ABC
reviews and complaints

I used to like this app because of the Apple TV app that accompanied it but now they've made the TV app totally confusing, it doesn't have the latest shows it has whatever is popular that people have been viewing from the app's. It has shows from several years ago that some senile cat lady or redneck trucker has been watching 24/7 literally the fact that the TV version of the app doesn't have the latest shows displayed it's an utter abomination. Deleting it off all my devices. It's now just a pretty showcase for the dreary shows of ABC with no substance.

Whoever at ABC thought this would be a great app design should be taken round the back of Universal studio's and put down like shep the tired old worn out working dog because this app reflects the thinking. It reflects the thought process of an imbecile.

I won't miss the app, I won't miss the shows, in fact all you've done is increased my determination to cut the cord and now I don't watch ABC at all.

Other content providers do a great job, look at NBC, look at FOX, look at CBS all your rivals but all at least make it possible to see what the latest shows are not a showcase of utter crap that you have to guess what was on. NOBODY SUBSCRIBES TO TVGUIDE anymore nobody wants to play guessing games. You'll be the first station out in the cold looking in while others are still relevant and online which easily accessible online content.

The update for this app is the worst update. I do not understand what the point was in making us the users have to put in our tv provider. Then there are the commercials, before you watch the show a narrator says this contains few advertisement... Well that was a lie considering the fact that there are usually up to 5 ads which is basically about the same amount as when watching regular tv. Another thing why is it that when you watch a certain amount of shows the next show you watch has low quality to the point where you can't even see what you wanted to watch in the first place. This app was better until you the creator decided to make us put in our tv provider and if our tv provider is not listed we have to send them a request when in retrospect the provider should have already been one of the choices. This app would be so much better if there were only to commercials but 5 that just makes me feel like I'm watching my favorite show on TV, and the reason why I USED TO LIKE THIS APP was because there were less commercials. I know I'm not the first person to complain about the quality glitch but it just seems that you the creator just doesn't care enough to fix the problem. I suggest you fix the problem and make the app in a way that we will not need a tv provider to view episodes, there will be less commercials, and please fix the quality and maybe, just maybe I will like this app as I once did. Thank You.

I'm giving up. I actually like some ABC shows and will start recording them on my computer now that the iPad ABC app has become essentially unusable. If you don't finish watching a show in 1 sitting, it's so difficult to finish the show on another occasion. Once you manage to locate the show again (typically, by having to go back to Shows A-Z because the app makes it difficult to find the shows), the app brings you back to the very beginning of the episode. (Hey, ABC, take a hint from HBO, which shows you a Resume button at the top of the display allowing you to easily resume whatever show you were last watching) If you try to scrub ahead in the show to resume it from where you left off, the app insists on showing you ALL SIX commercials all over again for EACH commercial stop before letting you watch the show. On Designated Survivor, for example, there seem to be 6 dots indicating spots for commercials (approximately 1 dot every 10-min in this 1-hour show). There are 6 commercials per dot. If you stopped watching the show 55-min in, as you scrub through each dot (indicating a commercial stop), the app shows you 6-commercials per dot (6 commercials x 6 dots = 36 commercials per show!), even though these commercials already played when you first watched the show. Then, commercials are likely to freeze. If you end up having to stop the show or quit the app, the app brings you back to the beginning again. It's become impossible to use.

With all of the technology at our disposal it boggles my mind that a company under the Disney umbrella could manage to make something so bad that it makes the HBO Go app look like a smooth, user friendly app. Somehow the developers managed to make this app slow, clunky and non responsive.

