Smart Speakers like Google Home are about to get some interactive content with the BBC announcing they will begin producing interactive stories based on traditional audio dramas.
Long known for their radio plays, the BBC is a leading producer of original audio content such as Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and many more. The transition to producing interactive stories is a natural one, with the first story to be given the treatment listed as a comedy/science genre story called The Inspection Chamber.
The story will be produced in a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ style format with chunks of audio played before the listener is given a choice such as ‘would you like to go down the stairs or through the door?’ of what to do next.
The major component from the announcement is their new story engine will allow the same content to be used on multiple competing smart speaker platforms, with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home the first to be supported. The BBC says it will also soon be able to work on other platforms such as Microsoft & Harman/Kardon’s Cortana powered Invoke speaker, or Apple’s HomePod.
Content is a much needed driver of smart speaker adoption, with Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple all competing in this space now. The cross platform content is very welcome, but we’ll see if it becomes sewn up in an exclusive before soon.
