New Delhi: Network18, India’s leading news network announces the launch of 16 new Alexa Skills across 12 languages for users of Amazon Echo and Alexa built-in devices. As part of the launch, users will get access to live news from Network18’s top channels- CNN-News18 and News18 India, along with their regional TV channels in Hindi, Gujarati, Bangla, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Assamese, Punjabi, Odia and Urdu.
These skills will provide a seamless experience to users who want to stay updated with live news by using simple voice commands. Users can just say, “Alexa, Play CNN-News18”, “Alexa, Play News18 Tamil” or “Alexa, Play News18 Kannada” to listen to the latest news in the language of their choice. These new skills will be available in audio and video formats for both screen devices like Echo Show range and FTV as well as all other Echo and Alexa built-in devices.
Commenting on the development, Mitul Sangani, COO – General News, Network18 Digital said, “We, have always believed in creating content based on deep consumer insights that resonate with the audience. This is the time for us to leverage the repertoire of content and expertise we have built over the years. As the leading destination for regional language news, the onus lies on us to reach out to existing and new audiences on devices that are fast becoming the go-to medium of content consumption. Such launches expand our footprint amongst audiences and showcases that the brand is at the forefront of digital innovation. We are happy that the launch of these 16 new Alexa skills will provide a seamless experience to our audience who want to stay in touch with live news by just using their voice.”
Dilip R.S., Country Manager, Alexa Skills and Voice Services, said, “We are excited to see Network18 launch 16 new Alexa skills. Asking for information via voice is more intuitive than typing and reading through the articles. With the News18 Skills, users will be able to get 24×7 live news updates in the language of their choice. We are sure users will enjoy the convenience of using simple voice commands to ask Alexa for live news and stay updated about important and relevant news in their favourite languages.”