“The key word, at least for radio, is potential,” states an article published today on Inside Radio about the opportunities the Amazon Echo, and other smart speakers can provide to radio broadcasters. In the article, Inside Radio highlights how a growing number of stations are creating custom Alexa skills to bring radio back into the home. It all started with Federated Media’s B100 station, who was the first radio station to create a custom Alexa skill with the help of XAPPmedia. XAPPmedia CEO Pat Higbie was interviewed for the article, commenting:
“I see this as the third wave of internet technology. The web was the first wave, which was more or less neutral for radio. Mobile was the second wave, which put broadcast radio at a significant disadvantage because of the need to download apps. Now here is the third wave, voice, which allows consumers to connect directly with whatever content they want in an instant. This is an enormous opportunity for radio.”
He also noted that radio stations need to get on Alexa as soon as possible, in order to claim their invocation name and to start reaping the benefits of creating a custom skill, rather than relying on aggregators like TuneIn:
“Voice is going to become the primary way to access content. It’s going to be pervasive in a very short time,” he adds. “Radio stations have to control their user experience, their branding and their monetization. Smart speakers are growing faster than mobile—and Christmas is coming. Now is the time to get your radio station onto Alexa.”
To read the full article, click here or on the image below:
Related Stories