Alexa, how can I get even more from the CBC?
Written by Larry Chong, Tara Kimura & Mathew Martin
Alexa, by now, is in many, many corners of our modern lives. Purchased on Prime Day, gifted at Christmas, swapped for your old stereo — the smart speaker has truly arrived. But are you getting the most out of your smart speaker beyond the mighty flash briefing? We put together a cheat sheet of quick commands to help you navigate all the ins and outs of the CBC on the Alexa.
1. “Alexa, open CBC”
Our flash briefing offers quick news updates every hour, and is the default on speakers in Canada. For even more CBC, try enabling our skill which gives you access to more news, as well as live radio, music playlists, and podcasts. This is our hub on smart speakers, and as we continue to explore new features, you’ll get access to them here first.
2. “Alexa, ask CBC to play Under the Influence”
We have more than 150 podcasts available, all accessible through your smart speaker, including shows like The Sunday Edition and Alone: A Love Story.
You can ask by show title, genre or host. For example, “Alexa, ask CBC to play a true crime podcast” and you’ll get Someone Knows Something.
3. “Alexa, ask CBC what song am I listening to?”
While you listen to our many music playlists — which range from Alt Country to Essential Classics to Indigenous Hip Hop — you can ask Alexa at any time to tell you the name of the artist and the song.
If you have a media streaming Fire Stick, it will also show you this information on your screen. Bonus tip, you can also ask Alexa to play a CBC Music playlist by genre or activity.
4. “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing”
Start your morning with the news that’s close to home. Add news from across Canada in the Alexa app and get a series of local roundups. These flash briefings are audio-only, and updated daily covering the following cities: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Saskatchewan, St. John’s, Sudbury. Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg & Windsor.
5. “Alexa, ask CBC for an election update?”
CBC has always offered a wide range of election coverage on TV, radio, and the web. Now we’re extending that to your smart speaker, too. If you ask the CBC for election news, we’ll give you the option to listen to The Pollcast with Éric Grenier.
We’re developing new features for these smart speakers so we can continue to bring more of what you love from CBC into this new platform and are eager to hear from you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave us a note in the comments.