The app takes an annoying long time to transition from on screen to the next, even with a great internet connection there's lag and freezes and my personal favorite, I you leave the app for any reason even just to toggle to another app and back, it completely loses track of where you were on an episode. Which. Rings us to the most egregious issue, the [protected]@&$ing commercials. It's bad enough that I have to sit through SIX two minute long commercials to start the episode but then I have to sit through four more batches of that for one show which is far more than if I just watched it over the air on my tv. But the best part is that the commercials freeze and crash so you have to back out and watch them all over again! And if you happen to toggle from one app to another like I do, you'll have to sit through 12 minutes of commercials only to be sent back to the beginning of the dang show and have to watch six more commercials just to get back to where you were in the first place. I'm pretty sure a toddler could design a better system than this. This app is an abomination and quite frankly I'm surprised Disney would ever allow something so criminally horrendous to be put out into the public.

Last year, I could catch up on all my favorite shows online 24 hours later if my busy schedule kept me from tuning in when a show originally aired. Now, I can't watch the missed episode due to cable network services (implemented by you) before a new episode is airing. I downloaded the app in hopes of being able to watch my fav shows but the commercials are dreadfully long. Plus, the app crashed at the end of an episode. Horrible! The app won't even load now!

As for the cable network technicality, I pay a steep price each month for cable and internet. I refuse to pay for yet ANOTHER service to watch a show I missed due to "life happens". Since I have missed a few weeks, I don't see much reason in tuning in now to the new show when I'm behind in the storyline. ABC, I have been a loyal viewer for years. When my tv is on it is usually on ABC for news and entertainment. Since, discovering the long wait to watch a show I previously missed, I don't believe you have earned my loyalty anymore. So, if your ratings drop, remember you were told right here, why. I am one of many fans you are losing due to the a lack of courtesy to your fans in a extremely busy society that helped establish a successful broad casting company for you. After all my expenses for access to cable and internet, I will be evaluating if it's worth my hard earned money. I honestly CANNOT believe I'm being asked to add yet another service to watch a missed episode. It's not worth MY money to continue to pad your pockets. Sorry! I'm out!

6/9 it was a REAL pleasure to stream GH without having to select your commercials! BUT today, back again! Can’t you just put a box to check saying please don’t show again. Such a waste of our time. As previously stated, just show the commercials. Every time I’m asked to make the selection today, I get “Opps, something went wrong”. I then have to close the app a restart. CRAZY! 4/22 PLEASE—Just run the ad & not keep asking which ad : interactive or regular. Most frustrating to have to get the phone (especially when I’m in my wheelchair) when streaming. Just run the regular, the other is often longer & you waste so much time! 4-9-17WHAT IS GOING ON W/this App? Trying to watch the View & you have commercials, Disney Parade & other programs running in the background! 3/26 I DON'T understand why this app is even offered to us! I use it, even though way too many commercials & REALLY "BIG" bug problems! It is not really user friendly but again today it won't let me on--says not in my area,oops! WTH, I have it in my area. Why can't you FIX it! 8/26 Rating very POOR. What is going on with this app. Just will not let me connect anymore. I stream, DISH provider, using my I-phone 6. This app was working, but for the last month will not let me connect. My phone is up to date. I try to stream my programs I miss on TV. No matter what I do to refresh this app, it’s non working! Why?
8/26 very funny! I wrote the earlier review - & after many days, the app finally works. Did u flip a switch?

ABC did itself a major disservice by not making it clear that it wanted users to register the app for LIVE broadcasts vs the uses who watch thier shows later on at another time.

I like your shows but ABC is not the only choice for entertainment and news and this fiasco of a rollout has cost you many customers

The absolute [censored]s ABC has answering user questions via offshore services is one of the reasons they did not get five stars. These folks obviously do not understand user comments and questions, nor do the canned scripts they use in reply make sense. Is there something wrong with hiring some north American native speakers of English who can read and understand and reply to user questions since your audience is from north America ?

Clear and plain explainations to your customer base as to what was happening and WHY would have cut down the hostility ABC created by just labeling your updates as minor when in fact they had a huge customer problem.

As an aside, many people really hate thier cable suppliers because many are captured in locations with few other options in the face of truly outrageous rate escalations without any betterment of services. So requiring cable is a stupid option, especially as the trend to drop cable tv is more and more popular.

