Boxee breaks out flame thrower with $49 cord-cutting dongle

After attempting to court cable TV operators and programmers, Boxee is encouraging viewers to cut the cord on pay TV subscriptions and rely on a device that will allow it to deliver a combination of local broadcast channels and online video from providers such as Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), Hulu and YouTube.

Boxee's LiveTV stick

While Boxee's OTT (over-the-top) video set-top, which debuted in 2010, has been popular with some cable cord cutters, CEO Avner Ronen had been positioning Boxee as a product that could complement cable programming. He had also suggested cable MSOs could use Boxee software to deliver Internet video programming to their customers.

But after failing to strike deals with cable companies, Ronen broke out the flame thrower on Wednesday, announcing that Boxee will begin selling a $49 "Live TV" stick--a dongle that can link Boxee's set-top to over-the-air antennas. Ronen also ripped the cable industry for selling $85 monthly subscriptions to viewers.

"The cable companies' efforts to adapt are more focused on protecting a decades-old business model than delivering a great experience to their customers," Ronen wrote in a blog post Wednesday. He noted that 89 of the top 100 programs in 2010 were on broadcast networks, which Boxee can deliver with the live TV stick that it will begin selling in January.

With Boxee now officially endorsing cable cord cutting, the company is pursuing a significantly different strategy than rival OTT set-top provider Roku, which has said that most of its customers are cable or satellite providers. Roku has also struck deals with cable programmers looking for broader distribution such as Wealth TV, and it also offers access to HBO Go through its set-top.

For more:
- see blog post from Boxee CEO Avner Ronen

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