Tech 19 - RAIN News

1

Scripps reshapes for the 21st century: cutbacks coming; radio laid off too

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Brad Hill

The venerable E.W. Scripps Company, a multimedia national player in newspapers, radio, television, and digital media, has announced a tectonic and identity-changing restructure plan. As with many corporate reinventions, headcount will be reduced over 12-18 months, costs will be lowered, technology will be centralized, resources will be optimized across divisions. And radio will be ditched entirely. Continue Reading →

Apple HomePod: finally on the way. Can it succeed?

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Brad Hill

Announced in June, projected to launch in December, launch delayed in November — Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is now on the calendar to hit the market on February 9, with pre-orders starting this Friday. Questions loom. Continue Reading →

Apple HomePod yet to exist, but Siri’s in the voice game with news on command

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Brad Hill

When Apple announced that it was delaying launch of its HomePod — specced out as a premium smart speaker with superior audio — it seemed like a clear fail to us. But Siri has started playing in the voice-control field, even without a speaker device. Continue Reading →

Media Rating Council issues digital audio measurement standards

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Brad Hill

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has published its Final Version 1.0 of its Digital Audio Measurement Standards. The MRC is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to evolve valid and reliable criteria for audience measurement, and its accreditation is a valuable stamp of approval. Continue Reading →

Instreamatic brings voice-activated ads to SXSW

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Brad Hill

Ad-tech company Instreamatic has won a spot in the Accelerator Pitch Event (Entertainment category) at South by Southwest in March. Instreamatic will present its interactive, conversation audio commercials to a live audience and judging panel on March 10-11 in Austin. Continue Reading →

Futuri Media signs Alpha Media to technology suite

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Brad Hill

Media software company Futuri is announcing today that broadcaster Alpha Media will use Futuri’s suite of audience engagements products. They include POST, TopicPulse, and Alexa Skills. Continue Reading →

Rogers Media deepens commitment to programmatic, AdsWizz partners

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Brad Hill

Diversified Canadian media company Rogers announced its commitment to programmatic audio advertising, and has selected AdsWizz to provide technology for ad insertion, ad serving, and yield optimization. Continue Reading →

Google smart displays add video to voice-controlled speakers

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Anna Washenko

Google has been using this week’s CES show in Las Vegas to continue making inroads into the voice control space. The company announced the launch of four new smart displays, which are touchscreen devices enabled with Google Assistant. The product segment is currently being positioned for use in the kitchen. Continue Reading →

16% of Americans own a smart speaker: post-holiday results of groundbreaking NPR/Edison research

Posted on January 10, 2018 by Brad Hill

NPR has updated its Smart Audio Report with a post-holiday survey conducted by Edison Research. The headline result is that 16% of American adults (about 39-million people) now own a smart speaker. Smart speaker adoption is growing at the pace of smartphones several years ago. AM/FM radio listening is being replaced at a greater rate than any other activity. Continue Reading →

Amazon Alexa will arrive on Windows 10 PCs this year

Posted on January 8, 2018 by Anna Washenko

The Amazon Alexa voice control platform will be getting integrations with Windows 10 PCs from multiple manufacturers. HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer all said they will have Alexa support in some of their laptops and desktops being released this year. The companion app for using Alexa on those machines is slated for release in the spring of 2018. Continue Reading →

Roku to debut its own voice assistant, connect with more smart speakers

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Anna Washenko

Roku is elbowing its way into the voice and smart speaker space. The company, best known for its streaming video set-top boxes, announced that it plans to launch its own voice assistant this year. Also, Roku said it is expanding its licensing program to include soundbar and smart speaker manufacturers. Continue Reading →

LG announces first smart speaker, featuring Google Assistant

Posted on December 28, 2017 by Anna Washenko

LG has released a new smart speaker with Google Assistant integration. The LG ThinQ is LG’s first in the premium smart speaker niche. It uses Meridian Audio technology and offers high resolution audio for services that support lossless listening. Continue Reading →