CBC Gem is available for free as an App for iOS/iPadOS (iPhone, and iPad), tvOS (Apple TV), Android (phones, and tablets), Android TV (NVIDIA Shield, and select Smart TVs), and Fire TV (Amazon Fire TV Stick, and select Smart TVs).
Gem is also accessible on PC or Mac via web browser at gem.cbc.ca
Please note - You may experience issues streaming on other operating systems (Linux, Chrome OS...).
You may also experience issues accessing Gem on Smart TV and gaming console web browsers.
If you wish to stream our content to your television, this can be achieved via Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast.
Smart TVs (Gem app and Apple AirPlay)
Smart TV and Gaming Console web browsers
Android
The CBC Gem app for Android is intended for touchscreen Android phones and tablets running Android 5.0 and above.
The app will not work properly if loaded onto an unsupported device (Android media boxes running the standard Android OS instead of Android TV, certain Smart TVs, Chromebooks).
You can also access CBC Gem from the your Android device's web browser (preferably Chrome or Firefox) by visiting gem.cbc.ca, but we highly recommend installing the CBC Gem app from the Google Play Store as it will provide you with a smoother, more stable viewing experience.
Android TV
Our newly released CBC Gem app for Android TV is intended for devices running version 6 or higher of the Android TV operating system. These devices include the NVIDIA Shield, Sony Bravia, and Sharp AQUOS Smart TVs.
Gem is not supported on media boxes running the standard version of Android which is intended for touchscreen mobile devices.
Fire TV
Our newly released CBC Gem app for Fire TV is intended for use on the Amazon Fire TV stick, or on Fire TV-enabled Toshiba Smart TVs.
You can also access CBC Gem from the Fire TV's Silk web browser, or Firefox by visiting gem.cbc.ca, but we highly recommend installing the CBC Gem app as it will provide you with a smoother, more stable viewing experience.
iOS / iPadOS
The CBC Gem app for iOS is intended for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 10 or above.
Gem is available on all versions of iPadOS.
You can still access CBC Gem from the Safari web browser by visiting gem.cbc.ca, but we highly recommend installing the CBC Gem app from the Apple App Store as it will provide you with a smoother, more stable viewing experience.
Apple TV
The CBC Gem app for Apple TV is only available on Apple TVs (4th gen +) running tvOS 12 or above.
The CBC Gem app is not available on older generation Apple TVs (silver remote) which do not have access to the Apple TV App Store. However, you can still AirPlay our content from an iPhone, iPad or the Safari Browser on a Mac with some limitations.
You can find more information on AirPlay here.
Chromecast
We only support the round Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra plug-in devices.
If you have the older Chromecast stick or Chromecast (Google Cast) built into your Smart TV or Android TV, you may experience issues casting our content.
Not supported
Supported
You can find more information on Chromecast here.
Web Browser
We currently support the following browsers on Windows and Mac
- Chrome
- Safari
- Microsoft Edge We currently don't support Internet Explorer
- Firefox
It is highly recommended that you ensure your browser is updated to the latest version as you may encounter occasional streaming issues on older browsers.
If you are experiencing streaming issues on Windows, please ensure that you do not have any outstanding updates which need to be installed on your device.
Please note that we do not support the use of Ad-blockers or VPNs.
You may experience login or video playback issues if you have any of these applied to your browser/device. If you are experiencing any issues, try temporarily disabling these services to see if the issue persists.
Also, please be aware that certain anti-virus suites can interfere with our site. If you are experiencing login, premium subscription sign-up, or streaming issues, you may want to temporarily turn off your anti-virus software to see if this clears up the issue.
You may also experience streaming issues while accessing Gem via web browser on non-supported devices such as Smart TVs, Android boxes, Linux or Chrome OS.
Chrome OS Devices
The CBC Gem app is not supported on Chrome OS.
Although you may be able to load the CBC Gem app onto your Chromebook or Pixelbook via the Google Play store, you will experience issues using the app.
The Gem app is intended for touchscreen devices such as Android phones and tablets.
Although not perfect, your best option for accessing Gem on a Chrome OS device would be via the Chrome browser at gem.cbc.ca. You may be able to stream most of our content this way, but be aware that you will most likely encounter occasional streaming issues, especially during ad-breaks.
Smart TVs (Gem app and Apple AirPlay)
The CBC Gem app is supported on Smart TVs running version 6 or higher of the Android TV operating system (Sony Bravia and Sharp AQUOS), or Fire TV enabled Toshiba televisions.
Although the CBC Gem app is not available on Samsung and LG Smart TVs, some newer Samsung and LG Smart TV models from 2018 - present, now support Apple AirPlay 2.
(Please note - we are currently experiencing an issue with AirPlay on Samsung Smart TVs. Viewers are reporting that video streams will constantly freeze of start over. We are looking into the issue.)
This means you would be able to stream content from our iPhone or iPad app directly to your television.
You can read more about AirPlay on Samsung Smart TVs, and which models are supported here
You can read more about Airplay on LG Smart TVs, and which models are supported here
Smart TV and Gaming Console web browsers
Unfortunately CBC Gem is not supported on smart tv or Gaming Console web browsers.
These browsers generally lack features which are compatible with our service.
Even though you may be able to stream some of our content, you will most likely experience occasional playback, or account management issues.
And as Gem is constantly undergoing performance and maintenance updates, any new changes we apply to our service can easily cause issues on these unsupported browsers.
Roku
Currently, there is no CBC Gem app/channel for Roku.