Cartoon Network App to Soon Get Live Streaming of Shows

Sure, every TV network under the sun has an app for watching video clips and full-length episodes, but what about actual live streaming? Well, Cartoon Network is about to take a big step forward by offering live streaming of their content on their website as well as through their iOS app. What this hopefully means is that viewers will be able to watch their favorite shows as they air on TV, even while away from a TV.

Cartoon Network may be in a unique position to take advantage of this. Shows on most networks are caught in a quagmire of licensing between the TV networks and the studios that produce them. Wonder why Hulu Plus is required to watch shows on the go, and why some shows are still not available on mobile after subscribing? Licensing issues between the many entities with a hand in ownership of the shows.

However, Cartoon Network produces and owns a lot of the content that it airs, which may make live streaming to mobile much easier. This has the potential of making new episodes of shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show watchable from anywhere. There's no word as to the specifics, but it is likely that these will require a pay TV subscription to access, just as their "Gold" episodes do. While no mention was made, the possibility does exist that their late-night network [adult swim] could also see this live-streaming, given that it has an app with identical features, but we should know more after their upfront on May 16th.