For the second time now, Hulu has admitted that they are blocking third party applications from accessing the service because the content holders told them too. Previously it was Boxee, this time it’s the PS3.

There’s a lot of backlash from various people on the internet. Many of them with some really well thought out comments on the subject like “Hulu should grow a pair”.  Now I do understand the point they’re trying to make, however ineloquently, but I can’t completely agree with it.

On the one hand, Boxee and the PS3 aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re just making the Hulu experience better for users. The same users who made Hulu so popular in the first place. These users win because they get more convenient access to an already great service. Even, Hulu seem to benefit because it gets to serve more ads to more people, making them more money.

Of course, even a great service like Hulu isn’t going to be very useful if it hasn’t got any content. Sure, right now, Hulu is my go to source for watching television. (Except for LOST on ABC, which should be rectified before this coming season.) But, if the people who own all those TV shows that make Hulu so popular disappear then they’re losing the users, including me. Basically, Hulu is forced to say “How high?” when the content owners say jump. Hulu can’t survive without them and while it’s in the best interest of the content owners to support Hulu they can get by without them.

That’s what happened to Joost. I signed up for the beta checked it out, realized it was a sweet piece of software and had tons of potential. Then never used it again because there weren’t enough shows worth watching. I don’t care how well the technology works if they don’t have anything worth watching I’m not going to use it.

So sure, the user complaints are justified but Hulu really doesn’t have a choice in the matter. Who knows maybe all the complaining will convince the content holders that people actually want to watch their shows. The they’ll change their evil ways and everyone, on any system, can have their brains turned into goo.

Tagged with Boxee, Hulu .
Leave a Comment, Trackback.