Amazon Alexa integration announced for RadioApp

Owner’s of the Amazon Alexa smart speaker can now play any of nearly 300 Australian FM, AM and DAB+ digital stations at the sound of their voice.

On a day when the commercial radio industry converges on Melbourne for the innovation-filled Radio Alive 2018 conference, it was announced that the Amazon Alexa now has a RadioApp skill.

As Radio Today reports, the skill is available through the speaker, used simply by issuing a command such as “Alexa, play 2GB” or “Alexa, play smoothfm”.

Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner announced the initiative today at the conference.

“Listening to radio is one of the most popular uses for smart speakers, so the Australian radio industry has created a voice experience that works easily and seamlessly across all Alexa-enabled devices.”

Country manager, Alexa Skills Australia and New Zealand Kate Burleigh said Australia is a great market for this technology to come in to.

“Australians are known as rapid adopters of new technology, and they also spend a significant part of the day listening to radio, so we’re very excited to work with broadcasters to help listeners tune into their favorite stations using only their voice.”

The initiative has been developed in a joint venture between CRA and Australian app developer All in Media (AIM).

“Consumers have high expectations of technology, and more than ever, radio is working together as an industry to ensure our local Australian content is easily available on every platform and device,” added Warner.

The new RadioApp skill is set to be promoted through a national marketing campaign across the commercial radio.