The US is undergoing a mandatory transition away from analog TV signals.  At a time when money is tight people are making hard lifestyle choices to save money.  Cable is often the first to go.  That leaves people with the option of spending money on new and mysterious converter boxes, or using hardware they already own connected to the internet for free.

With the development of TV over the internet, content delivery mechanisms such as podcasting, and video sources like Hulu, Joost, and YouTube, media content owners have the opportunity to reach new customers through many different outlets of traditional and social media convergence.  Partnering with Boxee allows you to be in control of your revenue model while engaging this new generation of viewers and avoiding painful interactions with incumbent online intermediaries.

This is a pivotal time.  Viewers are looking for convenience and choice.  Boxee makes on-demand access to your content on your terms easy and fun.  Much easier and more fun than piracy.  It's become apparent to us that Boxee users would rather surf CBS and Hulu with their remotes than spend hours looking for illegal torrents online.  Boxee does not bypass any ads or promotions in the content, and it supports subscription services too.  It is another outlet for providers to deliver content to users in an easily accessible format, while maintaining financially sustainable  revenue from ad supported services like Hulu and subscription services like NetFlix.

Viewing Hulu through Boxee is simply another opportunity for users to see and enjoy the content that content owners have made available. Attempting to block access to Hulu through Boxee provides no added benefit because users already have access to the exact same content through standard web browsers. Convenient access to Hulu through Boxee does not change the media itself, and is not an opportunity to hijack your content. Boxee is really just a web browser specifically designed for leisurely enjoying video.

Boxee can provide a branding opportunity similar to the current cable channel setup. It can have an NBC, FOX, FX channel so that users build a relationship with the content owners directly. They will learn that you create great content and come back to your channel for more of it. You also have the potential to direct them back to your flagship channels for similar content which may interest them.

Further, Boxee can do much more than cable television to ensure that the advertisements that pay for your content are seen. Whereas on a DVR a user can skip through all the commercials, Boxee eliminates that possibility. Future development of Boxee could be focused on helping your advertising partners build stronger relationships with your viewers through interactive ads or by otherwise leveraging the social aspects of Boxee and interactive potential of the web.

Something that could be acheived in the future is a service structure much like Netflix now has for movies. A similar concept could be applied to premium TV shows shown through Boxee. When asked, most Boxee users would be happy to have the same content they get on cable in Boxee for slightly less than the price they currently pay for TV content (be it TV alone, or in a TV / phone / Internet bundle). This service would likely have a single fee for all Premium TV shows paid per month. A service and pricing structure such as this could help offset missing revenue from fewer ads on streaming on-demand content.

Partnering with Boxee provides content owners the opportunity to influence the future of media delivery, and provides compelling access to a vast consumer base.

Boxee can also be set up to offer the ability for content providers to be able to see the number of folks that have been reached by their programming as well as advertising campaigns.  No third-party calling service is needed to do this.  You have a real set of number of users that have watched your programming and ads.  This is something TV can only offer using a service such as Neilson.  With Boxee, the user comes to you for your content and you can count them in your ratings and results much more directly than with traditional delivery channels.

Boxee can be seen as little more than a browser for streaming content; just another medium that may be used to watch videos, TV shows, and movies from various providers on the Internet. It in no way lowers your revenue, as it does not modify the content (including any advertising).

Additional Notes

1. Because, unless we've missed something, there is virtually no downside
2. Utilizing additional distribution channels weakens the power of others in the channel (such as cable, sat companies) thus enabling content providers to increase the amount they charge to these customers to keep the content (now only 70% of users get our content from you, 30% get their content over the Internet)
3. Missing something about the social aspect of boxee and why it will help new users experience new content that they'll enjoy... it will make them money, and we need to make sure the know/understand/realize that.