I cut the cord with cable a long time ago. It’s been a great experience for me, and an amazing money saver to boot. I wrote about how to cut the cord with cable and how I’m using my Roku and PlayOn TV to watch the shows I want to see. While it isn’t perfect and doesn’t cover every network and every show, it covers everything I care about except some sports. Not anymore. The online streaming of ABC changed on January 6, and now you need to sign in to your cable provider to watch new shows via the ABC app.
I have a major philosophical issue with this, as ABC is network television and meant to be free tv. When you stream ABC on the abc.go app, you have to watch commercials. In fact, you watch a lot of commercials. There are at least six commercial breaks in an hour long show, one before the show starts and five throughout the episode, and you cannot fast forward through them or change apps on your tablet or phone to avoid them. You’re pretty much forced to watch them, unlike when I used to use my VCR to tape show or even my DVR where I could fast forward.
Apparently ABC has decided that they aren’t making enough money from the commercials, and now you have to have an affiliation with an approved cable provider to use the ABC app. Whether it’s because they can’t charge enough per viewing of the commercials online or their shows cost too much to make and license or some other problem altogether, address that root cause. This is not the answer. Within two days, the abc.go app already had over 3,000 one star reviews. They updated it to fix some (not insignificant) bugs, and already there are almost 1,500 1 star reviews compared to 14 five star reviews. That should tell you something there.
My personal opinion aside, this is the reality at the moment. ABC follows the trend set by Fox and CBS in making this change, as Fox has long required you to provide your cable provider to watch recent shows (but I’ll be honest, there aren’t any Fox shows I watch, so I sort of hadn’t cared). CBS has been late to the game in providing online streaming, and again there aren’t any CBS shows I’m interested in watching primarily because they haven’t streamed shows in the past. While CBS doesn’t require you (yet) to have a cable subscription, they simply don’t load shows to their app until a week has passed, which is essentially the same result. NBC, however, still keeps free tv as free tv for all, not just those who are (over?)paying for cable with select providers. For now. You know it’s a matter of time, right?
ABC? If you’re listening, I have a message for you. There are some shows that I’m willing to wait to watch, but not many. And those are only the shows that I currently watch and love, which is down to four (yep, just four) right now. Three I’ll wait to watch, but the fourth? Nope. So that means you just lost a viewer.
When they go off the air, I won’t be searching for new ABC shows to replace them. I’ll find other ways to spend my time, and that’s fewer eyeballs you’ll have anywhere. You can’t stop the tide of change. People simply don’t sit down on a Thursday night to watch live television anymore. More and more of us are cutting the cord with cable for a variety of reasons. If you want to retain a fraction of your viewership, this is a decision you need to seriously revisit.
So what’s up with the new ABC app? I’ve been exploring and testing and playing with it for awhile, and I at least have some answers to what you can and can’t do.
ABC App FAQ – what you can and can’t do with ABC.go
Can I just not update the abc.go app and keep watching my shows?
Nope. When you open the app anytime after January 6, you receive the message that this version of the app is no longer supported and that you have to update the app. You can either choose to not update it and simply not stream ABC anymore, or you can update it with the new restrictions.
If I don’t have cable, can I watch nothing?
Fortunately, no. I have a feeling there would be some regulatory involvement if the networks made all their shows pay only. Shows are available for select cable subscribers the day after they air. They are then available to everyone one week after they air. So if you’re up for watching Grey’s Anatomy seven days after it airs, you can still do so.
How do I know what I can view if I don’t have an approved cable plan?
When you open the app and view the television shows, episodes that are in their “protected period” will have a bar across them “VERIFY TO VIEW.” If you click on one, it will ask you to sign in with an approved cable subscription. These shows will also list how long until the protected period expires so you know when you can come back to watch it without a subscription.
The show I want to watch is expiring soon. That’s not fair!
From what I can see, shows will be uploaded for streaming twice. The protected period upload will have the one week countdown and the verified requirement. Once that period has passed, the episode will be pulled and reuploaded with for streaming accessible to everyone. Those shows will have no notifications on them, and they don’t state when they will expire. Typically, five episodes (including the protected viewing episodes, if any) are available at any given time, but sometimes there are fewer or (rarely) more.
If I have cable, am I set to watch just like I did before?
