February 22, 2009 by Andy Russell
Competition between the various companies scrabbling for a foothold in the online industries seems to be getting more competitive by the day and video streaming is no exception – in fact, it’s one of the fiercest market sectors. Even so, the competition between the cadre of video streaming sites nipping at YouTube’s heels has just gotten that little bit more vicious with the announcement fro Hulu that they will no longer allow their videos to be shown on rival sites.
Hulu used to be the only company in the sector with policies that seemed to make sense. Aside from the fact that it’s only available in the US, they appeared to have the game completely sussed – everything from video hosting to syndication. That was until it submitted to the madness within the online video industry and pulled all of its content from competing sites like Boxee and TV.com.
The reasons behind the decision seem to have something to do with the huge media companies that own these sites. Hulu is, of course, a joint project between NewsCorp and NBC Universal. It appears that the decision makers at these companies couldn’t resist sticking it to rivals CBS, who own TV.com, even if it means messing up Hulu’s business model.
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