Watch ABC, the mobile streaming app that launched in New York and Philadelphia in May, is expanding to Los Angeles as ABC continues to be the first network to offer live streaming of content.
As we reported in May, the app will be available in markets where ABC owns the local affiliate and where ABC is able to strike a deal with content providers like Comcast and Time Warner Cable. When the app was announced, ABC said it had already made a deal with Hearst Television, which owns affiliates in Boston, Pittsburgh and elsewhere.
According to The Los Angeles Times, the app will now be available in Los Angeles, streaming content from KABC-TV. It is only available to Cox, Charter and AT&T U-Verse subscribers since ABC hasn’t made a deal with Time Warner Cable yet.
Watch ABC is also launching in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Chicago and San Francisco. But Watch ABC will still not carry all local content, including sports coverage and other programs which it couldn’t get the rights for.
While ABC is still the only broadcast network with a live streaming app, Turner Broadcasting announced plans in May to begin streaming TNT and TBS content live to become the first cable stations to do so. The LA Times notes that Fox is also reportedly working on a streaming app.