If you want to show live then just allow the app to have an option for LIVE so that users who have cable tv in can watch your shows live and the rest of us can wait.

A lot more thought to your message upfront will save ABC from losing long time customers in the future.

While I appreciate the ability to stream shows I missed, the ad-related bugs make your app an exercise in frustration and wasted time. After watching 4 or 5 of the 6 commercials in each ad break, one of the ads will suddenly freeze up and leave me no way to get past the ad screen and continue streaming the show. It forces me to close and restart, yet the video never picks up where I left off...I have to sit through ANOTHER 6 ads and then try to scroll forward to the point where your ads jammed up the app. If you can't fix the freeze-ups, can you at least run all the ads up front (instead of interspersed throughout the show) so we can get the ads and crashes out of the way and enjoy the show without the constant restarts and excessive repeat ads? Maybe hire the people who created Lifetime's app...far fewer and shorter ads, with no freezing or crashing.

Also, I agree with others that it takes too long to find current popular shows. You should keep all of the biggies in the main header/banner so we can do a quick swipe through to find the show we want to watch. It's a pain to try to find them (not to mention hit or miss) using the genres; otherwise, we have to use the alphabetical listings and scroll alllll the way past all of the outdated archived shows. It's nice to have the option to view them, but don't make us scroll through the title of every show you've aired in recent years just to find a prime time show from earlier this week.

Once you fix the ad bugs and create more user-friendly navigation, I would gladly update my review and give your app 5 stars.

This app is currently called "Watch ABC", but after ABC's last couple of network programming changes I think it should be called "Don't Watch ABC".

The reason for this is what they have done regarding the mini-series "The Assets". This mini-series was planned as an 8 episode (hourly) show starting in January. It was a "fictional, based upon truth" show about a mole within the CIA during the Cold War.

I watched the first two episodes and I was hooked. Then, they cancelled the series, blaming poor ratings. To add insult to misery, they replaced it with a bunch of re-runs of other shows. All eight episodes had been shot. My opinion is that it was poorly advertised.

Then in June, ABC started showing series again. Whippee! Unfortunately, they cancelled it again after two more episodes, leaving four completed episodes never to be shown again (for now). The show has once again been replaced by bad reruns. Ratings were blamed again.

The truth may be much deeper. I think someone in the CIA and/or the NSA didn't like the fact that this show didn't show the agency in the best light. Is some programming executive at ABC former CIA...?

If ABC doesn't want to run the remaining episodes on their network channel, I wish they would at least make the remaining four episodes available elsewhere (e.g. ABC website or iPad app), anywhere, even for a small price.

I hope someone with authority from ABC reads this and concludes that they owe their customers the remaining four episodes. That's called customer service. Otherwise, they may lose customers who don't like being jacked around by the network.

I got this app because I currently don't have cable...my first issue is that I'm having to borrow a friends account in order to watch my shows, because I am unable to watch if I don't have cable, which I feel is very stupid...! Then I go to watch a show and it takes over 2 hours to watch a 45 minute show, then when it does work i have to watch a portion of it in pixilation and when I try to rewind to go back to watch it clearly, I have to watch commercials again. I have watched more commercials than the show is long...this app just gets worse with the new updates, if you can call them updates...It's very frustrating, especially when I watch several shows on ABC. Then there's the constant crashing where it just stops and goes black and then tells me that there was an error with the app and to try again...so when I wait a short while, I go back and it does it again, and so I end up waiting for over 30 minutes before it starts working again, and when it does, I have to start the whole show again, at which point I have to wait for the first set of commercials to move to where I was last and watch commercials again just to see if I am where I was last when it stopped and if I am not to find it, and each time I think I am in the right spot, I have to wait for the commercials before I know...Fix the app.

Every time I try to catch up on the shows from the night before because I missed them, I keep loading it and then I get the error message...I have tries shutting the app down completely and then tried turning my iPad off and back on and it still does it, even after the update...what update? It just made it worse.

