for your content owners and I hope that content owners will come around.
I don’t have anything original to say (what I do have to comment has already been said) but I do want to add my voice to the throng telling NBC and the other providers that Hulu’s model is the future of television. Better to be ahead of the trend and reap the benefits than to be behind and constantly playing catch-up. Sadly this seems to be the story again and again for big media.
Lame
It’s amazing that the content providers of Hulu, apparently NBC and FOX, do not want consumers to view their programming.
Hulu/Boxee was the wave of the future in my opinion, but to see that cut short by the very people who were benefiting from it is ridiculous and uninformed. Although I can’t really say that FOX has ever been anything but ridiculous and uninformed, so no surprises there.
Without Hulu on my TV I will not be exposed to the programming at all, and will not be viewing their ads or supporting Hulu in any way since watching on a computer is far too limiting.
Sorry Hulu, you could have been something great.
I’m not even a boxee user, but I will no longer be visiting Hulu in protest of your sponsors rather childish penny pinching stunt.
I don’t blame you Hulu team, just know that you’ve lost the respect of many individuals who would have been extremely beneficial to your goals.
I honestly wish you success, but I no longer feel right being even the small part that I am.
I’m truly pissed off.
Hulu not for nothing you can see how many people watched and saw the ads via BOXEE.. its amazing that hollywood who were all for CHANGE gets scared when they see a new player on the block who is actullay helping them also.. BRING BACK BOXEE for everybodys sake…
I’m sure the root cause of this is pressure from the cable companies.
How disappointing, especially for those that have spent money on hardware based on the assumption that Hulu content is available via Boxee. While I appreciate Hulu’s efforts, I can’t continue to support Hulu.
Please provide this list of content providers so that we can contact them directly.
This is just crazy, I was watching the exact same commercials on Boxee in front of my TV (where the content is more enjoyable than in front of a monitor).
I guess it’s time to drag a machine out of storage and prop it up next to the TV so I can do the exact same thing I was before. Thanks to Hulu for fighting the good fight, just keep trying to get the providers to pull their heads out of their butts.
And an even bigger thanks to the Boxee team who put in all the time on developing that feature.
For shame.
To bad mainstream content providers just don’t get it. Hulu was perfect on Boxee since it integrated with my current home theater setup so well.
For me, there is no point in continuing to use Hulu.
The content providers dropped the ball.
As stated in earlier posts, would you please post the names of the content providers forcing this? I personally do not use Boxee, but I would like to continue supporting Hulu yet cannot in good conscious until I can avoid content creators with such short sightedness.
Clearly the content providers have a plan to maximize profits by reselling the content over and over again.
This is a broken out dated model.. It doesn’t work and it will not work.. I will not be forced to consume content in the way the large corporations see fit.. I’m shocked at how little these corporations have learned in the past 10 years. When people demanded easy music distribution through a channel they were most comfortable with the labels ignored them and they watched their outdated business model slip away more and more each year.. Still instead of embracing their consumers, producing better content and allowing the consumer to obtain it and use it in the way they desired they decided to sue.. well that’s worked very well hasn’t it..
Let me be clear..
I will not purchase a single product or service from any Hulu advertiser..
I will not be forced to consume any other way then the way that works for me.
Finally to Hulu, you have the right idea and strategy. It’s in tune with the people and its only going to grow.. I hope that when the time comes and you reach the point where you can better negotiate with your content providers that you will continue to push for innovation.
The only plausible explanation I can come up with is that the content providers really are afraid that Boxee is a “cable killer”. That’s a really bad assumption. I have never subscribed to cable. In fact, watching Hulu on Boxee is the only way I ever see any advertisements. Without Hulu on Boxee, I won’t watch Hulu, which means I’ll stop seeing ads. I won’t see the content until it makes its way to Netflix… and it will be ad-free. We both lose, but they lose more. Not a smart move on their part.
I guess that’s the end of Hulu use for me. I really enjoyed being able to get Hulu content on Boxee even though the ads were a bit annoying. Back to the pirate bay I suppose.
So NBC and FOX would rather have users download ad-free content via torrents? They must be living in Opposite World. Retards.
Bad move. Short sighted. Greedy. Stupid.
If you advertise on hulu you should know that hulu has made a concious decision that will limit the number people who will view your advertisements. Also they have done so without making their motives clear as to why they will no longer allow boxee users to view hulu content.
Hulu,
Could you at least explain WHY it makes any difference to the content providers if I use Boxxee to watch Hulu?
