http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/02/18/content-owners-force-hulu-to-kill-boxee-support/

“Content Owners” as yet unnamed (but reasonably easy to infer) have not-so-politely asked Hulu to pull their content from Boxee.  Boxee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxee), for those not aware, is a free software download that gives a simple and intuitive interface to browsing and watching web streamed video on your PC or TV.  Hulu is one of the most popular sources for content on Boxee, so the news that Hulu is being forced to pull out of its agreement with Boxee is a major blow to Boxee’s ability to get more interest and market penetration.
 
Why the content owners cannot seem to see past the stumbles and face-plants of the music industry is puzzling.  There is no DRM, encryption or content protection system that has not and will not be cracked at some point, so the only way to retain control and value for the owners of digital content is to make it easier and more valuable to the consumer to get it through legitimate channels than it is to go steal it somewhere.  I would hazard a guess that 100% of people who consume video content online have “stolen” some by this definition, and more than 99% of those have done so without even realizing it – they watched a YouTube video some friend forwarded to them of a funny SNL skit, for example.
 
Hulu and Boxee are trying to move the industry forward, but it all falls apart if the content itself is yanked out from under them.  I am guessing the reason behind all this is simple – Boxee makes it easy to get the content owners’ videos back on the TV set, and it really makes the old way of delivering television look antiquated in comparison.