Hulu Boosts Pirates By Blocking VPN Access

Saw that Hulu has implemented a block on overseas users who were accessing the site via an anonymous proxy server called HotSpot Shield.  The point of the VPN is to block the user’s IP address so that Hulu doesn’t know they are trying to access the content from outside of the US.

Currently, due to a slew of misguided and ill-conceived rules and regulations, Hulu will not provide its content outside of the US and is clearly willing to go to some lengths to keep out those dirty foreigners.

Of course, these are just regular people who really really want to see the content Hulu provides.  They aren’t trying to bypass the advertising or trying to download the content so that they can make it into DVDs to sell on the street.  They’re just fans.

By blocking their access, Hulu (and the studios providing most of their content) simple force those outside the US to use “pirate” services – either P2P bittorrent sites or streaming sites – that are easily accessible. Sites like Megavideo, Supernovatube and Ninjavideo.

Basically, by continuing to believe that they can somehow artificially limit and control where their content is consumed, Hulu (et. al.) are giving a big boost to “pirates” while simultaneously losing viewers who could help drive up the price of ads.

And of course, those who still want to watch the programming on Hulu but can’t access it will probably just go somewhere else — torrent indexes and streaming sites like Megavideo, Supernovatube and, my personal favorite, Ninjavideo.

Hulu vs. Paying for Cable TV

Just a quick thought:

I can watch last week’s episode of 30 ROCK on Hulu right now for free.

However, if all I had was $80+/month cable TV and I had forgotten to set my DVR to record the show for me I would now be completely screwed.

Seems to me that Hulu, on many levels, offers a superior set of features and benefits when compared to the offerings of basic cable.

CNets Jumps On My Cable-Cutting Band Wagon

Way back in December I severed my Time Warner Cable TV connection because I was tired of paying $100/month for thousands of programs I never watched – oh, and dealing with their notion of customer service gave me nothing but aggravation.

Since then, the economy and new applications like Boxee are making it easier than ever to cut the cord.

CNet has a pretty good roundup of set-top boxes that let you move the internet-video experience to that big flatscreen monster in your living room:

I’ve done a little digging through the CNET Reviews archives to highlight the top 10 boxes/computers for accessing video-on-demand content via the Web. Here’s a brief summary of each, in no particular order. You can see at a glance what makes each one cool and what makes it not so cool. And you’ll get a general idea of how much each one costs.

I’m sorry to say that I haven’t found a box that offers me everything from all the top movies and TV shows to the best local and live TV programming. But the market is still evolving. And I promise you that the landscape could look very different in another 18 months, so stay tuned. (via)

Of course, if you don’t want to spend money on what is basically place-holder technology, you can just run a cable from your computer to your TV and enjoy.

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Free Advice for Hulu: Play On

I just finished watching The Daily Show from last night on Hulu and happened to be in the middle of folding some clothes when the show ended.  After a brief ad, the screen went dead and offered up some static thumbnails of suggested viewing.

It dawned on me that Hulu was missing a great opportunity to either introduce me to new content or keep me viewing related content while increasing my potential time on the site – a big benefit when trying to sell advertisers.

So, Hulu, here is my free advice:

Once a program ends, if the viewer doesn’t intervene, just start streaming something else, just like you would do on TV.  Sure, I might not end up watching whatever it is…but I might.  Plus, you’ve lost nothing for trying.

Oh yeah, also, get your deal worked out with Boxee.  Installing these hacks is a pain in the butt and you’e not going to come out ahead by resisting.

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Hulu Back on Boxee Without NBC OK

Once again, a big media company has made a big fuss over trying to control where and when there content is viewed only to discover that a) it pisses off a number of their viewers and b) doesn’t stop anyone who really wants to see the content where they want to see it.

Last week, NBC, reportedly bowing to pressure from cable companies, pulled Hulu off of the increasingly popular computer application Boxee.  And the internet responded as it often does, by proving that people can do whatever they want online if they are clever:

A hacker’s plug-in can put streaming Hulu content back into your Boxee media center on Linux, Macs, or Apple TV. Let’s take a walk through removing the busted Hulu and dropping in the new hotness. (via)

One has to wonder if “big media” will ever learn to work with consumers to provide them with exactly what they want instead of forcing and challenging their potential customers to form workarounds that make the efforts moot.

Cable Companies Fight Losing Battle for Exclusivity

The cable companies have had it pretty good for quite some time.  A virtual monopoly over TV-hungry Americans often not even facing the competition of another cable company led to skyrocketing rates and consistently poor customer service – but there just wasn’t an alternative.

Now, with the explosion of easy-to-use online options for viewing traditional TV programming the cable companies are facing their first real threat (sorry DirectTV, a strong rain knocks out your service…) and they are responding my lowering their rates, offering ala carte pricing and overhauling their approach to customer service…Jusk kidding.  They’re not doing any of those things:

SNL Kagan pegs overall subscription revenue from telecoms, satellite companies and MSOs at around $22.5 billion in 2008. Cable companies want their deals to include online and set-top VOD access to everything they already pay for with cable network license fees or, in some cases, retransmission fees—and they don’t want to compete with services that don’t pay.

