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.
As the new season began I noticed this. Your article explains what I painfully discovered on my own. ABC should be ashamed of themselves, especially since I do have a TV provider, but one of the three they don’t support. What the heck? You can’t even watch on Hulu without subscribing. Time to stop watching ABC!
You’re right! And that is what I did. I have the option to watch their offerings with my antenna, but I don’t do it often. I don’t use HULU, because I benefit by using only Amazon. I get to see a lot of free shows that way. Don’t have time to mess with ABC. Either they come of age and stream their programming, or they will miss out on our business.
I found this out when they made the decision to do this. I am SOL because I am one of those people that does not have cable. We have a digital broadcast antenna and yes, we have all the local channels available to us but broadcast tv is also not covered under ABC’s confirm your provider to watch rule. So iif I want to watch something after it has broadcast I too am pretty much out of luck. The other channel we don’t get which I don’t understand is ABC Family ( the last time I looked ABC family is an ABC channel right????
Bad moves ABC bad moves…. way to lose viewers.
ABC Family, I’ll give them. That is a cable channel that ABC runs (much like MSNBC, etc). I get that I may not have access to that, but when you don’t subscribe to the “right” cable company, it’s frustrating to not be able to watch the shows that are part of the broadcast network.
Debbie Pfred I think you are referring to it’s abc.go.com I don’t like their programing shows at all you would like watching the abc family programming shows
some people dont get the free stations either they’re jerks !!!!!! thanks abc for nothing but heart ache cant watch my shows!!!!!!
I am not sure I understand that. All of the local channels were required to change to HD, and they all still broadcast over the airwaves. It takes some new technology antennas to receive from long distances, and they are available. I you live in the mountains or in Death Valley, I guess you won’t have coverage. At this point I will stop watching TV altogether rather than going back to being screwed by Comcast.
Theres a super simple solution it’s called WatchSeries
I just decided not to bother with it. Most of the shows I want to watch (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, etc.) are available to stream at different “non-approved” sites. I use Chrome with AdBlock Plus on my laptop, so I don’t even see any of their annoying ads. Vive la résistance!
Direct tv is NOT one of the providers listed. If you have direct tv you just have to wait a week. Haven’t found an answer for why except speculation that it’s all about contractual BS.
So you want to freeload? You’re angry because ABC has always been free and because it is no longer free you feel entitled? Did I miss something? Since when did TV providers have to give anything free. Besides, over the air tv is still free so if you want to be cheap and not pay for cable to get the streaming then watch it over the air. If every network gave you free streaming then no one would watch cable so the networks would not make any money to stay in business. Go to FOX, AMC, HBO or any other channel and see if they give you free streaming. They all make you pay so it is only right that ABC should too. Advertising alone does not foot the bill for programming.
I do not expect it for free, I have DirecTv and pay a lot for it but DirecTv is not on their list!!
I was angry when my local ABC didn’t even air the middle or modern family one wed and replaced it with a stupid basketball game. Didn’t air the shows later or repeat them!! And I have dish, which I like except for abc’s greedy self. It would be one thing if, like all the other channels(not CBS, fox, NBC) they would repeat the shows a couple of times a week. If my power goes out during game of thrones HBO repeats it like 20 times throughout the week and dish anywhere app allows anytime streaming of ALL HBO shows AND movies. HBO has a ton of movies and I like all their shows. ABC has no movies and four shows I like. I’m not paying for such little content. Their daytime stuff is crap. I like comedy & SciFi not all that drama & housewife talkshow crap. That’s my biggest problem with these networks. They only have one or two shows I watch. The rest are on the repeat channels like AMC, USA, BBC… They’re stuck in the 80’s. And the local channels anger me with interruptions either sports or “breaking news.” We have no tornadoes or anything serious but they sure think it is!! And it happens on DVR too when the news has past.
Local stations preempting national programming to show their own shows has been a problem since I started watching television in the early 1960s. Even though it does cost additional money and sometimes requires subscribing to a cable or satellite service, I am thankful there are options like iTunes purchases, Netflix, Hulu, and apps like WatchABC.
I do subscribe to dish. Its not like there’s an ABC channel, its always a local. I shouldn’t have to pay over 100$ a month plus to not see my program and then pay an extra 2$ to watch it online. Any other network except the idiot five(ABC,NBC,CBS,cw&fox) repeat their shows so if my power or satellite goes out I can watch my show at another time, usually before the new episode the following week. Also, no one wants a bunch if apps on their devices for one show here or there. It would be one thing if abc go included all there channels, USA, ABC family, all the Disney channels and so forth, but they don’t. I usually watch one or two shows from each channel and these networks don’t seem to get it!! They’re greedy. Plain & simple. The time of actors, directors… making millions is over and unnecessary. Meanwhile the creators still don’t make much. They’re holding on by a thread and hopefully the tech industry will snap it.
I would take what you wrote a little more to heart if I was not forced to look at the Toys R Us ad that scrolls along with this blog. Ther is an x to close it out but does not work. So it seems that you are doing the same thing the networks are doing in their apps. so that you can get paid by your advitisors for your blog.