Only if you are lucky enough to live where the cable provider has partnered with ABC. Right now, only some providers are participating, though this may change going forward. For ABC, if you have a cable subscription with AT&T U-verse, Charter, Cox, Google fiber, Midcontinent Communications, Optimum, Verizon FiOS, or Xfinity, you are set. If you have any other provider, you’re out of luck. That includes major cable providers like Time Warner, as well as Dish and Direct TV.
How do I log in if I have a subscription with one of the participating cable providers?
Click on any episode that has VIEW TO VERIFY on it. That will take you to the list of cable partners. Select your cable provider, which will open a new page where you enter your credentials. Once you’ve signed in, it should take you back to the show you wanted to view and keep you logged in going forward. That said, it doesn’t (yet) work perfectly. You may need to close the app and reopen it before it accepts your login.
If I stream television via Roku or Apple TV, can I watch ABC protected view episodes?
Yes… and no. If you had access to ABC streaming to your television via a third party provider previously, you may be able to. Hulu+ subscribers can still watch the recent episodes part of the subscription, for example. If you watch them using Hulu without upgrading (which I do – or did), you can sign in to your AT&T U-verse, Cox, Optimum, or Verizon and watch current episodes. Not that Comcast’s Xfinity is not on that list, though it is a partner with the Watch ABC app, which means that I’m out of luck. PlayOn TV does not currently have a way to provide a username and password for a cable provider to allow you to access those channels, though that coding may change going forward. There are other channels where PlayOn TV already allows login access.
If I don’t have an approved cable subscription, can I still watch my daily shows?
Here lies a big flaw in the setup. ABC protects daily shows like The View or General Hospital for seven days, just like other shows. And typically, they only retain five episodes at a time. If you don’t have a cable subscription, ABC deletes episodes are completely before the protected period ends, and you simply can’t watch them.
What if I want to watch ABC live on the ABC app?
Do it on your television, or set up your old-fashioned VCR to record. If you want to watch ABC live on your device, you must have a subscription to a cable partner. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.
The message? Television is currently trying to maintain the status quo. They want people to watch shows live. They want the current cable empire to continue as is. That isn’t where the world is moving. ABC’s online streaming is just the latest fallout as networks and other companies navigate the constantly changing landscape. Will this stick? I sincerely hope not, but it’s what we have to deal with today.
Want change? Speak up. Talk to ABC. Email to regulators. Call your cable company. Make noise and make your voice heard. So many people simply deleted the ABC app and won’t watch the network at all. Those actions speak loudest because they affect companies in the pocketbook. When they don’t get ad revenue from the eyeballs that don’t watch their streaming shows, that hurts them.
Hello,
It is all about greed. Disney owns ABC and I think the billions are not enough for them.
Greed, greed and greedy corp.
Lifetime just did this. I was watching shows freely on one week and then found those same show locksed a week later. It’s so annoying, especially since I live with my parents and don’t pay the cable bill.
NBC, ABC, and CBS aren’t even “cable” channels. Those are network stations. I’d get them even if I ddidn’t have cable…They’ve got some nerve. I watch my shows on couchtuner…you can get uploads the next day for free!! They don’t have reality shows tho =(
Thanks for your great explanation as to why we can no longer watch ABC online. I am able to watch NBC and CBS tv shows and thank these 2 networks for making their programming available for those who are not able to watch or record the shows when they are aired. I hope they do not follow ABC’s lead on this. Last year when I tried to watch ABS onlne, it had so many commercials and interruptions, I gave up- even though it was free at the time.
I subscribe to Dish Network and apparently you can only watch ABC if you subscribe to Comcast (Xfinity) or some other cable service. Unfair.
Nicely written, and thank you for doing so. I hope ABC is reading. Like you, as old shows are discontinued, I turn to other networks (e.g., the CW) or netflix to fill those gaps, rather than explore ABC. Today, what brought me to your site was a google search for why ABCfamily won’t allow me to view ANY of the episodes (even those several weeks old) of Switched At Birth. Not sure what’s going on there. And funny I cannot find anything on that specifically. Either way, there are plenty of other shows out there, and who has time for piddly, time-wasting run-around to access it? One more ABC show I am saying goodbye to. C’est la vie.