Another update 7/23
Ap crashes if your internet is not strong enough or if there are any glitches. When it works it's great

Another update:
2-2-2015:
When this app works it's awesome! But the past few weeks it is AGAIN not working correctly, and crashes time and time again, for no apparent reason. No updates to fix - come on ABC you've got something good going on here. Get it together. Graphics seem to freeze the screen. The news puts up sports scores and the screen freezes. My internet the problem?... Come on I have high speed in the middle of a big city No excuse .

Past updates
I have given the live streaming every opportunity to function correctly. In fact I watch it or at least try to on a daily basis.
It cuts out constantly, picture is poor locks or goes black, sounds is very poor with echos and distortion. The channel will run for a few minutes then lock up and cut out. I've had it!
ABC get it together or take it down.

Gave this a one star as it did not work after the software upgrade. I actually called the number listed on the error code and a real live person that spoke English answered the phone.
Such an easy fix, delete the app from your device reload the app from the App Store or in my case it reloaded from The Cloud. It works perfectly now. I should take a star away because I told ABC they need to post or announce this because a lot of people are very unhappy.

Worked great until the upgrade, now error code 400-1 User Not Authorized Error. I would think that ABC needs to make an annloucement, especially since they made such a big splash in our viewing area, a little embarresing I think.

I used to love this app. I used to use it while having mommy alone time after kids went to sleep. We don't have cable or anything and only have Internet in our home. I am so unhappy with this app now! If you guys don't change it back I will uninstall it. This is so dumb of you guys. How greedy!

By the way, you guys think u can force another update in order to "erase" over 3,000 negative reviews... Well guess what?!?

WE STILL CAN'T WATCH ABC BECAUSE OF THE STUPID CONFIRM PROVIDER CRAP!
You guys changed nothing about the new update!

WE WANT THE OLD VERSION BACK AND LESS COMMERCIAL TIME PLEASE. Geezzzz those commercials tested my patience!

I just deleted your stupid app and I'm sure everyone else will too.
By the way, if the reviews don't go up around 3,000 again, it means those people deleted their app before they could see an update!

How ridiculous! We want the old app back please! This totally defeats the whole purpose for having the app now. Why would anyone want to use this app if they can view it on their tv? Unless they are unable to watch it at the time it airs... They would watch it on the app. But if my life and schedule is too busy to enjoy the expensive things I could afford, ( huge led tv and directtv) what would be the point of having them in the first place?
Me, I'm a busy mom who doesn't have time to watch tv and usually can't watch shows when they air... Therefore I don't pay for a tv provider and only pay for Netflix so my kids can watch kids movies once in a while! This is a load of crap! I might try back in a month.. Hopefully you guys will change it back soon. Until then, this app is officially uninstalled!

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

Several glorious seconds of Black-ish...

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

Several more glorious seconds of Black-ish

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

"If your sneezing or are a force to be reckoned with, you may be muddling through allergies. Try Zyrtec for powerful allergy relief. And Zyrtec is different than Claritin because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. Try Zyrtec. Muddle no more!"

If I buy Zrytec, will this stop?

As with many attempts to provide streaming media on the Internet, ABC Player reminds me why I loved broadcast TV many years ago, and why I stopped watching when cable and greed took over, around 1994.

The player is a wonderful exercise in using intermittent, half-broken technology to force you to watch ads over and over and over again.

After this painful exercise, I will never buy Cheezits, or Toyota/Lexus, or ever watch that stupid knock-people-down show, I've been sickened so by the constant ad replays.

I suspect the problem is on the server side, at ABC, as my iPad works fine for local and streaming video otherwise. Certain shows which are obviously being pushed and promoted, like Rookie Blue, stream reasonably well, while other equally if not more excellent shows, like Boston Med, have clearly been given limited server-side bandwidth allocation, and so are constantly having their streams interrupted or cut off. Again, as with so many other things these days, the needs of Commerce over-rule any and all other human consideration.

