[Dr.Dave]

CBC has launched a new streaming service with both free and paid access. Free access includes:

• Current episodes and past seasons, documentaries, kids and more
• New episodes the same day they air on TV
• CBC TV live 24/7 from all regions
• Continue watching across multiple devices (requires registration for free account)

CBC Premium $4.99/month account adds the following features:

• Ad-free on demand episodes
• Stream CBC News Network live

CBC Premium accounts are only available on Apple iOS devices, with Android and web browser support coming in April 2018.

A free account will be required to live stream TV and past seasons of shows starting in April 2018.

The On-demand section includes a good selection of CBC content including all 11 seasons of Murdoch Mysteries, past series like The Romeo Section and Being Erica as well as foreign content like The Loch and Top of the Lake.

The live TV rights include Hockey Night in Canada. Most program rights limit streaming to Canada with the exception of news and current affairs programs, including The National, which are available worldwide.

Supported platforms include Chrome 61+ and Firefox 56+ on Windows or Mac or Safari 10+ (Mac only), Apple iOS, Apple TV, Airplay, Android and Chromecast. (source)

See: watch.cbc.ca
https://cbchelp.cbc.ca/hc/en-ca

 

[Dr.Dave]

Blue Ant announced international sales for its adult animation series, Gary and His Demons including CBC in Canada for its streaming service. (Full Press Release)

I just checked and all 16 eleven-minute episodes are available now.

 

[Gentleman]

If HNIC streamed on CBC is any indication of their streaming quality, CBC has their work cut out for them.

I've yet to watch a HNIC complete game streamed on CBC without some technical issues.

 

[nfitz]

If HNIC streamed on CBC is any indication of their streaming quality, CBC has their work cut out for them.

I've yet to watch a HNIC complete game streamed on CBC without some technical issues.

Hmm ... I've watched a bit of live Rugby League on phone on the CBC App through my mobile data, and didn't seem much problem. But probably not long enough to get a good sense of how stable it was.

At home, I've also had no problem watching Murdoch Mysteries off the CBC App - and that was using my wifi from my old-fashioned ADSL connection that only gives me about 600 kB/s (4.7 Mbps) down and 1/10 of that up. (which surprisingly is good enough to let me reliably stream either Netflix or Prime in HD!).

Perhaps it's something in the nature of being live?

 

[Dr.Dave]

CANADA’S PUBLIC BROADCASTER LAUNCHES CBC GEM STREAMING SERVICE WITH MORE THAN 4000 HOURS OF LIVE AND ON-DEMAND PROGRAMMING AVAILABLE FOR FREE

CBC today announced the launch of CBC Gem, the national public broadcaster’s new streaming service, offering more than 4000 hours of live and on-demand programming for free. CBC Gem provides live and on-demand access to CBC’s full programming slate spanning drama, comedy, factual entertainment, documentaries, arts, kids, sports and national and local news programming, including the ability to live stream CBC TV at any time with access to 14 CBC channels and their local newscasts across the country. The streaming service also offers French-language programming from ICI Radio-Canada.

CBC will also collaborate with new partners in order to expand the CBC Gem streaming library and offer additional Canadian and international content. A new partnership between CBC and homegrown success story Wattpad, the global multiplatform entertainment company for original stories and the world’s most popular social storytelling platform, will offer emerging Canadian writers the opportunity to create exclusive content for CBC Gem, with more details to be confirmed in the new year. The streaming service also offers more than 100 acclaimed Canadian feature films, available ad-free in partnership with Telefilm Canada, with a selection of films from the National Film Board of Canada, including Indigenous projects, to be added in the coming year.

The growing streaming library available on CBC Gem is supported by ongoing acquisitions from key Canadian distribution partners, including A71 Entertainment, Elevation Pictures, eOne, levelFILM and Mongrel Media, and international partners BBC Studios, Fremantle International, ITV Studios Global Entertainment and Sky Vision.

CBC Gem is available for free as an App for iOS and Android devices and online at cbcgem.ca, and on television via Apple TV and Google Chromecast. An ad-free premium membership is also available for $4.99 per month, which also provides access to a live stream of CBC News Network. All children’s programming is always provided ad-free within CBC Gem.

CBC Gem is exclusive to Canada. All content is available with Closed Captioning, and Described Video is available for most on-demand content.

CBC Member - FREE (registration required):

• Live stream CBC TV, including access to all 14 local channels from across the country and their news broadcasts
• Watch current and past seasons of favourite shows on demand
• Resume watching programs on any device
• Ad-free children’s programming

CBC Member - Premium:
For $4.99 a month (with the first month free of charge), Canadians can upgrade their viewing experience to enjoy additional features and content:

• Watch on-demand episodes without ads
• Live stream CBC News Network 24/7

CBC Gem Programming Highlights:
All episodes of new CBC original drama NORTHERN RESCUE (10x60), starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson, will be available to stream exclusively in Canada on CBC Gem starting Friday, March 1.

See the press release for other programming.

 

[Inglewood]

Disappointed in one thing - that there is exclusive content such as "Northern Rescue". I know a lot of elderly people who love CBC programming, and won't be able to watch this show as it is too technically complicated and requires a device they don't have.

