Like Brent, I read that the Adobe Air Hulu-scraping software MyMediaPlayer can no longer access Hulu video streams. Most coverage has portrayed the situation as Hulu, LLC targeting this specific program. But Hulu periodically tweaks the way they serve content, requiring unsupported third parties to make changes. I’ve seen it a few times with PlayOn, but this developer isn’t interested in keeping up.
In general, I think we (tv-viewing consumers) all agree Hulu should be more liberal in sharing their advertising-laden programming (poor Boxee) and/or provide additional outlets: television hardware, mobile clients, etc. And, in fact, that may indeed be the case… Recently announced media streamer ZillionTV (below) is financially backed by Hulu’s studio founders, NBC and Fox (among others).
Ted Malone of Sling Media is in agreement. Despite a business relationship with Hulu, or perhaps because, he’s called them out in the comments on NewTeeVee:
Hulu needs to start acting like a platform and less like a cable company. […] As long as customers are accessing Hulu’s content (with Hulu’s ads), where is the problem? […] Bad move Hulu.
While I certainly understand and support his position, he of all people should realize the content providers are still somewhat skittish and the situation is complex – in terms of licensing, quality of service (QoS) concerns, regional restrictions, getting paid… and other sticking points we’re probably not aware of. Though, given Sling’s growing stable of studio relationships, they should be. But I’m all for whatever it takes for Sling to pipe Hulu content directly to my SlingCatcher without a PC in the mix. Make it so, Ted.