I haven’t written about this yet, but things just got really interesting today.

First some context, skip it if you know the story. Hulu is a great site that offers full lenght TV shows from major networks at high quality for free (ad supported). Boxee is a media center application (think Tivo for web / bit-torrent content). People tend to run boxee on small computers hooked up to their TVs. Up until recently Boxee provided a lovely way to access Hulu’s content on the big screen. Pressure from whomever controls Hulu’s content (the major networks) forced them to block access of their content by Boxee. DRAMA.

Today two interesting things happened

Boxee, the strapping young lads that they are, came back at the networks with a total Haymaker. Boxee, laughing in the networks face, provided rudimentary access to Hulus content through their built in web browser (it doesn’t look like a browser, but thats essentially what it is). Hulu is just a website after all, right? Oh what a BURN. Hulu responded by doing the only thing they could do. They blocked Boxee entirely. Why? Because if they don’t, some dinosaurs at the networks would pull the content plug on Hulu and they will bleed out in their fragile early stages of life.

Remember that scene in the movie Dune when the gross guy with boils pulls the “heart plug” on some pour soul? Well the networks are the boil covered gross guy (Baron Harkonnen) and the innocent soul is Hulu. SPOILER ALERT for the movie and this whole debacle: The boil covered gross guy dies in the end. I think his uncle was the music industry?

The networks have a serious win with Hulu. People love Hulu. But the monetization pheromones in the air have caused them to possibly flub it. The networks are essentially saying – we would really prefer if you hulu users watch our content on a tiny computer screen and not your TVs, please turn off Boxee and go back to your web browsers. The irony of this logic is that Boxee is essentially a glorified web browser. And the further move to block Boxee from Hulu’s RSS feeds reinforces the networks misunderstanding of the entire medium. To them watching Hulu on Boxee feels WAY to much like regular old TV that they aren’t making enough money on or in control of. Networks, Im looking at you… hasn’t the success of Boxee, iTunes, Tivo and other “have it my way” solutions spoken to you at all? You won’t have a TV channel forever. You are only as good as your content can throw you. And do you know who is going to throw you like a 90 mph fast ball in the coming years? People like BOXEE! Make friends.

Back to the flawed logic of Hulu blocking Boxee’s access. There is nothing stopping me from opening up my favorite run of the mill web browser and blasting Hulu full screen all over my living room on my flat screen. Are the networks going to kick down my door and tell me to stop until they figure out how to mOnEtiZe it? When the future is obviously staring them in the face why do they insist on going the route of the music industry? For the love.

Lets look at Netflix. They are kind of like Hulu. They offer content from a lot of different people. They just implemented their streaming media-center-like software on a bunch of different platforms, xbox360, OS X, Windows, etc. Granted they have a different relationship with their content providers than Hulu, its an example of how to do it right. The future, forget it, the NOW, are these Hulu, Boxee, Netflix-streaming style experiences. Networks, why bother fighting whats already here? Stop being surprised when these young bucks whip past you at 90 miles an hour. Soon your time will be up as a TV channel. Im sure smart people at your organizations are already telling you its here. Embrace the change, stop stifling innovation, and get some smart people to figure out how to make money. We just want to watch your content, and your content is increasingly going to be all you have.