Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

First, Hulu's content providers need digital distribution to be as ubiquitous and easy as possible for users to access and build affinity for that content.  By excluding distribution from an app like Boxee, they encourage users to seek alternate means for getting that content, such as BitTorrent.  This is especially true when the now "traditional" media such as broadcast/cable and DVD suffer from decreasing viewership and/or stagnant sales (ex:  BluRay sales have not been the windfall the "content providers" had hoped for, regardless of the state of the economy).  When you don't create a legitimate marketplace for a community, that community will seek out or create it's own market - a black one.  Hence, BitTorrent, ripping rental DVDs, etc.

Second, Hulu and it's content providers need to find as many forms of revenue as possible.  Why not develop measurable and user-friendly ad models with partners like Boxee that complement the existing ad programs seen on Hulu?  Check out the reader responses on the Boxee blog post - they may not be representative of *everyone*, but no one is complaining about the ad formats currently seen on Hulu, which are as non-intrusive as possible and give brands a better opportunity to own "share of voice" for specific programming.  And no one is complaining about Hulu ads embedded in their Boxee experience either.

Finally, content providers and their technology partners already have programming strategies and various revenue streams that can be complemented and not jeopardized by technologies like Boxee.  For example, I can watch the last Battlestar Galactica episode "No Exit" on Hulu.com, but I know it won't be available there forever, and if I want it as a high-def "keeper", I can pay just a few dollars to own it via iTunes and/or buy it on a BluRay DVD.  The content/revenue ecosystem can be more complex than just Hulu/iTunes/DVD/cable_broadcast.

What will be interesting to see is if the content providers and Hulu are building a brick wall "forever" or if this is just a line in the sand that can be redrawn as technologies (legitimate and otherwise) evolve.  My bet is the latter (just like my call that we'll see a Hulu app for the iPhone someday).  I can understand why Hulu and it's partners would be gun-shy for now, but I also expect them to be daring when appropriate so that users can have a great content experience on any device.  If done right, the content providers will get their ad models and revenue to keep making great content, while users will get their content when and where they want it - legally.

Jay Bain