BBC Radio has launched a new ‘Skill’ for Amazon’s Echo smart speaker which will allow users to listen to their favourite BBC station.
The Skill also enables the broadcaster to introduce pop-up stations throughout the year to cover a range of events, festivals and genres.
To use it skill, audiences simply need to ask Alexa for the BBC Radio station or podcast they want. They’ll be taken straight to the live show or the latest episode of podcast, where they’ll also be able to ask for “Previous” episodes in the full back-catalogue.
Users can also “Play”, “Pause” and “Resume” everything they’re listening to.
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 one single and 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 and the recently launched interactive drama, The Inspection Chamber.
Similar features and services will be rolled-out to other brands of smart speaker at a future date.