Thanks, ABC, I think I'll go back to reading novels, in paper, as my primary form of entertainment.

Latest version doesn't fix a thing; it just points a finger at your Internet connection when it stalls. Clearly, the developers do not know how to buffer streaming video, period.

Meanwhile, if you enjoy doing tech support on your iPad 20 times per hour TV show, this is the perfect app for you.

Further: I've done more analysis of this app, and I truly believe it may be locking up my iPad. If I load it and it chokes, subsequent efforts to go online with Safari or any online app also stall, until I reset my iPad. This only happens after running ABC Player.

My previous issues are below. I am back from having been away and not using this app. For this current version January I notice that it’s only possible to see about 4 previous days/episodes of a show (specifically GH). We used to be able to go much further back. Given that hard drive space is even less costly now, why the limit?

I’ve watched GH since I was a child. I want to see the episodes I missed while out of the country (because even though I am an American consumer and tax payer you block me from watching while out of the country). So why can’t I see them now? Ok, not 6 months but how about 2 weeks?

I don’t understand why - if you want to keep viewers - you limit more and more.

Previously I wrote this and I am not sure this issue still exists: This app gets so many good reviews. Is it possible that I’m the only person using it who has to delete the app, wait a few days, tear her hair out, and finally threw some dumb luck be able to connect my cable provider again? Seriously, every single update disconnects me. And there are random disconnects every week or two between updates.

I know what I am doing. My other apps stay connected. The ABC app shows as on and connected. But I get locked out and pressing the button to connect to the provider does nothing. Absolutely nothing.

ABC, I wish you would stop updating. Skip the bills and whistles and just let me stay connected. Instead, you force an update. Extremely frustrating.

Today locked out, I went to the website and even there I had to connect in order to watch live. It’s bad enough that an American citizen who pays her bills cannot connect when out of the country because there’s no way to prove myself. But while in my home state I should be able to connect and stay connected.

I bought my ipad2 last year,,,loaded only a few apps n saw this one. Dl'd it and it worked fine. No bugs no shut offs, no kick outs. Well, until about a few months ago, abc player stopped me by asking me to "upgrade"! Well, I will be darned, did so sat nite and ever since, your player is horrible. It keeps kicking me out, or overlapping the voices on an episode. It's frustrating enough you won't allow me to skip repetitive commercials. If you want to "force" them on us then at least listen to suggestions please and I mean really care what your viewers want,,,not just what you big shots "tell/think" we "should" want for the sake of your pockets n ratings.
Allow me to pose a few ideas...:
1. Whether I'm watching ABC channel on any device, please do not blast the volume on commercials just to try to get my attention, it only causes me to hit the mute button and walk away from them bc they are just that, annoying!
2. When you make your shows in general, no matter which one you produce, as your taping or filming, please during production, turn up the actors microphones! For Pete sake, you know how to blast silly music during scenes! Hasn't anyone heard this complaint b4? During a show, I turn up volume to hear the voices then down not to hear blasting music. Good grief,,if anyone can hear consumers, please pay attention.
3. Show 10 minutes at beginning n end of show, for commercials, so I can enjoy show, I'm sure I don't need to see same five in an hour. Gee, that's an innovative idea! Delightful, since you waste 20 minutes of my hour anyway with them.
4. Please fix the above mentioned on iPad ios6, or I won't watch anymore n delete it.
5. I know you can hear us, but it cost you money to pay attention. Go back to basics...listen to your audience..even out voices n tones n fix bugs! Please for our ears only!
Thank u! Sorry if I misspelled anything..God bless

I realize that once decisions are made at various levels in business, money is the driving factor. I am sure that the Executives in charge of Watch ABC have crunched the numbers and were prepared for some negative backlash. I thought a part of any good business model was to be a leader in new ways and usher in new a new era and experience. By forcing a cable/internet provider, you actually tie people to a system that many are looking to break!

