Matt Deegan runs a children’s radio station in the UK called Fun Kids. His audience is used to consuming platform on a variety of platforms.
Podcasts have been key for the radio station. They have 68 different channels with around 150,000 downloads per month, in total. Being in the podcast space was helpful for Fun Kids; it drove awareness of the brand and maximised material use.
With Google, Alexa and others making products, the smart speaker market is an obvious next step for podcasters. So Fun Kids launched their own Skill with Amazon. The station is up there competing with other children’s brands, including Lego and Pac Man!
Users can ask Alexa to play the station and can even ask for “now playing” information. There’s more to come, including presenter facts and on-demand audio.
Dwell time is much higher in the Alexa Skill, compared to the web player and mobile app. Why is this? Matt Deegan thinks that the listeners are more engaged.
Yes, there are various parental safety issues, which Amazon is working on. Nonetheless, voice devices are likely to be an important part of the radio and podcasting markets in the future.