Aiming to boost radio listening in homes, StreamGuys is offering a custom “Skills” creation for broadcasters who want to use the new Amazon technology Alexa. With Alexa, users of Amazon’s Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Tap can access stations’ live and on-demand content through voice commands.
Alexa Skills allow broadcasters to choose the words that users speak to launch a station’s programming. Skills can help provide live streams, as well as verbal access to podcasts and on-demand archives. Alexa invocation names must be unique, which means broadcasters must secure their preferred Alexa identity.
“It can be hard for users to find a station if it’s listed only by call letters, and even more confusing if multiple stations use the same marketing brand,” said Jonathan Speaker, COO of StreamGuys. “By affordably offering our customers custom Alexa Skills creation, we’re enabling them to quickly establish their presence on this important platform.”
One station to already have done that is WWOZ(FM) in New Orleans. WWOZ’s Skill passed Alexa certification and went live in May, using its WWOZ call sign. StreamGuys also assisted in organizing the station’s archive into a voice-navigable structure.
The Alexa Skills offering can be integrated with StreamGuys’ SGrecast and SGmetadata systems for producing, managing and delivering streaming media and podcasts.
A number of other stations across the country have used StreamGuys’ for Alexa Skills as well.
