ABC Television Group has introduced livestreaming, via its WATCH ABC app, enabling users to watch its channels on their mobile devices live for the first time ever.

Livestreaming will initially be available to users in New York and Philadelphia, starting today, as part of a pilot/preview running until the end of June. Over the course of the summer, it will also roll out to Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno, and ABC has signed a deal with Hearst Television to launch the service in an additional 13 markets.

“WATCH ABC is a game-changing innovation for the broadcast television industry. Were extremely excited to offer this open access preview to our WABC and WPVI viewers in New York and Philadelphia. This announcement represents a defining moment in technology and distribution, as well as for our advertising and affiliate partners, as we ensure that our high-quality content is available to viewers on a variety of devices,” said Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney/ABC Television Group. “Our mission with this special preview is to gather key learnings about the service and the consumers who utilize it in order for our WATCH products to be the gold standard experience of authenticated multiplatform viewing.”

The WATCH ABC app is currently available for iOS and Kindle Fire devices, with a Samsung Galaxy version being added this summer.