I was a happy Hulu user until right now. Now, I will go back to downloading shows I want to see through BitTorrent, and not feel guilty about it.
Bye-bye hulu, hello bit-torrent
D
Please realize that boxee fans are on your side, we prefer not to pirate our content elsewhere but like many on here have already said, we have cut our cord with the cable and sat providers, we have built our entertainment centers around great products like boxee. Add me to the growing list of hulu fans that will no longer use the hulu product until it has been returned to the boxee platform.
Hopeful of a quick resolution! Thank you for your time.
I will now have to go back to other methods to pick up shows I’ve missed. Does the MPAA just want more lawsuit targets? Is that their goal?
Wow… and I just got my AppleTV working again (failed HD) and Boxee setup… I love Hulu, but only use it occasionally since it is not connected to my big TV… the AppleTV bridged that gap and I have to say, I was loving it. Oh well… as one fan above said, the producers should just stop making content… never seems to fail, someone actually starts enjoying the content and they either cancel the show or make it harder to watch…
one of these days (maybe) they will get it… they are only hurting themselves…
thanks Hulu (and Boxee) for the fine effort…
Dear Hulu content providers, are you serious? Have you no idea what is going on? I will, nay promise, to download each and every show I used Hulu for! You will get no more ad revenue from me! Who is with me? Has the internet ripped the sweetest plum right out of your mouth? Tough, it’s time to adapt to the modern era and rethink how you monetize your content. Those who embrace programs, like what Hulu and Boxee have tried to do, will be those who survive, you will not.
“The maddening part of writing this blog entry is that we realize that there is no immediate win here for users.”–Yep, that’s right, there’s no immediate win here for me. I don’t see what the problem was–I still had to watch all the ads. Do the content providers think that people are going to watch TV shows at their desk forever? You know, old media isn’t doing a thing in this new digital medium without kicking and screaming. It’s getting tiresome, and I for one am fed up with one-sided rules.
I’m reading this on my “TV” right now. My HDTV has a VGA input, that is connected to a small computer. I use my “TV” as a PC monitor more often than as a broadcast-monopoly radio siphoning device. Does that mean I can’t look at your site on my Firefox browser, because it’s on my TV? This decision makes no sense. Hulu and their content providers don’t know anything about how computers work.
I guess I’ll just have to make a MythTV plug-in that poses as a regular browser to pull indexes from Hulu web pages, and that automatically full-screens flash video. I wont say the name of it — it’s a specialized web browser, and you are a public web server, so there’s no need for any permission.
Big loss for the community. It was nice to have a decent media center front end to Hulu. Oh well, it looks like its back to commercial-less shows on bit torrent. Giant fail for the content provides. I feel bad for you, Hulu, for having to put up with these morons.
Back to bit torrent, smart move CBS.
Who can we call/email/fax to express our displeasure?
I disagree with the statement that your actions are in any way supportive of your mission.
Looks like I’m done using Hulu.
Two comments. One is that you guys are great, clear and intellectually honest communicators, and good news or bad, that’s about all you can ask for, so hopefully others don’t knee jerk into shooting the messenger, as it’s unwarranted.
Two is that one wonders if in these tough economic times, we’ll see more of the old media suits saying, “If we piss off any of our PAYING distribution partners or lose even a smidgen of control that can otherwise be monetized, it’s just not worth it.”
There’s a time for vision and a time for counting beans.
That said, I believe the exact opposite; namely, now is the time for long term planning, to deepen your engagement with consumers and create new value chains, so the move by your media partners is truly penny-wise, pound foolish.
A smarter path would be to force Boxee to provide deeper user/usage analytics so old media can better understand how new media consumers are digesting their content.
Food for thought.
Mark
–
Read: What it Means to be a “Social” Media Center: Boxee, Apple TV and Square Connect (http://bit.ly/qc5hA)
Goodbye Hulu. ‘Tis a sad goodbye, but with all the great content on Boxee, it doesn’t make sense for me to watch Hulu on my computer, when I could watch other content on Boxee.
You’re nuts.
$$$ & control. Why does it surprise anyone?
Worst news of the day. What an unfortunate step in the wrong direction.
