COMMON QUESTIONS
The ABC may change or update the FAQs at any time as we add new or different features, programs or other information to ABC Kids listen. Please review these FAQs regularly to stay up-to-date with any changes.
HOW CAN I TUNE INTO ABC Kids listen?
There are multiple ways to access Kids listen. ABC Kids listen is a digital radio station and on demand App.
Install the free app:
Google Play
Apple App Store
You can listen to our 24 hour live stream via DAB+ radio, within the Kids listen App or via the ABC KIDS listen website
If you’re after a specific program you can access our content anytime, on demand, within the App. Find out more about DAB+ radio, please visit the ABC Radio FAQs. You can also listen to your favourite ABC Kids radio station on your digital free-to-air TV on Channel 202. For more information on how to find radio on your TV click here.
WHAT AGE RANGE IS Kids listen FOR?
We are a service for children in their early years, however some of our programs are perfect for co-listening with older siblings (and even adults)!
WHAT WAS THE SONG THAT JUST PLAYED?
Song listings can be found in Playlists on the app and website. The ABC Kids listen website includes the song playlist,with easy search tools to help you find what you’re looking for quickly.
HOW CAN I CATCH UP ON PROGRAMS I MISS?
The daily episodes from each radio program are on the app and website. Episodes of our podcasts are also available for you to listen to anytime, and as many times as your heart desires.
CAN I DOWNLOAD EPISODES?
To save on bandwidth usage when listing on the app, we recommend that you download the episodes because downloaded episodes can be played offline. All downloaded episodes will be stored in the My Downloads section of the app for 7 days.
WHY DO EPISODES EXPIRE AFTER 7 DAYS?
The expiry period for episodes of our daily radio programs on ABC Kids listen is determined by the terms under which the ABC licenses content from suppliers and producers. ABC Kids listen is only permitted to provide catch up episodes for seven days, online and on the app, after they are broadcast live on the radio.
The Sleep Through program plays six different episodes through the night, and these episodes are permanently available to listen again to any time. You can listen to our ABC Kids listen podcasts, including Imagine This, Little Yarns, News Time and more, anytime on the App or wherever you get your podcasts.
WHEN WILL NEW EPISODES OF MY FAVOURITE SHOW BE AVAILABLE?
We’re so glad that you love our Kids listen podcasts, and we work hard to regularly release new episodes of your favourite shows. We keep audiences updated on the ABC Kids Community Facebook page about when new episodes are released, however the best thing to do is keep an eye on the App. Why not check out some of our other great shows whilst you’re waiting?
HOW DO I GET REGULAR UPDATES ABOUT Kids listen?
The best way to stay in touch is by signing up for the ABC Kids newsletter here, or being part of the ABC Kids Community on Facebook.
I'M AN EARLY EDUCATOR AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF I CAN USE YOUR PROGRAMS WITH MY KIDS?
Yes! We would love you to use our programs with your kindie kids. In fact, we have a whole bunch of complimentary resources on our website specifically designed for early educators.
DO YOU HAVE TRANSCRIPTIONS OF YOUR SHOWS?
Yes, we have transcriptions of our podcasts available. You’ll find a link to a downloadable PDF under each program page. Due to licensing we are unable to provide transcripts for our music programming and Story Time.
HOW DO I SUBMIT A QUESTION TO IMAGINE THIS?
We love all the great questions that are sent to us for Imagine This. If you have a question for the show, just email imaginethis@abc.net.au with an audio recording of your child’s question or it simply typed out. A producer will be in touch if your child's question is chosen.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY CHILD'S WORDS TO STORY SALAD?
You can submit your child’s audio recording on our website - Submit your recording. Please have your child say their first name, age and their three words, plus a message for Matt and friends if they wish. Recording on your phone is fine but please try to pick a quiet spot with no background noise. We want Matt and friends and our audiences to be able to hear children's audio clearly, so audio which has a lot of background noise may unfortunately not be chosen for Story Salad.
WILL MY CHILD'S AUDIO DEFINITELY BE PICKED FOR STORY SALAD?
We love getting Story Salad entries and hearing all the creative word combinations that kids come up with. We do receive a high volume of submissions and unfortunately that means we are unable to make every single entry submitted to us. We do try to mix as many entries as possible into yummy Story Salads.
WILL I BE INFORMED IF MY CHILD'S WORDS ARE CHOSEN?
Yes, if child’s words are picked we will email you a broadcast date.
THE APP ISN'T WORKING PROPERLY, WHAT DO I DO?
The first step is to ensure that all updates have been installed. This is because our developers work hard to fix any issues or bugs that may occur. After that, close down the app and re-open it again and see whether it’s working as normal. If not, please send us an email to ABCKidslisten@abc.net.au with as much information as possible. ie What model phone you have, what issue you’re experiencing, whether it relates to a particular program– the more information the better. We will get back to you as soon as we can and keep you updated.
IS THE LIVE RADIO BROADCAST ALIGNED WITH MY TIME ZONE?
Yes and no. You’ll need to take into account any time difference between your location and AEST (or AEDT in summer) when listening to ABC KIDS listen online, on the app and on DAB+ radio.
Wherever you are in Australia, setting your time zone for live streaming in the KIDS listen App is easy. Simply click on the three lines at the top left, go into the Settings tab choose Chose Timezone for radio and select your location.