Like many others, I am quite dissatisfied with the new hurdle to watch some of my favorite shows. But, I was thinking I needed to watch less television anyway. If I encourage my provider to enter into a deal with you all, then that means my bill will go up because they would not simply absorb a cost to them without passing the cost on to the customer. But just as long as you get more than you currently have, I guess that makes it all good.

While I sincerely hope that this particular venture is a colossal failure that will be studied at universities across the nation to teach business professionals to be careful about being too greedy in business, I don't normally receive these kinds of wishes. I know that ABC Executives will be watching the trends and lines as they take this initial hit and then only hope that those who are connected to the providers will begin to sign up and the trend will reverse. I am sure there is more advertising in place and more plans to help the venture be a success.

I guess you all have enough "hit shows" to take this risk. But I hate the fact that none of the providers in my area are listed. I do hope that someone comes up with a business model that looks more forward than you all have looked thus far. I hope that you are playing catch up to the next model of watching television and enjoying shows.

As a matter of protest, I will delete the Watch ABC app from all of my devices and my wife's devices as well. I am not sure how you will get us back, because we won't be checking to see if our provider has signed a deal with you. As sarcastically as you can read this: I hope all works out well for you in this new venture!

I pay for my U-verse. But I watch my TV on my mobile device. ABC you are the only one that really gets my business because you're the only one that really gives me a decent selection. So you're the only ones I see advertisements for. If I were you I'd probably require CBS to start playing in more of their shows for a longer period of time because I don't watch their shows anymore, their app is pathetic. And what does NBC have?

ABC: here's where you need improvements
1) give me a search area. Let me find my show a lot faster than forcing me to dig dig dig through old and unheard of shows. There should be a section of current season shows. Why do I have to dig through, "Felicity", "Bachelor season one" or a bunch of old ridiculous shows when all I want to do is watch "the middle", "shark tank" or some current TV show. And why don't I have more current season TV shows available to me? I pay money to watch my shows but I hate all the hassle and time it takes to even get to any of them.

2) Can we have something that's a little bit more chronologically ordered?

3) Can I have the ability to flag certain parts so I can come back easier or maybe even come back on a different device and watch it? My library has figured out how to do this, can't you, a multi billion dollar organization do this?

4) And seriously… Do I really want to watch 30 second clip of show? Does anybody? It doesn't trip my trigger. I don't think your clips trip anybody's trigger. It doesn't make your population thrilled to see a 30 second clip from two years ago of "modern family". If you can show us something, give us the whole episode. You have hundreds of these clips everywhere. Does anybody really go access these clips? Have you really looked at the analytics of the use? Or do you just put them on auto play and called them people accessing and viewing these?

My frustration I am clearly venting over is because I want to watch something, but I HATE having to sift through crap to get to what I want. I am THRILLED I have an mobile app but I also don't want to use it just because of how frustrating it is to experience and find shows. This does force me to stop and go to YouTube or some other app. You heard me say, I stopped watching TV, I pay for it, but I don't consume it on a couch.

Eventually these giant corporations will turn over control of stuff like this to people who actually know and use apps like these. It will be better when that happens. For now, there are dumb choices made from content (not always latest episodes available) to usability (they won't allow it to rotate) to draconian advertisement requirements.

I know ABC/Disney is a business, and they'll try to make as much money as they can, but they overplay their hand. Ever since VHS the suits have always hated the idea of people recording their broadcasts to watch back later, especially since that means you can skip over the commercials. But now they looked at the idea of digital delivery and saw dollar signs. They have no imagination, don't consume the content they produce, and don't use their own app to do it, so they make arbitrary decisions based on how they assume you'll actually use the app, as the equivalent to watching a live broadcast, start to finish, in its entirety.

