ABS Anywhere

ABS Anywhere is the brand name used for Kabushiki Gaisha ABS' on-demand television services.

History
ABS launched vod.abs.co.jp in April 2011 as a pay-per-view TV streaming site (similar to that of other on-demand services operated by Japanese TV networks). However, one month later, it was announced that ABS VOD would become a free-to-view service, in the style used by many popular catch-up services.

When abs.co.jp became abs.jp in 2013, the service was renamed ABS Anywhere. ABS Anywhere's web address was designated as anywhere.abs.jp. ondemand.abs.jp, and the previous vod.abs.co.jp addresses now redirect to this address.

The "pillars" of ABS Anywhere
Kabushiki Gaisha ABS touts a number of "pillars" supporting ABS Anywhere: these "pillars" represent unique points of the service.

Global availability
Upon first launch in 2011, access to ABS VOD was restricted to viewers in Japan only. Attempting to view from outside the country would result in redirection to error messages. When ABS VOD was shut down to make way for ABS Anywhere, Kabushiki Gaisha ABS announced that it had negotiated deals to distribute all the network's shows to worldwide audiences. ABS Anywhere is, as a result, available without any geographical restrictions.

Very few countries are denied access to ABS Anywhere as of November 2015, and are as follows:
 * North Korea (not blocked per se, but virtually all North Korean citizens are unable to use the internet. Military representatives that have attempted to view ABS Anywhere content were blocked under an embargo order imposed by Kabushiki Gaisha ABS)
 * Syria (due to the ISIS crisis. An implied rights of access revocation was imposed on Syrian ABS viewers due to said events)
 * The United States (due to the fact that ABS America hosts its own more-or-less identical version of ABS Anywhere for US viewers)

No advertising
Kabushiki Gaisha ABS does not interrupt its programmes for commercial advertising when broadcasting outside of Japan.

Pre-rolls before programmes do exist on ABS anywhere (much like those used by All 4 and the ITV Player in the UK), however ABS Anywhere's pre-shows are comprised of non-commercial ads for upcoming ABS programmes, and entertaining interludes based on Nichijou, Anpanman and PaRappa The Rapper, all of which are popular ABS anime series.

Once the programme starts, no interruptions are initiated by the service until another programme is selected for viewing.

These sequences cannot be skipped, however 97.4% of ABS Anywhere viewers stated in a survey that they did not want to skip these pre-show interludes because of their often-amusing nature.

"Anywhere, anytime, on any device"
Kabushiki Gaisha ABS lists the following devices as having dedicated apps for accessing the ABS Anywhere service:
 * Sony PlayStation 4 and PS Vita
 * Xbox One
 * Android phones and tablets
 * Apple iOS devices
 * Windows Phones
 * Nintendo Wii U and 3DS

Programme availability periods
Unlike other on-demand TV services that permanently remove shows from their lineups after anytime from 7 days to a month, ABS Anywhere keeps its episodes and shows available for an indefinite period of time. This archival concept allows ABS Anywhere users to access episodes from as far back as 2011.

ABS only removes programmes from the ABS Anywhere library when the show leaves ABS' TV schedule. Therefore, ABS Anywhere's content reflects current shows only, but contains many archived editions of said shows.

ABS' interaction with viewers
ABS touts its Anywhere service as an interactive experience that allows people to comment on TV episodes in the same way as YouTube's comments section works. ABS runs human scans of comments on a daily basis, and ABS employees themselves reply to the most popular, interesting and intriguing comments about that episode. These scans also keep ABS Anywhere's discussion boards free of spam and advertising.