“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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Though we have had a professional check our internet connection and set up a profile with Hulu, no matter which show we click on we continue to receive the following:
” Sorry, we are unable to stream this video. Please check your internet connection and try again.”
Please advise.
Thank you,
M.H. Elliott
no sound from hulu on my computer
i receive sound from other stations
i
Mr. Kilar your thoughts make perfect sense and I agree. The best way to win this battle is to show your willingness to work with the networks. I am sure all rasonable people understand that your great idea and admorable ambition is not leverage to try and play hardball with network giants,
I would like to thank”K2″ for wasting all of our time! What kind of issues one must have to spend ones days searching blogs for a type-o, mispelled word or a grammar slip.
Hulu worked fine (smoothly & in sync) with my iMac G4/800 15″ (2002) from 9-08 to 8-10-09.
OS 10.4.11, Firefox, FLASH 10, AT&T Yahoo!”Pro” DSL (2.57 mbps)
1GB RAM, 32MB of Nivida Geforce 2X AGP VRAM, 7200 rpm HDD.
Ever since then Hulu takes half an hour to get up to speed….. be it TV or Movies.
EVENTUALLY it plays fine, and then next program is also fine.
What gives??
Jesse F. Carroll
what is so hard about inserting ads into the flv stream and allowing any client to watch it?
The users are blaming the wrong guys. Hulu doesn’t hold the copyright on any of the content they make available to us. The person who wanted to know “what happened to the little startup……” should realize that when HULU was the new kid on block and they were flying under the radar, it was much easier to make loads of content available. Anyone who had illusions of that situation going on unchecked was kidding themselves. As soon as the networks took an interest in what they were doing, I knew things would change.
You should commend HULU for their efforts to bring us the content, while still remaining in the good graces of the networks and on the right side of the law.
Label HULU practices any way you choose, but realize that if they don’t play by the rules they’ll get crushed by the networks. The fact that they are still up and running says a lot.
I’m sure any one who is out there chanting “fight the man!!” will be welcome to hire on at HULU provided you are willing to accept resposibility for 100% of the extremely large lawsuits that will follow when you “fight the man” .
Hulu, thanks for trying. I miss someof the content we’ve lost but I still watch regularly. I appreciate your efforts.
PS. K2, are you friggin’ kidding me? regards, from someone who could care less about the poor guy’s grammar.
Dear Hulu,
you should have had the willingness to support YOUR interest by supporting YOUR viewers; instead, you bowed to the networks.
What happened to the innovative little startup with a disruptive technology and the right attitude? Did you stop to think about what a move like says about the commitment to your value proposition? I know that you will simply color me as yet another (insignificant) comment on your blog.
So long,
Brokenhearted
P.S.: Remember the old adage about the satisfied versus unsatisfied customers telling their friends? That was before the social media factor. You do the math!
It is unclear to me specifically, what about displaying Hulu feeds through Boxee would cause either Hulu or its content providers to lose a financial opportunity.
If the content providers’ ads work on Boxee it shouldn’t be the content providers. Boxee is just an appliance / viewer tool and nothing else.
If Hulu can and intends to come up with a better media center appliance / viewer tool than Boxee, then great, consumers will have more choices… after all Boxee has quite a few shortcomings. Nevertheless, in the interim, Hulu should logically still be trying to get their content to the largest audience possible.
So this all makes no sense… I would like to see Hulu declare their reasons in clearer terms that consumers can understand and believe. Otherwise I am afraid as others have said, we have to assume by exclusion that this is points to some deceptive or dishonest corporate culture issues.
Please share this with Mr. Kilar:
I am viewing you on Charlie Rose. PLEASE learn NOT to use the term “regard” as “regards”! It is not correct AND diminishes your credibility. This is a decades-established effort on my part. It is important. It is “with regard” … “in regard” … it is not “in regards.” Stop it! It makes you seem juvenile. The only time you add the “s” is at the bottom of a letter — and that is a different term.
Seriously,
K2
I just started watching Hulu. Found it easier than trying to find episodes “somewhere else”. But I wanted to use my OWN front end not the desktop or browser. I’m more than willing to watch the commercials… In fact, I even voted on them to show support for the “new” TV format. Alas, you force me back to finding other sources for my programming. No, networks, it won’t be cable. And don’t kid yourselves…. The stuff that passes for entertainment these days is not worth too much effort to find. “If it ain’t easy and it ain’t my way, I ain’t watchin”. Oh, and if I ain’t watchin’ I ain’t putting eyeballs on your precious commercials either.
So sad I slowly am seeing the erosion of our Constitution being dismantled piece by piece till soon we will have nothing left to save but ourselves. I also hear that our “puppet masters” also want to make the internet just like our televisons, and we will no longer have free domains to see what ” WE, THE PEOPLE..”want, it will all be controlled just like our television.. Then I read your letter, and I hope people really stop being so submissive to what is going on…wake up !!.Open your eyes, research everything and anything you can, and do something ;because “WE THE PEOPLE..” are still in control here…stand up for your rights as an American and for your families and friends!! Question these people who are taking those things away from us and get answers…
[...] with the recent news and events about Hulu content being taken off of Boxee because Hulu’s content partners [...]
Hmm. Is it true? :-)