NEWSCYCLE Solutions launches new mobile flash briefings for Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot

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NEWSCYCLE Solutions announces the release of a new mobile software platform that allows media companies to produce flash briefings on Amazon Alexa-powered smart speaker devices. Flash briefings are quick overviews of news updates, breaking stories and other customizable content that Amazon Alexa can read to users.

KING 5, a TEGNA Media broadcast company and NBC affiliate station, is the first NEWSCYCLE customer to go live with the NEWSCYCLE Mobile flash briefing platform.

NEWSCYCLE Mobile worked with Amazon as part of a "long form" beta testing program. Long form content delivery enables broadcasters, publishers and radio stations to deliver flash briefings that are longer than the standard 90-second recordings.

"We have always been in the forefront when it comes to creating the best user experience in mobile, and we are continuing this tradition with devices like Amazon Echo," said Wade Beavers, NEWSCYCLE's president of mobile. "The Echo and Dot are listed as two of the top gifts for this holiday season, so audio news content will become mainstream really fast."

Amazon has kept device sales data confidential, but a recent study from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners suggests that over 5 million units were sold before the 2016 holiday shopping season began.

"The connected home is the starting point for voice-activated content. Siri is built into Apple TV and Amazon put Alexa into all of its smart speaker devices. This is just the beginning of innovative ways for broadcasters, radio stations and newspaper publishers to deliver news-on-demand from these types of devices," said Beavers.

Amazon's Alexa-powered devices provide new opportunities for content distribution through multiple products like the Amazon Echo, Dot, Kindle Fire TV, Tap and Fire Tablets. In 2017, the Ford Motor Company plans to integrate SYNC Connect and Amazon Echo. This will allow voice-controlled connectivity between car and home, giving drivers remote access to Internet-enabled devices, such as lights, home security systems, TVs and garage doors.

To keep pace with Amazon, other technology companies like Apple and Google also provide voice-activated devices designed for future home-automation and audio command offerings. According to Experian Information Solutions, over 80 percent of Amazon owners have used their devices to set a timer or play a song, 66 percent to read the news, and 46 percent to control smart lights or thermostats.

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