“TV EVERYWHERE” ISN’T EVERYWHERE — YET

ABC’s much-ballyhooed TV Everywhere app does not work everywhere — something that BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield learned after viewing an ad for New York City’s WABC-TV in a cab recently. In a note to clients, Greenfield noted that although the taxi ad ended with the tagline “Watch ABC Everywhere,” in order to do so on the WatchABC app, a user must provide authentication of a valid cable or satellite subscription. However, none of the principal cable or satellite providers in Manhattan currently allows authentication. “Promoting the ability to do something that is not available illustrates how bad and inconsistent the TV Everywhere experience remains today,” Greenfield wrote. He did note that users of the app are allowed to watch episodes of some already-broadcast episodes of ABC shows without authentication but that ABC is attempting to block the Aereo service from doing the same thing. “Try explaining this logic to a consumer,” he concludes.