They block you from watching video clips and episodes on their site, forcing you to download the app, and then they block you from skipping ahead to a part you actually wanted to see, forcing you to sit through at least 1.5 to 2 minutes of commercials at each break point. So when there's that one pitch on The Sharks you heard about and want to see, you have to sit through about 8 to 12 minutes of commercials to get there. And the whole time it's forcing you to view it at an orientation that's uncomfortable because for some unknown reason they lock the rotation in a single direction, which may be upside down if you've got the device plugged in for charging or holding the phone such that your fingers cover the speaker on the bottom.

So you just spent twice as long watching commercials (obscured by a giant CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE SPONSOR'S WEB SITE button) as the segment lasts that you wanted to see, uncomfortable and annoyed the whole time.

As long as these corporate bean counters continue to force digital content into the same old ditch where they control as much as possible about how you check out shows--even when some usability lockdowns provide them no discernible benefit--they will be surpassed by content sources that don't despise and resent their audiences and who let their viewers enjoy the shows on their own terms and get hooked and tell their friends about the good stuff and help bring more money in that way instead of turning them off and pushing them away with a white-knuckled claw grip on the way they think you should watch what people in other departments from them actually created. Let go! Sometimes more freedom is actually a better policy.

Once I logged-in I was not happy to find that I am unable to watch a show or series from the first episode. Therefore, I could not get into shows I hadn't already watched. All WATCH apps offer only a "sampling" of certain episodes for each program. I am one of those people that like On-Demand TV and would rather miss a whole season of a program live so I can watch them in order, when I want, via Netflix or online later. It is unclear at this point if they will eventually cycle back to episode one, but, for now, this is inconvenient.

Look at Netflix's current #1 ranking TV series and great show, "Breaking Bad". Of all Netflix content available it was recently shown as being watched the most. Sure some of that is people re-watching favorite episodes, but ALOT of those views were people like me who didn't want to watch from the middle or missed the series initially. Imagine if there was a television or entertainment company that understood all of the "ME's" in that scenario and found a way to bring the studios that made the content those ratings or that internet traffic instead of a third party. If ABC wants my ratings they need to let late comers catch-up on shows they may have "missed out" on. Then they will start watching these shows when they air. This should be one of the core purposes for these apps.

Instead of seeing the future profitability that could exist in a fully archived and On-Demand app system, ABC (and its parent company Disney) seem stuck in the past on this concept. Ironic when, on the other hand, their CEO (of the year '14) claims "embracing technology" as one of his strategic principles for growing the company. They need to listen to folks like me and make decisions based on convenience for consumers. The writing is on the wall (literally) as other reviewers have already written that younger generations are growing up without cable and not going back! This company wasn't timid about change at all when they spent billions purchasing Lucasfilm or Marvel...so don't falter now! Are you timid now because you're worried about ruffling the cable companies feathers? Ultimately they are doing themselves an injustice by sticking to their guns and selling the potential of these great apps short.

Hopefully they will get this fixed soon...conceptually it wouldn't be too hard to do. Simply allow users (with ads if need be to pay bills) to watch entire seasons of their shows at their leisure. This way consumers can fully enjoy the tomes of work that ABC studios and their other television sources have created. At least this way they receive the accolades instead of Netflix. (And yes I know "Breaking Bad" is not an ABC show, just using it due to it's immense popularity to illustrate a point).

"keep moving forward"
Review Over

It’s nice to have the app, but you are punished with ads.

There is an intro 60 second ad before the show starts and then for a 3 act show there are 6 thirty to sixty second ads shown between each.

Sometimes you get lucky and there are only three ads between acts. Make absolutely sure you don’t X out of the show during an ad segment. You get no credit and need to watch all ads again

I once had a much 3 ad segment and hit the x by accident. I went back into the episode and got a 4 ad segment even though I was on the last of the 3 ads originally.

And the ads are terrible. A lot of pharma ads where you need to hear the full list of possible impacts and side effects for a drug to treat a disease I’ve never heard of. All fun!

