For the first time ever, the Oscars will be available for live-streaming via mobile and the Web.
But you’ll have to live in certain markets—and subscribe to the right pay TV provider—if you want to catch the stream.
ABC is letting viewers in the eight markets with network-owned affiliates stream the entire telecast via the Watch ABC app and Web video services: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno.
But, sorry, Dish and DirecTV customers: viewers who don’t subscribe to Comcast, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent Communications, Verizon FiOS, Google Fiber or AT&T U-verse are out of luck.
And for people who can’t stay awake for the entire broadcast, ABC will make the entire show available for authenticated users on demand through March 5.
The network is also retiring its standalone Oscars app, which had been used since 2011 to provide second-screen backstage and red carpet content. Those features will be rolled into the Watch ABC experience, but will be available free to all users.
“We’re excited to once again bring viewers backstage and allow them to experience all of the action on Oscar Sunday — not just what happens on stage, but the stories that play out behind the scenes as well,” Josh Spector, managing director of digital media and marketing for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, said in a statement.
Read More: Variety, Broadcasting & Cable
Brief Take: ABC’s gated experiment is designed to give the network ammo in its fight to get subscribers to pay more for full access to streaming and on-demand content through the Watch ABC experience.
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