On January 31, 2005, ABC News removed ABCNN from owned and operated and affiliated TV stations' subchannel as the channel ended its experimental phase originally expected to end after election day but extended past inauguration.

[7] On November 5, 2007, Disney-ABC International Television announced plans to launch the channel in international territories, including Germany, Spain and Belgium in 2008 on IPTV service Zattoo, with more territories, including the United Kingdom, planned for the next 6 months.

[14] On January 23, 2020, ABC News announced an expansion of staffing for the streaming channel and changes in programming to add newscasts and long form reports and documentaries being roll out over a month's time.

Justin Dial, formerly of Vice News Tonight, was hired as senior executive producer of ABCNL.

[15] ABC News planned as of March 2020 that ABCNL would air 18 hours of programming daily.