The CW, the channel that is home to The Flash, Supernatural, Arrow, Supergirl, Vampire Diaries, and lots more, has just released an app for almost every single device imaginable.  Here is the list of platforms:

  • Roku
  • Chromecast
  • Apple TV (and AirPlay)
  • XBox 360 and XBox One
  • Android
  • iOS
  • Amazon Fire TV (Coming Soon)

The only holdout seems to be PlayStation.

Earlier this year we learned that Netflix signed a deal with the CW so that their shows would be exclusively on their streaming service, and that whole seasons would be watchable only a few days after the season finale has aired.  This got a lot of people excited, but it came with a huge caveat: Hulu was no longer going to be able to stream the shows at all.

In the past, fans were able to keep up on CW shows by having a Hulu Plus subscription.  The episodes were typically available the day after they aired.  Obviously, with this Netflix exclusivity deal that will no longer be the case.  Cable Cutters (including this writer) thought that there was no way to keep up to date on the current CW seasons except through their less than stellar mobile apps (no really, their iOS/Android apps were pretty dreadful).

Now the CW seems to be remedying the cable cutter’s plight by providing access to their shows across almost all platforms.  And the craziest part about the app?  It requires NO SUBSCRIPTION and NO LOGIN INFO.  Once you download the app, you can watch any current episode of your favorite show.

This ‘no subscription/login info’ is a new model for TV apps.  Other TV networks have apps that work on most of the platforms that CW is supporting, however if you want access to watch the episodes you need to login with a cable subscription.  Some apps like CBS (check out my review of that service here) go above and beyond that and just make you pay a separate fee on top of your cable bill to access their apps (and they still make you watch ads, even though you’re a paying customer).  Sure, CW makes you watch ads, but they also aren’t charging you anything and are allowing you next-day access to their content.

We tried the app on the Roku just to test it out and make sure that it works decently, and it does.  You can watch any of the current episodes in HD and it will even save your place in an episode if you have to leave and come back to it.

Are you planning on using the app?  Let us know!