Entercom and iHeartMedia have announced that content from the company’s News stations will be added to Google Assistant’s Your News Update.
Audio from Entercom’s WCBS and WINS New York, KNX Los Angeles, WBBM Chicago, KRLD Dallas, WWJ Detroit, KYW Philadelphia, KCBS San Francisco, and KMOX St. Louis and iHeartMedia’s WOR New York, KFI Los Angeles, WBZ Boston, KTRH Houston, and WGST Atlanta will be heard in “a mix of short news stories chosen in that moment based on users’ interests, location, history and preferences, as well as the top news stories from publishers from around the world including Associated Press, FOX News, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and more”.
The official Google announcement also lists public media operators WNYC, WBUR, KCRW, KUOW, WBEZ and WAMU plus ABC Audio, CBS News Radio, PRX and Democracy Now.
Entercom, the #1 creator of live, original, local audio content, today announced that it is bringing its unrivaled local news audio content to Your News Update, a smarter way to listen to the news hosted by the Google Assistant.
Through this partnership, local content from leading RADIO.COM news stations 1010 WINS (WINS-AM) and WCBS 880 (WCBS-AM) in New York, KNX 1010 News Radio (KNX-AM) in Los Angeles, WBBM Newsradio (WBBM-AM) in Chicago, Newsradio 1080 KRLD (KRLD-AM) in Dallas, WWJ News Radio 950 (WWJ-AM) in Detroit, KYW Newsradio (KYW-AM) in Philadelphia, KCBS All News (KCBS-AM) in San Francisco and News Radio 1120 KMOX (KMOX-AM) in St. Louis will be featured as part of the Your News Update platform. This follows the stations’ exclusive participation as part of the platform’s beta testing phase. Your News Update will showcase a mix of short news stories chosen in that moment based on users’ interests, location, history and preferences, as well as the top news stories from publishers from around the world including Associated Press, FOX News, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and more.
“We are excited to be a partner with Google Assistant on the launch of the Your News Update platform,” said David Rosenbloom, Vice President, Corporate Business Development, Entercom. “We are the unrivaled #1 radio news platform with award-wining content, and the integration with Google Assistant will make it easier than ever for listeners to hear the premium audio content that they expect from us wherever and whenever they want it.”
—
iHeartMedia is excited to introduce “Your News Update,” a new offering being released in collaboration with Google and its Google Assistant products. This means that any Google Assistant-enabled phone or smart speaker can deliver its users the news of the day by simply saying, “Hey Google, play me the news.” From there, “Your News Update,” powered by iHeartRadio will deliver a mix of short news stories that are automatically packaged together based on a user’s specific interests, location, user history and preferences as well as the top news stories of the day.
As part of the new integration, iHeartMedia is providing users with some of the latest news stories from our local iHeartRadio news stations across the U.S., including New York’s 710 WOR, Los Angeles’ KFI AM 640, Boston’s WBZ News Radio, Houston’s News Radio 740 KTRH, Atlanta’s Talk 640 WGST as well as news stations in our Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia markets, with more to come.
Today, audio and other podcast-like formats are a particularly popular, evocative and convenient way to receive the news. So, to meet this rising trend, Google introduced technology that analyzes what’s being said in a given audio file so that it knows what the stories are about, how news stories evolve and how topics link together to deliver personalized newscasts based on a user’s interests. For example, if you’re a Steelers fan who follows the stock market and lives in Chicago, you might hear a story about the latest “L” construction, a recap of last Thursday’s Steelers game and a stock market update in addition to the latest national headlines.
So, if you have a Google Assistant-enabled device, you can try this new feature today. Just update your Assistant news settings and then say those six special words: “Hey Google, play me the news.” And, if you keep listening, the experience extends into longer-form content that dives deeper into your interests. In between stories, the Google Assistant is your smart news host that introduces which publishers and updates are next.
Stay up to date with today’s news — and all of the stories that mean the most to you — with the help of iHeartRadio and Google! Start streaming today.
Google’s official listing of partners lists several other radio and TV partners–although they might also date back to the beta phase…
https://www.blog.google/products/news/your-news-update
Also, I’m surprised that KMOX is definitely included, but stations like WCCO, KDKA, WWL, WTIC, and WBEN might not be.
This is the best news I heard all day. I wish that iheart stations would join the reciva.com app.
Here are some specifics that I’ve gleaned about the non-Entercom/iHeart content…
(1.) Marketplace is offering, at least, its “Make Me Smart” explainers.
(2.) PRX is offering segments from “The World” and maybe other radio shows, as well as some non-broadcast content (such as the already-existing “The Number in the News”).
(3.) Gannett/USA Today is offering some existing national podcasts, plus audio reports from a handful of its local newspapers. Also, while GateHouse Media is listed as a separate partner, the two companies are now one.
(4.) Even though the service is only now available in the U.S., the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has confirmed its inclusion.
Separately, some of the stories report that Google is currently paying its partners for their content here.
Among the content providers that have confirmed their involvement over the past few days is another non-U.S. one: the UK’s Evening Standard…
https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/google-news-on-assistant-new-way-hear-headlines-a4292651.html