Boxee Plans to Offer Paid Content

Fans of Boxee who are tired of re-runs of Lost and clips of Anderson Cooper on CNN could soon have some new paid content to watch.

Boxee plans to release a “payment platform” this summer that will allow users to purchase TV shows, movies or applications with their remote. The move will bring content that was previously not available to Boxee users, says the company.

“The content owners will be able to package and price as they wish, including pay-per-view and subscription,” Avner Ronen, Boxee CEO wrote on the company blog. “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.”

In turn, Boxee will take a cut–at less than 30 percent–of every transaction.

Boxee aggregates content from different sources such as TV channels, online video and even Netflix. The company has become popular with users who want to stream content from their PCs to their TV.�Boxee’s software is available for free. The company plans to launch a set-top boxlater this year in in partnership with D-Link.

Free content aggregation has caused problems for Boxee. Last year, Hulu twice shut down Boxee’s access to it. Boxee responded by releasing a work-around. Hulu and Boxee have declared cease fire for now.

Hulu may have made the right move. Meanwhile, Boxee’s paid platform could reassure content companies and TV channels of the software’s ability to monetize its users. Ronen believes the internet will be the fourth method of distribution for content after cable, satellite and IPTV such as AT&T’s u-Verse.

“The connected living room represents a new medium, one in which great value could be generated,” he says.

But when it comes to content partnerships, can Boxee really beat iTunes to get the kind of shows or movies that users will pay for?

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