The BBC has launched its first full voice service for smart speakers, with Amazon’s Alexa and Echo the first to include the skill.
It means all of the corporation’s live radio stations including local, national and international, are available on Echo and Alexa for the first time. The corporation’s full range of podcasts are also available.
Matthew Postgate, chief technology and product officer, BBC, said: “Smart speakers are an exciting new way of interacting with audio content. They’re a natural fit for the BBC as millions of people enjoy and rely on our audio programmes every day. Today we’re making sure audiences can find what they love from the BBC on any device they use through a single, easy-to-use service. But there’s potential to do more and we’re just scratching the surface.”
The new BBC voice service adds to BBC content already available via smart speakers, including the primary news briefing on Amazon Alexa and the Google Assistant. BBC research and development also recently launched an experimental interactive drama, The Inspection Chamber, that will come to other smart speakers in future.