Man. What a drag. Is there any wonder why people of a certain generation have no aversion to “stealing” content through torrents and p2p services? Why do providers make it so hard to legitimately view/use their content? The ads were in the shows still! I even accepted it: more than torrents, but fewer than on TV. So on balance, fine. Now, please. It’s back to torrents. This reminds me of the DRM battle that went on in the iTunes store. The record labels stupidly dragged out that nonsense and polluted the market with an inferior product for years. Meanwhile, the “black market” thrived and they eventually acquiesced but only after their market share had evaporated and after millions of people had become accustomed to illegally downloading music in order to get the most user-friendly product. I really thought NBC and Fox learned from that case. I guess not.
While I understand that there is a perfectly legitimate business reason both on the behalf of Hulu and your content providers, I wanted to explain how this will affect my Hulu use. Prior to installing Boxee on my AppleTV and doing the very thing that your content providers do not like, I went to Hulu once or twice a month. Since then my Hulu use has increased dramatically. I don’t see this continuing though. Even though I like your product, I don’t like watching it at my computer enough to use it there.
I usually don’t get home until after 8. So with the removal of Hulu on Boxee my choices now become 1) pay iTunes to watch House, 2) sit at my desk to watch House, or 3) not watch House altogether. Given those choices, I’m pretty sure that my choice will be to not watch House.
Again, I understand your decision and I even think it has some merit. I just want you and, more importantly, your content providers to understand that their decision ultimately costs them viewers.
I migrated over to boxee for the sheer fact that boxee can be implemented on this. C’mon, this is like solid gold!
Why would content providers be mad at a crazy investment like this?
Good luck hulu on your endeavors.
I’ve talked with a lot of people and I’ve see it said here and other places over and over, boxee+hulu was a great solution and with that solution gone a lot of people are going straight back to piracy. I hope the content providers are the ones effected by this revenue loss and not hulu itself.
Are the content providers brain damaged? The only difference between watching Hulu through Boxee or a web browser is the user interface.
Which of these scenarios leads to me watching more shows and viewing more adds?
Choice 1) Play around with a mouse, navigate the web site, start the video, click the full-screen button, screw around with the mouse if I need to pause, get up to use the mouse when the show ends so I can find another one.
Choice 2) Use Boxee. Navigate with my remote control. If I’m too lazy to get up to get the mouse, I can just queue up another show from my couch.
Either scenario allows one to watch the show, one is just a huge pain in the *** compared to the other.
This move will likely reduce my hulu viewing to almost nothing. Unfortunately, it means that I’ll use Boxee less too. This move just pushes me toward other content that is still available in Boxee.
I have never pirated a TV show, ever. I will NOT do so in the future. I understand how important it is that people get paid for their hard work. This move just means that I’ll watch less Hulu…probably better for me in the long run anyway. I’ll do more productive things with my time.
This kind of decision has me wondering if the content providers actually want Hulu to succeed? Using Boxee or a web browser means the user views the same adds. Boxee just gives Hulu more views. It’s that simple. If the content providers actually want this business model to succeed I can not see a logical reason for their decision.
I can’t believe this line of thinking. Boxee in no was strips out ads nor downloads shows to my own computer. I do not see the logic in their reasoning. If they object to me accessing their shows on Hulu through Boxee then they should object to me accessing them through any browser. These guys should be happy to have this distribution of their content. I have not watched as much TV in the last 5 years as I have since playing with Boxee and Hulu. They just don’t get it!!!
Hulu,
Keep fighting the good fight. Let these clueless content providers see how stupid and backwards their thinking is. No more restrictions like this, and no more “rolling episodes” (looking at you, FX!). Tell them to stop punishing us for wanting to watch their shows legally. This WILL drive people to pirate their shows and eliminate a lot of goodwill.
Bad move Hulu! So 100,000 weekly views and 6 commercials during a single viewing is not enough for you?
This is one of the most UNBELIEVABLE stunts by the TV industry. We the CONSUMERS of your material are trying to find a legal source for watching your content away from a computer desk (WITH ADS I MIND YOU!!), but NO the great minds at Hulu/NBC/Whoever think its a bad idea for someone to consume their content. Especially in an enviroment where an entire FAMILY can enjoy the handful of decent TV programs on these days. And they can’t understand why torrents and piracy is so common in todays society. Wake up people!!
I don’t see the reason for the request from the content providers. I ask what everyone else does. Give us names so we can give them the grief that they deserve!
Boo.
I realize that HULU might not have had much of a choice here, but I echo the statements of others who say they are basically done using the HULU site. Once this change is in place, I don’t see myself going to the HULU site more than once a week, and then only if my DVR missed an espisode for some reason.