I understand what you’re saying, Heather, but note that my point is not against the networks being able to advertise. I respect their right to make money off their programming. My entire point is that I am already watching their commercials but if you don’t have a select cable provider, we now have to wait a week to watch a broadcast network’s television.
Heather, I use Firefox for my primary browser, Startpage for default goto page, installed these add-on’s = NoScript, Adblock plus and Lightbeam for safe-er surfing. Though you must turn on each script because of NoScript to see or interact with many websites, you should leave them on temporarily till you can easily read up to see if that script-site is safe or not. So the end result is no or fewer adverts a christmas lite a blink’n and a smaller chance of catch’n a cold if you stumble onto a malware/hacked website. This comment is only a sidebar to the orig – ABC topic here
Heather… you are ignorant. Advertising is EVERYWHERE in the media and it will never go away unless the consumer pays an exorbitant amount of money (which we will never do as you can see by those of us complaining about cable costs already… imagine if there weren’t advertisements… well, quite simply there would be no TV).
Banner ads on a website are non-intrusive (if done properly) and do not hinder a person from getting to the content they want / need on any given website. With live TV online or through a box (i.e. AppleTV, Roku, Chromecast, etc), the point Michelle is making is that not only are the studios saying you have to have a RIDICULOUS subscription service for TV, but you have to sign into it to verify that you are paying an unbelievable amount of money for cable, AND you also have to watch the content with FORCED advertisements. It’s the most RIDICULOUS thing I have EVER heard of. The cable companies are getting their cake and they get to eat it too. I &$*#(*# (insert f word) HATE cable companies with a burning passion and I hope more and more people see articles like what Michelle so elegantly wrote so that they will understand that what these companies are doing is outright wrong.
Conclusion – Advertising is not the issue. It’s making the consumer pay… and then pay again… and get the same experience that someone gets who is not paying anything (me). It truly flabbergasts me that people ACTUALLY still pay for cable / satellite TV when there is no need. Even sports is available on demand now…. GAH! (ok…. I’m done being frustrated with dummies) 🙂
One more analogy and then I’m done. Imagine you walked into Walmart (lol… this is going to be good) and walked over to the isle with cereal in it. You picked up a box of cereal and someone was standing there and said “hey… you can have this cereal over here that costs less with (SHWING!) this coupon. You want it?” You say “Sure!” Then they say “Here just watch this short video that I have on my tablet” You watch the video and they give you a coupon for the competitor’s cereal which now costs less because of your actions. You walk up to the front, pay for your items, and you walk toward the door of the store. The greeter stops you and says “Can I see your receipt?” You hand them your receipt and they say “Hmmm..” (whips out their tablet and says) “You’re going to need to watch this advertisement before you leave the store since you got the coupon in the cereal isle.” Would you be upset that no one told you that you had to watch two videos in order to receive the coupon? OF COURSE YOU WOULD! No one told you…. THIS IS WHAT ABC IS DOING! SCREW THEM! 🙂
For those of you who read my long reply above…. and you chose not to watch the video in the cereal isle, that’s because you are smart and realize that your time is more valuable…. therefore you are smart and are probably a cord cutter any way. 🙂 It’s not a flawless example… but I had fun with it any way.
I’m not a big TV watcher, but I do pay for cable. I have kids, family and friends that like TV when they are at my home, so I pay the price. However, I am quite frustrated that after my 60 plus hour work week and paying what I consider too much for what I watch that I cannot stream ABC like I do all of the other networks. If this is the model other networks will follow, I’ll be keeping my nearly $3000 year cable fund to my self. I think I’ll by myself something nice…
Hey C-me… I see you are on the fence so I want to show you something.
What can you do with $3,000 a year if you cut the cord (if you REALLY want to pay for subscription services for TV)
Netflix for 12 months – $107.88
Hulu for 12 months (with Showtime added on) – $107.88
Amazon Instant for 12 months (Perk – in addition to amazon prime free 2-day shipping option on items you purchase through amazon) – $99
NFL “Season Plus” subscription for 1 year (Watch every Preseason + Regular Season game and get replays of all 2015 NFL Playoff games – Including Super Bowl 50) – $162.32
NBA Game Pass (Watch select preseason games and ALL regular season games… In fact, you can watch up to 4 games (yes FOUR GAMES) AT THE SAME TIME – $199.99
MLB.tv – Well, they’re behind the times… they make you pay, AND they make you watch ads, AND they make you sign into your TV provider in order to watch the games…. I have hopes they’ll catch up with the times eventually. For now, watch them for FREE with your digital antenna (if you can’t get to the game when it is airing live.. buy a DVR and record it while you’re gone… it works the exact same as cable.. only it’s free after paying for the antenna and the DVR). – for argument’s sake, we’ll call this $200 ONE-TIME fee until the MLB get’s their butt in gear
Postseason.tv – Watch the post season MLB games – $4.99
Right now we are at $882.06 on your overall bill. You could even add a few more services and be right around the $1,000 range if you wanted to. Now… what to do with the other $2,000? Buy a HUGE TV since you are going to be watching so much…. then, the next year, you can buy a HUGE surround sound system… then the next year, you can buy a (you see what I’m getting at?)
