MUMBAI: The American broadcasting company, ABC, has announced that it will start restricting access to complete episodes of new TV shows to customers of pay TV providers that it has signed to TV Everywhere authentication deals.

This means that subscribers from DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Dish Network will not be able to watch new episodes of "Modern Family," "The Bachelor" and other ABC series on ABC.com in the week after their premiere. However, the subscribers from AT&T, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Midcontinent and Verizon can continue watching new episodes on WatchABC.com or through the Watch ABC mobile video app the day after their premiere, according to a notice posted by ABC online in December 2013.

The company will also stop offering free, ad-supported versions of new episodes through Hulu, but will allow premium Hulu Plus subscribers to watch new programs the day after their initial broadcast. At the cost of $2.99 per episode web surfers can download high-definition programs from Apple's iTunes store or Amazon Instant Video.

ABC isnt alone, in August 2011, Fox became the first major network to limit access to complete versions of new TV episodes to authenticated pay TV or Hulu Plus subscribers. Both Fox and ABC own equity stakes in Hulu.