I’m not able to login with my TV Provider.

Endless loading animation. But nothing loads.

Frustrating.

(UPDATE: upgraded from ⭐️ to ⭐️⭐️)

Workaround instruction worked. I have successfully connected my TV Provider. However, the app is still broken if it requires a workaround to function normally. Please fix.

(FYI: same problem occurs on TV, I cannot log in with my TV provider through the abc app)

(UPDATE: downgraded from ⭐️⭐️ down to ⭐️)

I don’t have time to troubleshoot with your customer support. Several other apps ‘just work’ with TV Provider login. The abc app should be on that list of working apps.

Do the QA work necessary to fix your app, then issue an update. My ⭐️ rating can then justifiably change to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I look forward to the fix!

I was so excited when I learned ABC app had “My So Called Life”. I was really looking forward to rewatching the short lived show. I have tried for 2 days now and haven’t made it past the first episode. Not only does the app constantly stop working, just freezes then shuts down. It also doesn’t save your spot in the show and just restarts from the beginning.

Which wouldn’t be a big deal except trying to advance it makes it just shut down again but not before it makes me watch 6 commercials followed by about 30 secs of show and then commercials starting again. Luckily it shut down again in the middle of the commercials.

I don’t write reviews ever but I have never been in such a poorly performing app before. It’s ridiculous. For such a big company you’d think they would be better at this.

Gonna try to find the show somewhere else.

Sooooo frustrating... 90% of the time the rewind doesn’t work... I’ve just had to open and close an episode of the bachelorette a dozen times and it still wouldn’t work so NOW... every time I miss something and need to rewind... I have to go out of that episode... into another episode... watch a minute or so of that... then go back into the episode I want to watch and finally it will rewind... have to do that every single flippin’ time! RIDICULOUS! On top of that... every time I do that... I get to watch another 5 minutes of ADs! FUN times... so yeah, this episode should take 10 hours, I guess!?! AND... this has been happening for the couple of weeks while I’m trying to catch up on the show.

Hey... ABC... go take some tips from CBS app... there’s is a ZILLION times better! I used to watch almost only ALL ABC shows. Now... because of the apps... watching way more CBS shows. Figure it out, get it right, AND... I’ll consider coming back!

Why does the app close out the show you’re watching when casting from iPad? If you open the iPad after it’s went to sleep while casting and you want to pause the show you’re watching it isn’t there to control any longer, it’s under continue watching. The app is still connected to chromecast though because the icon is still lit and still playing on my tv. If I want to pause I can’t the controls and current playing show is gone. It’s just the home screen. You have no other option than to hit the show again under continue watching and try to figure out where you were because it starts over from the beginning. I don’t have this issue with other apps. Also there’s way too many ads. It will play more than 3 minutes of ads then the show will resume for maybe 10 seconds and then play another 3+ minutes. I timed it and I had 15 minutes of commercials and only 6 minutes of the tv show I was watching in the first 21 minutes. I was watching shark tank and the program should’ve been 43 minutes and it nearly an hour and a half. So ridiculous.

The ABC app was working fine until the latest update to 5.2. Now i get an error message about TV provider and/or location not being available. We have one provider at home and other provider at a different location. Both were working and now neither works with live stream. I sent an email to support and waiting for a reply.

Update - 4/5:
Reduced my rating from 3 stars to 2. I received a reply from support that said the problem could be that the app cache needs to be cleared and provided me with instructions for Android and Amazon but not for iPhone. Not a good start. Deleted the ABC app (on both iPhone and iPad) which should clear the cache and re-installed it. No change. I contacted support again. This time I was told Live TV streaming is not available in my location but they had an incorrect zip code for my location. Plus, I was able to stream prior to the latest update. I have a relative living in one of the streaming areas support provided me. She was not able to stream Live TV in her area and her provider is also listed; Comcast. Waiting for the next response to my email. Wonder if I will get a third and different answer why I can no longer stream Live TV.