How to play CBC Radio on your new smart speaker
Now when you talk back to your radio, it will actually listen
So, you got a smart speaker for the holidays?
Nice! Smart speakers are a great way to easily hear all your favourite CBC Radio audio, from news briefings to live listening, music, podcasts and more.
But the devices aren't always intuitive, and the magic words that make things happen aren't obvious. So here's a guide to get you started.
(For official help, check out the CBC Help Centre. Note that while most of these devices can play CBC podcasts, the functionality is not yet finalized, so you'll have to experiment on your own.)
Amazon Alexa devices
If you own an Amazon Echo, right out of the box you can hear the latest version of The World This Hour by saying:
"Alexa, what's the latest news?"
or
"Alexa, play my flash briefing"
(if you have a video device, you'll get a 3-5 minute video version instead.)
CBC also has a custom "skill" on Alexa devices that will play the news or stream our live radio and music stations.
To enable the skill, say:
"Alexa, enable CBC"
(You can also find it by searching for "CBC" on the Alexa app under the Skills menu item, or searching the Amazon Skills website.)
Once the skill is enabled, try saying the following:
"Alexa, ask CBC to play the news"
"Alexa, ask CBC to play Radio One Toronto"
"Alexa, ask CBC to play music streams"
Play our new Because News Quiz on Alexa
We also have a brand new game you can play exclusively on Alexa devices - the weekly Because News Quiz!
Each week, comedian Gavin Crawford will quiz you on the latest news (will be updated weekly on Fridays starting January 11, 2019.)
To set it up, say:
"Alexa, Enable Because News Quiz"
Then to play the game, say:
"Alexa, Play Because News Quiz"
Google Home devices
To listen to CBC Radio One live on a Google smart speaker, you can get our live streams, news and music by saying the following:
"Hey Google, play CBC Radio One"
"Hey Google, play CBC Radio news"
"Hey Google, play CBC Radio Music"
This will play our content via the TuneIn app. An official CBC Google Action is coming in 2019.
Apple HomePod/Siri devices
To hear the latest hourly newscast on your Apple smart speaker, try saying:
"Siri, play CBC Radio News"
To listen to CBC Radio One live, say:
"Siri, play CBC Radio One"
This should play our live streams via TuneIn. New experiences are coming in 2019.