CAN I PLAY ABC Kids listen IF I'M NOT IN AUSTRALIA?
Under its program licensing agreements, ABC Kids listen is geo-blocked to Australia, which means that the station cannot be heard outside of Australia.
However, many of our podcasts are available world-wide via third party platforms like Apple Podcasts, Pocketcasts, Stitcher and more.
DOES PLAYING ABC Kids listen ONLINE OR ON THE APP AFFECT MY INTERNET DOWNLOAD LIMITS OR MOBILE DATA ALLOWANCE?
Yes, it will count towards your monthly allowable bandwidth for your networked internet connection or your mobile data quota - depending on which you are using.
HOW AM I CHARGED FOR LISTENING OVER A MOBILE DATA CONNECTION?
The amount you are charged for listening over Mobile Data depends on several things:
- How much data your mobile phone company allows you to download each month at no extra cost (your quota)
- How much data you've already downloaded in that month, and how much of your quota remains
- How much your mobile phone company charges you when you download more than your monthly quota
If you have a small monthly quota, or have used almost all of your monthly quota, listening to ABC Kids listen over a Mobile Data connection could be expensive. Do check your quota with your mobile phone company, and monitor your usage. Your mobile phone company may be able to send you alerts when you reach the limit of your monthly quota.
The ABC is not responsible for the amount of mobile data you consume using the ABC Kids listen app. If you are concerned about mobile data consumption, there are a few options that will help:
- Update your mobile phone settings to disable cellular data.
Download episodes to listen offline. These episodes will expire after 7 days.
HOW DO I SUBMIT ARTICLES OR OTHER CONTENT TO ABC Kids listen?
Please email us at abckidslisten@abc.net.au and the programming team will be in touch.
CAN I SUBMIT MY MUSIC TO BE PLAYED ON AIR?
Yes, ABC KIDS listen is committed to hearing from and playing a diverse range of independent artists. Initially, submit a link to your work via the contact us tab, including any relevant information you think we need to know. Links can be Spotify, Bandcamp, vimeo, your website – anywhere we can listen to the music. Please remember that as a radio station and audio service, we don’t need to see music videos or any visuals that accompany your songs. If they are suitable for play on ABC KIDS listen, our programming team will be in touch.
CAN I STREAM ABC Kids listen USING BLUETOOTH, AIR PLAY AND CHROMECAST?
Absolutely! If you're using Bluetooth, first check your phone settings to ensure that Bluetooth is switched on. Once it's switched on, you'll see a list of devices appear that you can connect to, which is where you'll see your Bluetooth speaker listed. Make sure your phone is not too far away from the speakers, because Bluetooth devices need to be fairly close in order to connect smoothly. You can use your iPhone to play ABC Kids listen on another Apple device such as an Apple TV, AirPlay compatible speaker, or another Mac. Ensure that all devices are on the same WiFinetwork. When you’re connected, you’ll see the AirPlayicon appear at the top of the app. Tap the icon and follow the prompts. If you have an Android phone, you can choose to use either Chromecast or AirPlay. The icons will appear when your phone and the device you’re casting to are on the same WiFi network. You can cast to any Chromecast enabled device, including your Google Home smartspeaker. Simply tap the icon and follow the prompts.
HOW DO I LISTEN TO ABC KIDS listen ON MY SMART SPEAKER?
You can listen to the live radio broadcast of ABC Kids listen on Google Home, Amazon Echo and Apple HomePodby asking the smartspeakerto “play ABC Kids listen radio.” You can also listen to ABC Kids listen podcasts such as Imagine This, News Time and Classic Kids - just be sure to use the word “podcast” in your query. For example, ask the smart speaker to “play ABC Kids listen Imagine This podcast.”
IS ABC Kids listen ON ANDROID AUTO AND APPLE CAR PLAY?
Yes, if you have smart integration in your car. Otherwise you can share the App’s audio with your car’s Bluetooth player.
WHICH ANONYMOUS ANALYTICS ARE COLLECTED?
The ABC may collect non-personal information about the use of the ABC Kids listen app to help us improve our services. Non-personal data doesn't identify an individual.
We may collect usage information, such as how many episodes are listened to and how often the live stream is played, as well as technical data such as the phone's model and operating system. This data is in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual and is completely anonymous. To help us provide you with the best service, we work with third party analytics providers Flurry Analytics and Google Analytics. The information gathered is only used for the purpose it was collected for, which is to provide analytics on the app it is connected within order to improve our services and to diagnose and fix technology problems.
TRUSTED ENVIRONMENT
The ABC takes privacy very seriously. We are dedicated to being transparent about our practices and principles, and treating your data with the utmost care and respect. We do NOT collect personal information of your child or you. The only data we collect is anonymous statistics of the usage of the website and app. This gives us analytic details that tell us how we can improve our services for you. See our FAQs below for more detail.
Four sections of the app are protected by PIN access: About ABC Kids listen, More ABC apps, Settings (where you can set the live radio broadcast to autoplay each time the app is opened) and the Timer. Children are able to access the other areas of the app with parental supervision.
ONLINE SAFETY
We encourage you to educate yourself and your child on privacy concerns and safety online. We recommend, as a starting point, the online safety information published by the Australian Government.
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS
Your input is very important to us. If you have any questions, suggestions or other feedback, or need help with ABC Kids listen services and products, please contact us at abckidslisten@abc.net.au