Generally speaking, the HULU audience is made up of very technical, very cutting edge people. To put it nicely, my mom probably doesn’t know HULU, but everyone from my graduating class in college sure does. Add to this people sophisticated enough (technologically speaking) to setup their own media servers, hacked AppleTVs running Boxee, etc. We are the group that is always buying the new thing – the big screen monitors and streaming media devices. I am surprised that the content providers and their advertisers would want to throw out this (mostly) young, (mostly) tech-minded demographic who is happy to spend their money on the latest-and-greatest.
In summary…boo again.
Well this really sucks. I don’t understand why there’s a problem. We were still getting served ads and info about the shows we were watching. Instead of a browser we were just in a media center client.
Stupidity.
Hulu-boxee=EPICFAIL
It’s torrent time!
Everyone asking about the objections is oblivious to how big a business traditional forms of distribution is. Hulu on TV will literally destroy the DVD business, cable providers, and satellite providers. However it should not hurt the content providers. If content owners make more per view on traditional TV or DVD’s than Hulu should adjust their compensation model accordingly.
Maybe that means including more advertising if the content is being viewed through a system designed for big screen viewing.
If the issue is the cable networks sweet talking the content providers, then frankly you need to sweet talk them better. Content on demand over the internet is the future. If the current CEO can’t convince the content owners that, than you need a new CEO who can.
-Dan
Jason:
This is indeed sad news and I won’t repeat what others have said much more eloquently. You’re obviously at the mercy of your providers and we don’t fault you for reluctantly pulling off Boxee.
However, as others have requested, the content providers who requested this should be made public. The only way networks will understand the almost hilarious ineptitude of this path is for viewers to vote with their feet.
FIX IT!!!
Torrenting = no commercials at all. You and, it appears mostly, your content providers just screwed the only legal way some people are willing to take to watch tv. If you want us to sit through and watch your commercials-
YOU WILL HAVE TO ALLOW US TO DO SO ON *OUR* TERMS.
I guess it’s back to piracy for me, since its easier and faster, and more convenient than what I can legally acquire. I used to feel bad stealing shows, but now I wont when people in power are making such bone-headed decisions. I watched the commercials on hulu through boxee, and had no problem with it since I considered it a fair trade.
Good thing I didn’t bury my eye-patch too deep in my closet, now where is my parrot, I’m off to my favorite bay.
At least the music industry realized that the world of content distribution has changed. I’m certain that TV content providers will come to the same conclusion, it looks like we just need to wait it out.
I’m not altruistic enough to claim that I’ll stop watching Hulu content. However, now it will be viewed off of my DVR and the commercials will be skipped. I actually didn’t mind 30 second spots.
Thank you for a sincere effort to let us know that the Hulu team does “get it”. Keep up the good fight. Make sure you let us know if there is anybody we can contact to voice our opinions. If there is a change of heart, I’m sure that your fans will flood the blogosphere and Twitter with the good news.
We’ve heard from Hulu and we’ve heard from Boxee. The content providers owe it the users of both services to give an honest (no spin) explanation as to why they object to content that includes the ads of their advertisers displaying anywhere. If I were one of the advertisers I would be upset that they were limiting the distribution of my ad. WTF?
Meh. All I watched via Hulu is 24, it’s not even good enough to torrent. Seriously, meh. Everything on Hulu is garbage anyway.
Just ANOTHER example of why TV and mainstream film companies are idiots. Boxee generated over 100,000 streams for Hulu, and the response is “no?”
You know what you do, you retarded Hollywood idiots, when you do things like this because your undies get in a bunch over who sees what on what place in what manner? PIRACY. Nuff said.
This isn’t even from a boxee user…I can’t imagine how pissed their users must be.
I don’t blame you, Hulu- I blame the ineptness of Hollywood and the way they always have to be dragged into progress kicking and screaming.
This is absolutely insane! I love HULU but I only watch it through Boxee. I know I’m not alone so I guess there is going to be tons of revenue lost. I hope this decision is reversed soon…
Add me to the complaint list. It makes no sense that the “content providers” would care how Hulu is viewed as long as the viewer is watching the ads.
Boxee makes it easier to watch Hulu on a user’s TV set – one would think the “content providers” would be pleased with more eyeballs watching the ads.
This may push more users to bit-torrent illegal addless tv downloads…
Great way to not listen to users. It seemed too good to be true and you fooled us all to think Hulu was somehow about to change the status quo. Of course the easy path is to cut innovation right at its root.