I understand your pain! I am angry with ABC and this crazy APP! I miss Soapnet! I could watch General Hospital anytime I wanted. To each his/her own concerning the policy on “pulling the plug”! I love my TV have Direct TV service and a DVR. I also stream a lot of TV shows & movies on websites that that are not connected with mainstream TV companies. General Hospital is interrupted way too often by what the local news channel calls breaking news. I can download GH but I have to wait a week. If I’m already paying for the service why can’t I watch it online? Also, my computer is older and is not able to download an APP!
first of all why they do that its messed up & i know they want them to watch on tv live but its actually not live live you know what i mean some people don’t have TV & that why they went to abc family online another reason is that abc family shows on tv sometimes dont come on when they say their supposed to but i could allways trust abc family online to have the show on the day it was supposed to even if it wasnt on tv the day it was supposed to
I am furious with ABS’s new policy about watching TV episodes online. Do they not want us as viewers ??? My cable provider is not one on their “list”, so if I want to watch it, I have to pay to do so. REALLY ??? I would advise them to reinstate free next-day online streaming; I mean, aren’t satisfied viewers a priority ?
You are not a true cord cutter. Real cord cutters always supplement with services such as hulu, netflix, and amazon instant. This is the whole purpose of cord cutting. Still being able to watch everything you can possibly think of for much cheaper. Hulu is the easiest solution to that. For under ten dollars a month you get access to pretty much any show you can possibly watch. And you can watch it on your roku player. You article is still valid but if you cared about any of those shows you’d have a service like hulu plus. Also you never had the required by federal law free DTV tuner in your area. I got three from comcast of all people and they work just fine.
This wasn’t my article about being a cord cutter. Its purpose was to explain the changes that ABC has made. Having an alternate provider is an option for many and what they choose, but those who are surprised or unhappy with their inability to watch ABC online. Happy that you have a solution that works for you!
Hopefully you will see this before my previous comment gets posted and not post it. 😉 Sorry about my previous comment -I was just irritated that someone felt the need to be so nitpicky about your terminology when you clearly did a great job of explaining reasons for a really annoying move on ABC’s part (SO annoying! And making viewers wait until the day AFTER an episode airs to watch it is REALLY annoying – I couldn’t even catch up on live tv if I wanted to b/c I’d always be an episode behind!), and I didn’t think before I hit enter on my snarky reply to him. Sorry!
Michelle,
First of all, thank you for eloquently providing the information we needed regarding WHY ABC decided to change their streaming policy. My husband and I have been considering cutting the cable because our bill is not worth amount of TV we watch or even record. I am in school and he is in to other hobbies and not much TV. Our bill is almost $180 per month for (get this) ONE DVR box, and one Modem for internet through TWC. Cable is getting more and more costly now that antennae TV days are long behind us – which makes absolutely no sense to me until you and Mike broke it down for us to understand. Money is always the reason and unfortunately, folks like me who can afford the luxury no longer want to. After reading the many posts here, I think we will be cutting cable for sure. Even if we only stick with the very basic service that only gives you local channels (2-19 or so) that only costs about $12. [We are news junkies..] LOL! I too was shocked to learn that ABC changed their streaming service. I opted to record my shows instead of stream them online but I was rather upset and felt it was unfair. Thanks again
Welcome to my world. That said, if you’re only doing local shows, you can easily do an antenna and skip the basic service even, if you choose. Our house still had an antenna in the attic (who knew) that my husband was able to connect easily. Good luck!
Stop renting the Cable Modem, trot down to Best Buy and get your own for under fifty bucks.
Actually, we own our own modem. This article is focused on the restriction of when ABC now allows people to watch their new content.
Yup, I was repsonding to Nia’s comment. She mentioned that she still rented.
On the subject of cable modem’s, if you have had your modem for a few years then you should check out the software load, docsis 3.0 is the current standard for high speed internet. The difference with the previous release is the ability to “bond” channels for greatly increased throughput. IPV6 is also enabled. So if you view the “properties” of your network connection and see that IPv6 is enabled then you have docsis 3.0.
Where I live, Comcast Cable has never run lines this far out. Therefore, I have to have DirecTV to watch television. But when I tried to stream something from ABC.com, they had a drop-down list of their “accepted” service providers which did NOT include DirecTV! WTH!? They had Dish. But DirecTV has been around LONG before Dish TV! I’ve had DirecTV for over 22 years!
I’m so fed up I’m getting ready to just cut the cord and have my son set me up with a digital antenna and use my Apple TV and maybe get a Roku as well.
Anyhoo, just wanted to add this about DirecTV and ABC not acknowledging them as a valid service provider. I have to pay over $105 a month for that service! You’d THINK I could stream a show when I miss one every once in a while!