WatchABC now in LA, Chicago, SF for pay TV subs

(AP)—Disney is facing one of the first big tests of its WatchABC app as customers who have enjoyed free live viewing of local ABC stations in New York and Philadelphia on mobile devices will now have to show they are pay TV subscribers.

The app is also launching in four new markets, where use will likewise be limited to pay TV subscribers: Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Since the middle of May, anyone who downloaded the app in New York and Philadelphia could catch live local broadcasts from Disney-owned ABC stations WABC and WPVI.

Now they have to enter the username and passwords they use to access online tools from their cable provider. Participating providers are Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Midcontinent and AT&T.