Alexa.ChannelController Interface (VSK Fire TV)

When users say utterances to change the channel (e.g., "Alexa, change the channel to PBS"), the Alexa.ChannelController interface sends ChangeChannel directives to indicate that the channel should be changed. These directives are sent when users specify the channel name, call sign, or channel number.

Utterances for ChannelController Directives
Handling ChangeChannel Directives
ChangeChannel Example
Payload Details
Response Example
Error Response

Utterances for ChannelController Directives

Alexa sends a ChangeChannel directive through the ChannelController interface to your Lambda when users say the following utterances.

Feature	Sample Utterances	Expected Response
Go to channel name	Go to Fox start seite <channel> Schalte auf <channel> mets fox mets la chaîne change à radio canada vai sulla fox cambia sulla fox cambiar al canal cambia a Fox cambia a t.v. Azteca cámbiale a t.v. Azteca {channel} に行って {channel} を開いて vá para t.v. globo ir para t.v. globo {channel name} पे जाओ go to {channel name}	The view switches to the channel name, and content from the channel plays.
Go to channel number	Go to channel thirteen Schalte auf <channel number> Schalte auf Kanal/Sender <channel number> mets la 5 vas sur la 5 mets le 10 vas au 10 vai al canale 13 cambia sul canale 13 ve al canal 13 cambia al canal 13 ve al canal 13 cambia al canal 13 チャンネル {channel number} に行ってチャンネル {channel number} を開いて vá para o canal cinco ir para o canal cinco channel thirteen पे जाओ go to channel thirteen	The view switches to the channel number, and content from the channel plays.
Go to channel callsign	Go to channel k. c. p. q. Schalte auf <channel callsign> Umschalten auf <channel callsign> mets la chaîne {channel code} vas sur la chaîne {channel code} mets {channel code} vas à {channel code} vai al canale {code} cambia sul canale {code} cambia al canal {channel code} ve al canal {channel code} cambia al canal {channel code} ve al canal {channel code} チャンネル {channel callsign} を開いてチャンネル {channel callsign} に行って vá para o {channel callsign} ir para o <channel callsign}	The view switches to the channel callsign, and content from the channel plays.
Watch channel name	Watch fox Zeige <channel name> <channel name> anschauen je veux voir/regarder fox joue radio canada fais jouer radio canada vai sulla fox cambia sulla fox pon Fox (quiero) ver Fox pon t.v. Azteca ponme t.v. Azteca {channel name}を再生して {channel name}を見せて assistir a t.v. globo assista a t.v. globo {channel name} चलाओ {channel name} लगाओ	The view switches to the channel name, and content from the channel plays.
Watch channel number	Watch channel thirteen Zeige Kanal/Sender <channel number> Kanal/Sender <channel number> anschauen mets la 5 je veux voir/regarder la 5 mets le (canal) 10 va au/sur le vai al canale 13 cambia sul canale 13 pon el canal 13 (quiero) ver el canal 13 mets le 10 mets le canal 10 チャンネル {channel number} を見せて {channel number} チャンネルを見せて assistir canal cinco assista canal cinco channel thirteen चलाओ watch channel thirteen	The view switches to the channel number, and content from the channel plays.

Handling ChangeChannel Directives

The ChangeChannel directive allows customers to tune to a specific channel using voice commands. When users say "Alexa, tune to CNN," you receive a ChangeChannel directive in your Lambda. You then need to change the live TV stream to show the user the correct channel.

To help you understand which directive corresponds with which channel, we have provided a list of possible callsigns for each channel in Channels List.

If you'd like to support additional channels not included in this list, reach out to your Amazon contact, and he or she will coordinate with the right people to get you the information you need on how to handle it.

Alternatively, try asking your Alexa-enabled device to change the channel to whichever channel you like, and then observe the directive received in your Lambda log to check the callsign for yourself. However, it's still best if you flag those channels to your Amazon contact so we can know to prioritize that channel in our voice models. The channel callsign will be available within the callSign field within the channel change directive's payload.

You will not receive information about local channels in the directives — just top level names and callsigns, such as "ABC." It is up to you to perform any localization for your users.

ChangeChannel Example

The following is an example ChangeChannel directive:

{
  "directive": {
    "header": {
      "namespace": "Alexa.ChannelController",
      "name": "ChangeChannel",
      "messageId": "abc-123-def-456",
      "correlationToken": "dFMb0z+PgpgdDmluhJ1LddFvSqZ/jCc8ptlAKulUj90jSqg==",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint": {
      "scope": {
        "type": "BearerToken",
        "token": "access-token-from-skill"
      },
      "endpointId": "device-001",
      "cookie": {

      }
    },
    "payload": {
      "channel": {
          "number": "1234",
          "callSign": "KSTATION1",
          "affiliateCallSign": "KSTATION2",
          "uri": "someUrl"
      },
      "channelMetadata": {
          "name": "Alternate Channel Name",
          "image": "urlToImage"
      }
    }
  }
}

Payload Details

Field	Description	Type	Required
`channel`	Describes a channel.	object	Yes
`channel.number`	A number that identifies the specified channel such as 5 or 12.1	string	No, but `channel.number`, `channelMetadata.name`, `channel.callSign`, `affiliateCallSign` or `uri` must be specified.
`channel.callSign`	Specifies a channel by call sign such as PBS.	string	No, but `channel.number`, `channelMetadata.name`, `channel.callSign`, `affiliateCallSign` or `uri` must be specified.
`channel.affiliateCallSign`	Specifies a channel by local affiliate call sign such as KCTS9.	string	No, but `channel.number`, `channelMetadata.name`, `channel.callSign`, `channel.affiliateCallSign` or `channel.uri` must be specified.
`channel.uri`	The URI of the channel such as "entity://provider/channel/12307"	string	No, but `channel.number`, `channelMetadata.name`, `channel.callSign`, `channel.affiliateCallSign` or `channel.uri` must be specified.
`channelMetadata`	Provides additional information about the specified channel.	object	No
`channelMetadata.name`	Another value that identifies the channel such as "FOX".	string	No, but `channel.number`, `channelMetadata.name`, `channel.callSign`, `channel.affiliateCallSign` or `channel.uri` must be specified.
`channelMetadata.image`	A URL to an image that describes the channel.	string	No

Response Example

You must send an Response event if a request to change channels was successful. The response should include a context object that reports the channel after the request completes.

{
  "context": {
    "properties": [
      {
        "namespace": "Alexa.ChannelController",
        "name": "channel",
        "value": {
          "number": "1234",
          "callSign": "callsign1",
          "affiliateCallSign": "callsign2"
        },
        "timeOfSample": "2017-02-03T16:20:50.52Z",
        "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
      }
    ]
  },
  "event": {
    "header": {
      "messageId": "abc-123-def-456",
      "correlationToken": "dFMb0z+PgpgdDmluhJ1LddFvSqZ/jCc8ptlAKulUj90jSqg==",
      "namespace": "Alexa",
      "name": "Response",
      "payloadVersion": "3"
    },
    "endpoint":{
      "endpointId":"appliance-001"
    },
    "payload":{ }
 }
}

Error Response

If you cannot complete the customer request for some reason, reply with an error. See Error Handling for more details.