I’m sure someone will hack a way to allow Hulu’s content seen on ATV – and if it’s not Boxee it will some other app.
This is a shame. I really thought Hulu was the first solution getting legal media distribution in the digital age correct, this movement leads me to believe we are farther from that reality than I had hoped.
What a crock. Absolutely ridiculous.
Sorry Hulu, tough break for you, but your content providers are bone heads, and I’m no longer your customer.
I want my super bowl ad back.
Hulu’s a joke. OK, not so much a joke as much as just an experiment. I say this because I’ve watched Hulu twice, and thought about how nice it is in theory, and also how much of a pain in the ass it is to watch dramatic video on my computer monitor.
So while I was looking forward to Hulu being released on the Roku box, I can just write Hulu off completely now.
Thanks for the experiment. Time to move on…
Once Hulu is removed from Boxee, I will no longer be visiting Hulu until it is back. It is the only reasonable show of disgust that I can think of. I will not be viewing their content and will, thus, not be providing the content providers with revenue from the ads. My schedule prevents me from seeing the shows I follow, but it is a small price to pay. I will probably get more studying done now.
Are the content providers trying to save cable TV? Is this Sumner Redstone’s lonely war against the relentless future? Will certain browsers or operating systems be blocked next?
Where do consumer rights enter into the equation here? We still watch the ads!
This is upsetting for me as well as the rest of the boxee community as noted by many of the users. I never used hulu, nor did I even have a hulu account before I started using boxee. I have no desire to watch at tv show in a browser window. Its unfortunate it has come to this. I hope there will be some sort of resolution someday so us boxee users can enjoy hulu once again. Until then I will cease using Hulu. Good day sir.
It’s unfortunate that content providers are so stubborn in the old model of their business. Have they learned nothing by watching the record industry fail miserably in preventing people from getting music the way they want? Boxee was great because it allowed users to legally watch shows as the content owners wanted, with commercials, on their televisions if they so chose and people weren’t downloading shows illegally.
I fear this move will push viewers back to bit torrent because then they can watch the shows they love on their television. The content owners have no one to blame but themselves at this point.
These “content providers” need to realize that their content is the same weather its through Boxee, Hulu.com website, or Hulu.com embedded video. This is a huge step backwards for digital delivery of content and should be seriously reconsidered.
Oh, well. Back to bittorrent for many, I’d expect.
Thanks for the post. I hate watching TV shows and Movies on my small computer screen. I use an Apple TV as my gateway for getting content from my computer to my big screen. Boxee was a huge benefit to me and the only way I ever watched Hulu content. I hope your content partners understand their decision will have an impact on the number of viewers consuming their content on Hulu (maybe that’s what they want?). I really don’t understand that. I assume having fewer viewers impacts their ability to generate revenue from their content here, no? I sincerely hope you can convince them to reconsider.
Why turn off Boxee access while you are turning access ON for new LCD TVs?
I love Hulu. In fact, I stopped the using “alternative sources” because of it. I don’t find the number of ads unbearable. I’m running wires to my TV to watch shows like Battlestar Galactica and Sons of Anarchy. I’ve recently upgraded my DSL and had plans on buying an AppleTV and using boxee. Now all this has changed due to the shortsightedness of your content providers.
Speaking of your content providers: isn’t Hulu owned by NewsCorp and NBC? Are these the content providers giving the push back or is it coming from your other providers?
Now that this has happened to boxee, will it be a new policy going forward to block media center plug-ins?
Your fault or not, I will no longer be visitin Hulu.
Man. It’s really a good thing boxee supports torrents. This is idiotic. I just deleted my hulu bookmark. And as several others have asked who are the content providers that requested that it be removed…I would really like to know and let them know that personally. When are they ever going to learn?
All points I have to say have already been stated but I just want to add one more voice to this. Boxee should be seen as no different from any other program used to access Hulu. This makes as much sense as banning Firefox users. You (really, your content partners) are effectively telling users of an alternative web browser that they are not allowed to view their advertising. This reduces Hulu’s exposure and makes it that much less valuable of an asset. That said, I appreciate that it is your partners, not Hulu itself, that made this demand. It is also good that the Boxee developers were contacted in a civilized manner, which is usually bypassed in situations like this. I would also like to know which partners made this demand so I can let them know what a bad move this is.
Well, I didn’t use Hulu prior to Boxee and I will not use it after they leave Boxee. It is a shame gave me a whole new use for my Apple TV. Well there is Joost. That is where I will be. Joost now is your chance to pick up the loss and shine. Very creative commercial for such a closed minded group.
