The New York Times is reporting that ABC is launching its TV live stream app later this week for iOS. The app will allow people who live in Philadelphia and New York to watch local programming live on their iOS devices. Only paying subscribers of cable and satellite providers will be able to tap in to the live stream of local programming, and ABC has said that it will make live stream available in the other six cities where it has stations this summer.
The app will have a “live’ button, tapping it will enable the user to watch live stream from local ABC stations. There will reportedly be no difference in programming between conventional television sets and the app running on iPhones and iPads. This move makes ABC the first U.S. broadcaster to offer live streaming of programming on mobile devices. The mobile live stream will not display the same ads that are shown on the TV broadcast, instead ABC will be inserting digital ads during the commercial breaks. It remains to be seen whether or not other broadcasters follow suit.