BBC Sounds Users Can Pause Alexa Across Any Device

on August 7, 2019 at 7:00 am

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BBC listeners can now sync have a seamless listening experience across all of their devices by adding a pausing feature to BBC Sounds. For example, users who link their BBC Sounds account with Alexa can pause content on their Echo before heading out the door and resume where they left off on their smartphone with the BBC Sounds app. The feature also works on the BBC website.

Alexa launched in the U.K. in 2016, two years after the U.S. debut, and the BBC Alexa skill followed in late 2017. Currently every BBC radio station and all podcasts are accessible through Alexa. The ability to listen to BBC through smart speakers has been a successful experience for the media outlet so far. BBC claims that users have listened to over 265 million live and on-demand streams via smart speakers and can only increase as BBC continues to improve the overall user experience. “We are continually inspired by feedback from audience members, and have been busy improving features and functionality on the skill since launch,” said BBC Voice and IA Product Manager, Kate Goddard.

Award Winning Voice Applications by BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been a respected international broadcasting organization since the 1920s. In recent years they’ve received attention for their advanced digital presence, including their voice assistant applications.

Last month at the 2019 Voice Summit, BBC took home the Best Educational Experience award for their BBC Kids U.K. Alexa Skill by BBC Voice + AI. This recognition comes just months after BBC won two awards at the 2019 Webby Awards. The Webby Awards hands out two awards in each category: the winner as chosen by a panel of judges, and the ‘People’s Voice’ winner as voted online by the general public. BBC Kids was deemed Best User Experience by the judges, and BBC Good Food won the judges award in the Food & Drink category for the U.K. Alexa Skill and Google Action.

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