ABC Kills Next-Day Streaming For Non-Subscribers

jfruh writes "ABC shows are available for free to anybody with antenna on the day and time they're first broadcast. But if you want them at any other time, it's getting harder to see them unless you pay someone. The network had previously made free ad-supported streamed versions of its shows available on its website the day after they aired, but now they're shifting that back to a week. Next-day streaming is still available if you have a cable or Hulu Plus subscription, showing the extent to which "broadcast" networks are dependent on subscriber fees."

Cable Cutters don't care

[Anonymous Coward]

The biggest commonality of cable cutters (including me) I know is that they don't watch or care about "live" TV. The difference between a day and a week is nothing to them. DVRs changed a lot of peoples watching habits and these people aren't paying the premium anymore.

Look at Redbox, does a 90 day DVD release delay help sales? Not likely, you just shift what I watch 90 days in the future.

Blocking customers from the cash register ...

[Tamran]

... will ensure they don't buy anything. Similarly, making it hard for people to watch will ensure they don't. If they do want to watch, more will look for torrents (amongst other things) than go back to the stone age days (before PVR's, etc). People nowadays will not bother being inconvenienced unless you have awesome stuff - although it's not my cup of tea, Apple is an example of where people will stand in line for hours and be inconvenienced.

I wouldn't say ABC shows are worth putting off tennis practice (or whatever hobby you have) for. This will not end well.

Re:They probably don't want to burn affiliates

[Anonymous Coward]

Hooray for not understanding the advertising model.

Re: Cable Cutters don't care

[iamhassi]

This. Been a cable cutter since before it was cool. Without the constant bombardment of "omg look new episode look look LOOK!!" you don't care when it comes out. Days, weeks, months, they mean nothing. Same goes for movies. Now I usually wait until the entire season is done before getting episodes, because its just easier to get everything at once then one episode at a time. While I'm waiting for a season to finish I usually find something good on Netflix. Netflix gets me so they get my money. Why pay money to some network that makes one or two good shows when I can pay Netflix and they give me thousands of shows and movies?

Re:Uggh...

[Tamran]

A watershed day is when HBO GO becomes available without a cable subscription.

Interesting indeed. I wonder if Netflix will become what HBO GO could have been sooner? They're starting to develop some stuff of their own and don't require cable at all.

Re:Cable Cutters don't care

[operagost]

With all the junk on TV, I'm amazed that Duck Dynasty is what set her off. Good luck to you.

Time-shifting is no longer a "feature"

[netsavior]

Time shifting is no longer the "killer feature," time shifting IS television. This is the equivalent of a TV station in the 1950s saying "we will no longer be offering moving pictures with our radio programs."

I have not watched TV on a network schedule for a decade, and my children don't even have the concept of a "TV Schedule".

Fighting consumer demand is difficult, fighting consumer default expectations is suicide; especially in Entertainment media, where the whole world can turn on a dime, except you.

What is This "cable" Of Which You Speak?

[rueger]

Seriously. $75 to $100 a month for cable? Haven't done that for years. $8.95 a month for Netflix, plus a bit of Pirate Bay to top up the offerings. You tell me what makes more sense.

Although honestly I'd be happy to pay say $25-30 a month for some hybrid of the two - at least for news channels.

Of course the downside of not watching cable or network TV is that you really appreciate how horrible advertising is. Easily the most painful part of going out to a movie.

Re: dependent on subscriber fees?

[Scowler]

Did you know producing and marketing high quality TV and movies costs money? Shocking news!

Re:Did anyone else read the post?

[frovingslosh]

It is a major inconvenience when watching shows that have an on-going story line. You either have to watch the episodes out of order or stop watching the broadcast shows all together and watch all on-line if you miss even one episode. And what in the world does it accomplish for ABC? It only makes over-the-air broadcast TV less attractive to viewers. It hurts local affiliates (if viewers choose to just watch the rest of the season on-line 8 days later when they miss an episode). ABC just annoys people with this with no up side.