Boxee embraces paid content

Last updated Jan 20, 2010 — 429 views

Now don’t get all hot and bothered. After all, Netflix instant video streaming has been one of the most asked-for capabilities among the Boxee A/V platform’s early adopters. Soon, a host of additional PPV (pay per view) and subscription-based A/V content may be streaming to consumer TVs via Boxee.

Boxee announced today that it plans to roll out a “Boxee payments platform” this summer. The company compares the planned paid services model to Apple’s iPhone App Store, noting that there is ample evidence that users are more than willing to ante up reasonable fees for premium content and services.

In today’s announcement of plans for the expanded offering of paid services, Boxee says, “users will be able to make purchases with one click on the remote. The content partners we launch with will offer shows, movies, and channels that were previously not available to Boxee users. The content owners will be able to package and price as they wish, including pay-per-view and subscription. Content partners will have the flexibility to decide what they make available, whether it’s premium content, content from their existing library, or extras that will never make it ‘on air.’ ”

Boxee says its markup on the paid content will be “lower than the 30% charged by many app stores,” although the details reportedly remain to be hammered out.

The company adds: “The Internet represents a great opportunity for the major media companies and for the independent content producers to create more engaging and immersive experiences around their content and for them to be paid for more eyeballs on yet another screen. The connected living room represents a new medium, one in which great value could be generated. There are also many business models that will thrive including Ad-supported, pay-per-view, subscription and authentication (e.g. TV Everywhere).”

A few more details may be found in the complete post on Boxee’s blog.
 
 
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