So That's Why Hulu Hates Boxee
Hulu, the popular television content aggregator backed by major Hollywood companies, today launched a desktop application that can only be used on PCs. Of course, we wouldn't expect the company to do it any other way — after all, if it ran on set-top boxes …
Context & Ripple Effects
Hulu had already used HTML encryption to block Boxee access in April. Limiting its new desktop client to PCs makes that boundary more explicit: Hulu is separating browser and PC distribution from the set-top-box experience Boxee is building.
Boxee had just opened a developer API and offered incentives for new apps, so Hulu’s restriction lands as Boxee is trying to make its interface a broader software platform rather than a single-purpose media player.
First-order effects
- Hulu’s desktop application is available to PC users while Boxee users cannot use that application on a set-top box.
- Boxee loses a direct route to carry Hulu through its living-room interface, despite its expanding app-development program.
Second-order effects
- Boxee’s developers must depend on video services willing to publish for its platform, reducing the value of an open API when major aggregators reserve their apps for selected devices.
- Hulu gains a more controlled distribution path for its desktop product, making device access rules part of its product strategy rather than a browser-only dispute.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern holds, online video distributors will treat device compatibility as a channel-control decision, not merely a technical feature.
- Platform builders such as Boxee will compete not only on interface design and developer tools, but on their ability to secure participation from rights-sensitive video services.
The trend: Online video is moving toward device-specific distribution, with services using platform access to control how and where viewers reach premium programming.