How can “content partners” be cool with Hulu but not Hulu via Boxee. It doesn’t make sense! Please explain.
I absolutely love Hulu and the hulu interface. The one feature I really loved about Boxee was that I could use my Apple remote to control things. I need a mouse and/or keyboard to use Hulu.
Can Hulu implement anything Apple remote-ish so I don’t have to get my lazy butt off the couch to explore all the great things Hulu has to offer?
AND, can I look forward to someday getting Hulu on a stand-alone set top box like Netflix?
Wow Hulu – I have been such a fan of your product. But to me, this is two steps backwards. Difference between an LCD screen and a TV is nill. I can watch Hulu RIGHT NOW on my LCD if I want.
You guys are making a mistake here.
Simply put, with Boxee, I was a Hulu consumer. Without it, I am not a Hulu consumer. We all (content providers, hulu, boxee, me, my two kids that loved watching Masters of the Universe) lose in that equation. What’s so hard for the providers to understand???
Music online is taking off because it is DRM free. Boxee users are willing to “agree to the DRM of ‘commercials’” so what are you losing – web hits? Web ad revenue?
The material is already “free” via the airways. I just don’t get it.
THOSE OF US TECHNICAL ENOUGH TO USE BOXEE ARE ALSO TECHNICAL ENOUGH TO GO DOWNLOAD THESE TV SHOWS VIA OTHER MEANS IMMEDIATELY.
I wish I got paid a ton of money to make poor decisions.
I discovered Hulu before Boxee, and I started using Hulu much more (whether at my desktop or couch) after using Boxee. I hope that this is just a set back, and I will wait patiently if I know that this is trying to get resolved between the content providers and Hulu. If not, I am not sure how your content providers see this as harming their products. Best of luck if you are getting it resolved soon, you have many faithful viewers via Boxee.
I’m guessing that cable companies might be responsible. Lots of people dropping cable for web and it can only balloon. Cable companies pay lots of money to the channel providers. If that well of money dries up or is reduced, that’s a big hit to the content providers.
Congrats – you just neutered Hulu and sent everybody back to Bittorrent.
Sad. I guess you’re really still just old media dressed in a thin veil of new media clothes.
@ Jason Kilar: Could you please list the content providers that requested this action?
You may want to inform the “content providers” that Boxee users are among the more technologically astute. This move only drives us BACK to torrents. Their industry’s repeated failure to understand their present situation, as well as their impending future, will only make their survival more difficult.
I look forward to the day that the actual content creators realize they no longer need the “content providers,” and finally take a real step forward.
Until then, torrent time.
Before Hulu came, I pirated all of my favorite TV shows commercial free.
Since Hulu + Boxee + AppleTV entered our home, we enjoyed the convenience so much we never minded the ads, and the convenience even led us to check out tons of shows we would never have thought to watch before.
Now that Hulu partners don’t love Boxee, I will go back to pirating the TV shows I like to watch.
It’s simple math. Next week Hulu’s partners just lost two target audience members for their advertisements.
(Please note, the story above is totally fictitious and no way represents the true actions of the poster. The poster would never think of “pirating content” in order to watch commercial free content when he/she wanted and where he/she wanted. The poster is convinced that hulu partners know exactly what they are doing and are most likely very innovative and creative thinkers and know exactly how to reach out to their target audience with their content and advertisements. in no way does this poster think that hulu partners waste their days away sitting in boring meetings eating old dried tuna sandwiches wondering which version of Mattlock they can slide into their laser disk players in the evening)
I’m less mad and more completely confused why your content providers would ask you to limit your service. What is their reasoning? I’d really like to know. Are they thinking like the RIAA, taking away accessability so we’ll go back to antiquated forms of media delivery(cds, or, in this instance, cable tv)? The world is changing, and if they keep digging their heels in we’ll proceed forward without them. Long live bittorrent!
I’m frustrated by this news because I really don’t think that the content providers understand that they’re alienating themselves from those who use Boxee. My wife and I use Boxee and it’s great to easily have one area to see all our content. We’re still watching the commercials in the show and we’re using Hulu.com so I do not understand what the problem is. I do hope that the content providers will change their mind as Boxee becomes more popular Hulu will not be included and will be unknown for many users.
You need to tell your “content providers” that this decision only forces more and more people to Bittorrent. It’s as simple as that.
Nuts!! That is the least likely word that came to mind when I heard the news. It just makes no sense.