On the other hand, the show must be extremely horrible if CBC won't even air it through traditional methods.

 

[ticky]

I am disappointed there is no way to watch their local news broadcasts on-demand. You'd think as we approach 2019 that news organisations would know that people aren't home or can't sit down to watch the news at 6pm every night.

 

[Dr.Dave]

Disappointed in one thing - that there is exclusive content such as "Northern Rescue". I know a lot of elderly people who love CBC programming, and won't be able to watch this show as it is too technically complicated and requires a device they don't have.

On the other hand, the show must be extremely horrible if CBC won't even air it through traditional methods.

CBC has the exclusive rights for Canada - Netflix will stream it in other countries. Here's a quote from the CBC TV schedule:

CBC DIGITAL-FIRST PREMIERES AND STREAMING EXCLUSIVES

New CBC original family adventure drama NORTHERN RESCUE (10x60), starring William Baldwin and Kathleen Robertson, will premiere in Canada exclusively on the CBC TV app and cbc.ca/watch starting in December, with all episodes available to stream at once. The series will also broadcast on CBC in 2019...

Obviously, the Dec. streaming date has been pushed back to March 1, but I think they still plan to show the series on CBC TV.

 

[Dr.Dave]

@ticky I can watch my local news on demand at the CBC web site, so you should be able to watch it on CBC Gem. You might have to register for a free account. If not, just go to your local CBC site. Mine is www.cbc.ca/player/news/Canada/Manitoba.

The hour-long newscasts are there along with some clips.

 

[ticky]

I've already looked. They aren't under the NEWS section of the app, just The National.

 

[zapattack]

This is weird. I am in BC, but clicking on your link today, the 16th,
gives me Manitoba news for the day of your post the 14th.
But going to
https://www.cbc.ca/news/local
gives me all areas latest links, but no full newscast.
Only the National link has the full broadcast and that is still the 14th?
Do you need an account to get current full newscasts?

 

[Dr.Dave]

@zapattack you can select your area for full-length newscasts from the top of this link:

www.cbc.ca/player/news/Canada/

I checked BC and they had several half-hour and hour newscasts. I don't watch CBC news, so I don't know if they have local Winnipeg newscasts on the weekend.

 

[cyclist44]

I don't receive a Local CBC channel where I live. I only get CTV and Global. I can't get local news on either the CTV or Global app. I can go to the local on the local channels websites but the local news is usually a couple of days old.

 

[NeilN]

The iOS app needs more work. If you use Airplay it always assumes you're always transmitting audio and video to Apple TV. All the other video apps I use correctly let me transmit only audio to a receiver.

 

[smallmj]

If they come up with a Roku or FireTV app I'll give this a try. Otherwise...

 

[DSgamby]

I don't receive a Local CBC channel where I live. I only get CTV and Global. I can't get local news on either the CTV or Global app. I can go to the local on the local channels websites but the local news is usually a couple of days old.

You ain't missing much.

 

[nfitz]

If they come up with a Roku or FireTV app I'll give this a try. Otherwise...

There's hope for FireTV I'd think, given that that the French version is already available there (ICI TOU.TV). Given how much more stable Roku seems to be than Amazon Fire, I'd hope that appears too.

 

[Dr.Dave]

CBC Music will livestream the tribute concert for Mike “Beard Guy” Taylor (Walk Off The Earth) at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 13th on the free CBC Gem streaming service. Following the live event on Sunday, the concert will be available to stream anytime on demand on CBC Gem.

Full Press Release

----

The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s Paralympic Network, announced the launch of the Paralympic Super Series, a package of Paralympic sport competitions that will be available as live streams via the CBC Gem app and cbcgem.ca, as well as on the CPC Facebook page, with select events available on the Radio-Canada Sports app and radio-canada.ca/sports.

Paralympic Super Series Schedule
*more events to be added in 2019

January 16-17, 2019: Para Alpine World Cup – Zagreb, Croatia
January 21-February 1, 2019: World Para Alpine Skiing Championships – Kranjska Gora, Slovenia and Sella Nevea, Italy
February 16-24, 2019: World Para Nordic Skiing Championships – Prince George, British Columbia
March 5-9, 2019: Para Alpine World Cup – Espot, Spain
March 11-15, 2019: Para Alpine World Cup – La Molina, Spain
March 18-21, 2019: Para Alpine World Cup Season Finale – Morzine, France

Full Press Release

 

[Cham]

I tried signing up for the GEM streaming service, but can't get it to play. Little wheel keeps turning and eventually get a message "not available in your area". I sent CBC an email will see what they say. Not much luck here with most streaming services here in southern MB, guess we're still in the dark ages here. I do get netflix to work but the picture quality is badly pixelated and just... bad.

 

[nfitz]

I've noticed some streaming service won't play at all with low bandwidth. Personally, I get about 5 Mb/s using ADSL, and Netflix normally looks okay in HD, and all the service play - and that's a really low bandwidth. Though the picture certainly starts to degrade if others in the house are also streaming stuff.

What's your speed? I suspect it's too low, if you are seeing pixelating on Netflix.