ABC listen 12+

So many intellectually & emotionally stimulating programs. The ABCs journalists & presenters are top level. Topics are explored from novel perspectives. There is a lot to learn about the work & lives of many interesting Australians, from experts in their respective fields breaking down fascinating topics, to everyday people who are willing to share their experiences & life lessons. There’s also many light-hearted comedy programs. I appreciate that the ABC seems to have fostered a space where presenters can share their own humanity & allow their guests to do the same. Very privileged to have the ABC as part of my way of life. They have also been very innovative with their uptake of technology to reach as many people as possible with informative, thought-provoking & inspirational content.

This was a great app until someone decided they should force users to provide their private info and log in to be able to use it. Failure to do so has resulted in an annoying login screen popping up every time I open the app, and now it’s got even worse. Instead of the app retaining the last station I listened to on the home screen, the ever-more Sydney-centric, supposedly national, broadcaster no longer has the full range of Victorian stations in the scrollable buttons, with my most recent option visible. Instead they have all vanished from the list completely, with only Radio Sydney and the national stations included in the list. I have to use the search function to find my local radio station. We pay for the ABC with our taxes and I expect to be able to listen to my station without giving up my personal info as if they were a private corporation grubbing for personal details of customers. Their spiel when they made the change was that logging in would enable users to personalise their app experience. I could do that before. My station showed up first, and I could save favourite podcasts. Now because I won’t give up my personal information, all that has disappeared. I don’t appreciate being gaslit, andI won’t be bullied into compliance. I now hate and hardly use the app, which I used to use extensively.

This app could be so much better. One of my main niggles is that it doesn’t cater well for regional audiences - including travellers on the road with inconsistent or absent mobile reception. We may not be able to stream content but how about improving delivery of downloads and providing us with radio frequencies in my area - please don’t ask me to fill in a form, use device location. I’d also like to see signal coverage maps.

Digital providers struggle with the detail of classical music, with long, similar track names and numerous contributors - composer, conductor, soloists, orchestra and other performance information. The playlist truncates this in a very frustrating manner such that most information is inaccessible and successive movements may not be distinguished (which of Vivaldi’s seasons comes first?).

My state is shown at the top of the screen but the playlist often reflects another timezone. Why? I know there have been disastrous cuts to ABC funding but this app is an important medium for our National Broadcaster - worthy of more investment.