Boxee, the inter-connected media center, is getting bigger and better, for a small fee. In adding more content to its content library of premium shows, movies, music and apps, Boxee will be needing some additional revenue in order to support this service. By partnering up with even more premium content providers and deepening existing relationships, it’s not surprising that Boxee has begun to pursue a subscription model.
For those that want to have access to the upcoming content binge, Boxee will be offering the service this summer. The good thing about Boxee’s possible subscription model is that its service is so well integrated that customers may be willing to pay for the extra services. Adding a fee for the type of convenience Boxee offers, just to be able to gain additional premium content, may be worth the price.
That price, however, is yet to be determined. Details surrounding the content, distribution partners and actual features of the subscription have not been fully decided upon by Boxee and its associates. What Boxee has said so far is that its prices will be “lower than the 30% charged by many app stores” for transactions made through its service.
Boxee’s intentions are to create an alternative to some of the other platforms for media that are out there. The most commonly referenced platform is iTunes, and it also the most prominent. Once Boxee begins beefing up its available content and more directly monetizing its customers, Boxee will be able to offer more competitive options to content providers as well. The pricing model for Boxee could compete with that of iTunes if it finds a way to make its deals more mutually beneficial than that of Apple’s more restrictive structure.
This is a tactic that has already been employed by the likes of Amazon and even Wal-Mart, though those stores were set up primarily for music. Boxee combines several media types, aggregating them on a single platform that ties in with nearly every device and social media outlet you already access on a regular basis.
This convenience has been a blessing and a curse for Boxee, as it quickly rose to stardom and found that competition at the top is pretty rough. Accessing so many social media outlets in order to provide well-integrated features to users has made Boxee an enemy to competitors at times, and on more than one occasion Boxee has been limited in those services it could extend to end users. Still reliant on the cooperation of larger companies, competitors and still-evolving social media platforms, Boxee only has so much wiggle room as the space continues to grow.
Boxee did note that this particular aspect of its growth process is a problem that others have already had to deal with, as moving into the subscription model is an assimilation strategy that others like Joost have also had to undertake. The good thing is that the ability to integrate so many devices and access points at this point makes it easier to maintain a service such as this.
The ongoing growth of Boxee also hints at the potential for services like Boxee and Apple to push the revolution for consumer-centric media forward. Giving consumers the options they demand means that content providers will be more willing to fall in line with changing trends. Creating options around these services for the content providers also encourages a more flexible market for them in order to get their content (and ads) to consumers.