Streamer sales by Israeli start-up Boxee Inc. have disappointed. The device, manufactured by D-Link Ltd. under the Boxee label, has sold just 200,000 units, according to a tweet by the company. Boxee said that it had two million subscribers, but 1.8 million of them use the software that can be downloaded for free. Boxee has halted development of this version.
The Boxee Box is a media streamer, which costs NIS 1,000 in Israel. It enables wireless viewing of video files and images on a computer and the downloading of various television services applications. In other countries, it is possible to view for payment content and movies from services such as Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Vudu Inc., and to listen to music on Pandora Internet Radio.
The small number of customers who have bought the Boxee Box paints a rather grey picture of this market, which was supposed to be an alternative for customers who did not want to subscribe to cable or satellite television broadcasters. If Boxee's streamer was considered the market leader, its modest sales suggest that its competitors are in little better shape.
In late 2010, Boxee CEO Avner Ronen told "Globes", "I think that we have an opportunity to build a billion-dollar company or greater." It will be interesting to see whether Boxee will be able to meet this ambitious forecast.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 16, 2012
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