THROWBACK THURSDAY: When being able to stream was an awesome new thing

2014 shouldn’t seem like so long ago. Back then I got supremely excited because DISH subscribers could, for the first time, authenticate to the ABC app and stream ABC programs. And it would be several months before DIRECTV subscribers could do the same. Oh gosh, that seems impossible, because it feels like we’ve all been streaming our TV forever.

Streaming apps were obviously not part of carriage contracts in 2010, because live streaming TV was in its infancy. A few pioneers with home theater PCs did it, and some of us streamed using our phones in Wi-Fi only (since cellular data didn’t cut it back then) but back at the turn of this decade, only 7 years ago, a streaming, on-demand future was something we mostly dreamed about.

Eventually, streaming started to take over and today you can live stream tons of stuff, and there’s absolutely no quality difference between streamed and satellite-delivered TV. That’s what makes it seem so weird that just 3 short years the article below seems like an antique:

DISH beats DIRECTV to the streaming finish line, at least with Disney apps. It’s no surprise that DISH users will be able to authenticate to WatchABC, WatchESPN, and all the WatchDisney apps on their mobile and streaming devices… but the news is that today’s the day!

In order to use these apps, simply install them and then when you’re asked which service you have, choose DISH. You’ll need a username and password at dish.com. That shouldn’t be a problem since you probably have one anyway to manage your account.

Don’t forget, that if you’re in the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Fresno, Philadelphia or Raleigh-Durham markets that you’ll also get a live feed of your local ABC affiliate too!

It’s almost universally agreed that the next revolution in video entertainment involves finding a way to charge for internet-delivered content in a way that makes sense. The first company to solve this problem will dominate the next decade, and moving broadcast content online in an authenticated way is just the next step.

So what are you waiting for? Go Watch ESPN for gosh sakes!

DIRECTV followed suit​

DIRECTV came through with ABC streaming in early 2015, bringing balance back to the streaming world. Today, you can use your satellite TV subscription to view content from tons of apps. It’s a little less critical for DIRECTV users than DISH users, because your DIRECTV subscription lets you use the DIRECTV app on your streaming device. This gives you access to the same content through DIRECTV’s on demand system. Because DISH does not offer the same thing through its Sling subscription, DISH users should rely on those provider apps, and they’re still there.

Do provider apps even matter any more?​

A lot of folks are going to point out that they get Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+ and more for other reasons, and those apps also let people watch old episodes from broadcast. That’s true, but there’s a lot more to live TV than just the big three networks. There’s a lot of great content out there. A lot can be found on Max, since its parent Discovery Time Warner owns so many pay-TV channels, but there still a lot of other channels that they don’t own (yet.) That means that provider apps are here to stay.


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