CUT THE CORD MAN! You’ll be happy you did.
You are incorrect on a couple of points.
NFL GamePass – great product, but preseason games are the only ones that available to watch life. All of the other games are available on demand after all of the games have been played.
MLB.tv – I’ve been a subscriber for years and have never had to log in using a TV provider to watch games. MLB Network is not available without a TV provider log in, but most games not involving the teams in the market where I live are available to watch. Also, there are no commercials during the games.
I am confused on how I am incorrect on those two points. What you just said is exactly what I said…. I guess I wasn’t totally clear that MLB.tv SUUUUCKS right now. 🙂 Which is why I watch games with my cheap digital antenna for FREE.
Spending your hard earned money wisely is always in vogue and each prior comment here brings good points. When children are involved, a parent should watch/preview the shows & commercials seen by the ‘lil ones because show writers add lots of hidden adult only themes to these “kids” programs and advertisers directly market to our kids anyway, so please be a parent = and help your child understand/learn your values (because they’ll learn someone’s)
After much procrastination on my part – I installed an OTA TV antenna I kept stored for years, disconnected my 3 yr old Directv DVR setup this November, (Wow! great signal for ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS stations) connected to existing TV/Sat cables that ran to smart tv’s (LAN cable attached) and a pc running a dual tv tuner card (WINTV-7) card also works directly with Windows Media Center. That pc already ran 24×7 – recording IP security cameras/motion detectors around my home’s perimeter. If you bought everything new or through a vendor = the complete antenna, tower, rotor, signal pre-amp, cables could easily top $900 (my total was $250) Look at craigslist (or use it via searchtempest.com) for local deals or try ebay and amazon. You may have an existing desktop pc with capable performance, my tv tuner card cost $60. I had everything except the 2000 lbs of concrete for the tower base ($90 from Lowes) I made a swingdown towerbase that doesn’t require guy wires to support it. I was spending $1400 year for DTV service, now have free OTA TV service w/DVR for shows, news, movies with no load on the pc. I still continue to review a future purchase of internet based streaming tv boxes like Roku WDHDTV AppleTV that have more functions then my Samsung smart tv’s and services like Hulu+ AmazonPrime iTunes netflicks and others. These services are very dependent on reliable, fast internet service – so don’t omit this in your testing. Also, the video streaming sites are under attack by the “Net Neturality Foe’s” so just like the service Aereo TV, the box/provider you select can be gone in blick – or worse – become cost prohibitive next month. HBO says their going to offer direct to the internet only subscribers in 2015 bypassing the cable/Sat providers (wait & see if they muscle through the change or get beat down by the cable/Sat money) You always have to pay to play = just don’t throw your money away (unless it’s to me – LOL) I’m a good/great charity. I don’t post to blogs so this is a 1st. I’m going through this now. This is also an open note to Michelle as I used to work/based out of Northlake yrs ago, have a cousin who retired from Chicago FD. My grandfather worked within the loop even after moving up to the northern suburb of Delavan WI. Yes – even saw Johnny Cougar play his new music in Melrose Park clubs b4 he got found.
This topic helps if you have options like putting up an antenna (or you should create them) Don’t be in a rush – make a plan – then transition to it. Put everything into a spreadsheet and review it. Items, costs, TV shows – anything. I used http://www.tvfool.com or http://www.antennaweb.org for help with what I could expect for local tv reception and pointing the antenna (yes – I have a rotor but I’m finding I’m leaving the antenna point to 1 location) Also use old school = looked at nearby homes with tv antennas or asked. Most of my setup was paid for before I started but I’m still going through some withdraws for my 6 DTV/cable channels I watched/recorded shows from (for easy viewing – but pc broswer web based sites can be a source of malware if it’s a rogue site so Be Carefull or be a fool with a hacked pc) I tend to view the whole season after is ends = over a couple of nights – so what’s the problem? Control of the remote for easier access of the recorded programs/channel surfing – well – not if the DirecTv DVR should up & die. I back up the shows/movie’s I watched to my same security pc when I record them because that happened before. No, it’s not that hard to change. Change occurs everyday – unless your child likes the movie “Groundhog Day” and as you know – kids will watch the same movie over & over – till your going crazy – nuts – close your eyes and wake up in the movie! Then ask you for something different for dinner – after you made the same thing they love. Lol – kids = don’t have’em! Too late? Well, save some money and make a good choice if you can.
Does WPBF 25 have Watch ABC? I called my local station and Hearst Television to ask they had it available, but I haven’t heard really heard an answer yet. But my local station did say they will receive it “sometime this year”. I hope that’s true.
At this point, no. When you go to the Watch ABC app, it will ask you to log in when you want to see a Verify to Watch episode and will show you there the providers that are participating at this point. Fingers crossed for you.
I am so frustrated by ABC. I can’t stand having to verify to watch. It’d be one thing if there weren’t commercials, but you’re right, there are boatloads! They aren’t the only ones either. Fox has you wait 8 days before you can watch New Girl, which drives me crazy!