That would include Boxee, the media center-like service that easily can deliver HD-quality internet video to the TV screen but is losing access to Hulu content Friday at the request of the JV’s content providers. That access is being pulled, at least in part, because of ongoing negotiations with cable providers. They also aren’t thrilled by Hulu, which has the rights to everything it distributes. (via)

The problem for the cable companies is not all that different for the one facing record labels – there is no longer a true scarcity and without that scarcity it will become increasingly difficult for the cable companies to convince viewers they’re worth the expense.  If they lose subscribers they will not be eager or able to pay the hefty licensing fees charged by the networks.  Unfortunately for the cable companies, what they offer is becoming obsolete and the networks won’t need them for distribution and will find another way to make money (or not) by offering their programming more directly to the consumer.

While they may fight it for a while, the cable companies will be a thing of the past, at least as we know them today.

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Today’s Crime: Watching Top Chef On My iPhone

I have to shake my head in utter bewilderment when it comes to how the networks are fighting to come to grips with distribution in the digital age.

While sites like Hulu and apps like Boxee are great steps, they still make it impossible to watch shows outside of a stable WiFi hotspot.  What is this great fear of portability all about?  Why can I watch the show on my computer but not my iPhone. Why can I watch it in my apartment but not on the subway.

Obviously, there is a pretty simple way for me to solve this problem: if I want to take a show with me I download it from a BitTorrent site like PirateBay.  There I can get the complete episode in an open format that I can covert easily and move to my iPhone.  I also get the episode completely commercial-free.

What leaves me baffled is why the networks don’t simply offer a downloadable version with embedded ads.  Sure, I like ad-free but I’d rather get my entertainment through approved channels if possible.  Just like I, and many others, are happy to put up with ads on Hulu in exchange for free content, the same would go for content I download.

Instead, in some vain attempt to, um, protect their DVD sales(?) they force me to go get content from a “pirate” site and lose the potential ad revenue, too.

Silly networks…

Free Anti-Piracy Advice to NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX et. al.

According to a post on NewTeeVee:

Regardless of how many ads were shown, 90 percent of ABC.com viewers continued to say they’d rather get the show for free than pay to get it without ads.

Why aren’t the TV networks releasing copies of their shows to pirate sites complete with the ads built in?  While I do love my ad-free TV torrents, I tend to watch on Boxee even with the ads since there is simply no wait.  However, I miss being able to download and watch the show on other devices or outside of a wifi hotspot.

I think most people would be perfectly ok with downloading a show with the ads built in.  Sure, one could fast-forward past them but most people don’t bother, especially if the ads are short and varied.

Not only would the networks actually get to show advertisers an ever larger pool of eyeballs but they would be putting the pirates right out of business.

Just thinking aloud…

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Kevin Kelly Gets Me Thinking About What I Own

Kevin Kelly has a great post on the notion of moving from an ownership-based world to an access-based world.  Here’s a taste:

Very likely, in the near future, I won’t “own” any music, or books, or movies. Instead I will have immediate access to all music, all books, all movies using an always-on service, via a subscription fee or tax. I won’t buy – as in make a decision to own — any individual music or books because I can simply request to see or hear them on demand from the stream of ALL. I may pay for them in bulk but I won’t own them. The request to enjoy a work is thus separated from the more complicated choice of whether I want to “own” it. I can consume a movie, music or book without having to decide or follow up on ownership.

In many ways, a lot of us are already there.  The truth is I haven’t bought an media in a physical format in ages.  Not a CD or DVD to speak of and even my dead-tree book purchases have plummeted.

Just what has replaced all of these hard-good purchases? My NetFlix subscription, Pandora, Boxee, Stanza, ITunes and all the rest.  When it gets right down to it about the only things I really buy-to-own these days are food and alcohol and I don’t really “own” those for long.

Of course, the idea of a subscription-based life works for goods that have little-to-no scarcity factor it seems less likely that rental will replace all aspects of ownership.

Check out KK’s whole post.

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Quick Little Boxee Update

It has now been over a month living cable-free and I am loving it.  Not only am I saving money and watching far less “bad” TV – I define “bad” TV as that stuff you watch when you are just idly flipping through the channels – but I have gotten to really experience Boxee.

While there are now all sorts of ways to watch TV on your computer, I find Boxee continues to be the most comprehensive.  Now, with the addition of the ABC web-content it is just that much better.

I think my favorite part is that I can navigate it almost entirely via my little Apple remote while sitting back in bed.

Even if you are still paying for cable, go download Boxee and get a pretty good taste of the future.  My guess is that you will quickly begin to wonder just why you are still paying for cable.

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