Content Owners Force Hulu To Block Mobile Browsers As Well
from the seriously? dept
I still can't figure out the reasons why content owners allowed Hulu to offer up TV shows in a browser... but then absolutely flipped out when they realized that the very same content can be seen on browsers on other devices as well. In the past, we've noted that Hulu was pressured to block the Boxee browser (which lets you view content on your TV) and the PS3's browser (also for TVs). Now, via hamill8152, we learn that Hulu is also blocking content on Skyfire, a mobile browser for Windows Mobile phones. The reasoning is the same as always (and, at the very least, kudos to Hulu for being upfront about the idiotic pressure it comes under from clueless content owners). Hulu explains the whole "windowing" thought process of the folks in Hollywood, and suggests that these windows will eventually go away. Of course, it's worth pointing out that Hollywood so disagrees with this that the MPAA has been pushing for ways to add more windows. Either way, the whole thing is silly. If you're putting your content on the internet, you're putting it on the internet. Pretending that televisions or mobile phones can't also view content on the internet makes no sense. One day, people in charge will understand this. Until then...Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: blocking, browsers, content, skyfire
Companies: boxee, hulu, skyfire
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It's Like:
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Comp to TV
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Re: Comp to TV
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Re: Comp to TV
no way dude. pirated movies look waaaay better on an illegally modded xbox.
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Way to chase users underground!
Does Hollywood really want to reverse that trend?
It's suicide to take something available and make it unavailable. It just drives people back to those "other" services. You know the ones, "just right over there..."
Dumbasses.
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Screw them
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Not the content owners...
The villain here is the TV stations. They have been conviced to allow broadcast to computers, but as soon as a TV show ends up on a TV or mobile device without going through their broadcast network, they lose advertising revenue, so they freak out.
Since the content providers still depend mostly on traditional local broadcast for their content royalties, the TV stations still hold significant power, and they are using that leverage to prevent service and content providers from bypassing them and collecting the ad revenue directly.
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Re: Not the content owners...
Since the content providers still depend mostly on traditional local broadcast for their content royalties, the TV stations still hold significant power, and they are using that leverage to prevent service and content providers from bypassing them and collecting the ad revenue directly.
that setup is living on borrowed time. in a couple of years more people will watch video on computers and mobile devices than on traditional televisions. someone in TVland needs to understand that before they end up newspapers and record labels.
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omg why?
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from Hulu's "about" page
Currently, Hulu’s Board of Directors includes executives from NBC Universal, Fox, The Walt Disney Company, Providence Equity Partners and Hulu, including:
* Al Dobron, Providence Equity Partners
* Anne Sweeney, Disney
* Dan Fawcett, Fox
* Jason Kilar, Hulu
* Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal
* Jonathan Nelson, Providence Equity Partners
* Kevin Mayer, Disney
* Mike Lang, Fox
* Peter Chernin, News Corp
* Robert Iger, Disney
* Salil Mehta, NBC Universal
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Re: from Hulu's "about" page
Or somthing.
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A conspiracriy conspiracy
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The content owners fear is that if they allow the walls to come down and these financial ecosystems merge, the net size of the revenue opportunity will be less.
There are two things wrong with this fear:
1. I contend that the net size of the revenue opportunity can be much greater because the potential reach is much greater... BUT it will require a new business model;
2. It is a fantasy to think that the walls will stay in place for more than another year or two. I think the Internet is here to stay.
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Or so they think. Little do they know that this philosophy is already doomed.
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It reminds of a essay I read about the two most common things mankind has built throughout recorded history: Walls and Roads. Walls are built to restrict us and roads are built to free us. As we march through history the walls are eventually torn down but the roads always remain.
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The content owners fear is that if they allow the walls to come down and these financial ecosystems merge, the net size of the revenue opportunity will be less.
There are two things wrong with this fear:
1. I contend that the net size of the revenue opportunity can be much greater because the potential reach is much greater... BUT it will require a new business model;
2. It is a fantasy to think that the walls will stay in place for more than another year or two. I think the Internet is here to stay.
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Cloak your browser
Watching Hulu on my phone is awesome!
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Funny thing is Hulu Desktop
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Re:
I thought it was a very nice coincidence that this reasoning came along just after the MPAA tried to get new software into DVR's to create a new "window".
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The TV Idiots....
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R.I.P. HULU
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I can explain this, I think.
They let Hulu go with its plans because they thought of it this way: It will be shown on computers which they believe to be in a separate place in your house, away from other entertainment and things you'd want to do or see. That the viewing of it would be acceptable but limited. So one could see all this content for free but it would come at some level of annoyance that should in turn grow their thirst to get this content on a 'proper' medium which should increase sales.
If you take out the separation from the equation then they believe its going to have the opposite effect and dampen DVD sales, streaming and online buying/viewing/rental revenue.
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Hulu is a joke!
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Hulu is a joke!
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HULU IS A JOKE!
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