Update | 6:33 p.m. Added a link to a statement from Boxee.
Well that was quick.
Content from the video site Hulu no longer works on the latest version of the video-watching software Boxee, which I described earlier today. Hulu, the joint Web venture between NBC and Fox, is clearly not interested in being part of the Boxee interface and made a change today, in response to Boxee’s announcement, so that only authorized Web browsers can have access to its video, according to a person briefed on the change.
A Boxee spokesman, Andrew Kippen, acknowledged that Hulu was again inaccessible through Boxee and said the company was “looking into the situation.”
The networks appear to be concerned about Boxee because it allows people to watch Internet video on TVs, instead of watching the same programs, with more lucrative advertising, on broadcast, cable and satellite networks.
Now it’s up to Avner Ronen and his crew at Boxee to decide whether they want to take a more forceful approach, perhaps by mimicking the appearance of an authorized browser. But that could also potentially lead to litigation.
Either way, this is a cat-and-mouse game worth watching.
Update: Boxee just addressed the matter on its blog.
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