Amazon Alexa
Amazon speakers: Dot, Echo, Tap, Echo Show, Echo Spot, Echo Plus, Echo Mini
Alexa is integrated into other manufacturers speakers: Sonos, Bose, Pioneer, Onkyo, iHome, iLuv, Lenovo and more
Alexa commands for iHeartRadio Stations:
- Alexa, play Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ on iHeartRadio
- Alexa, Wake me up to Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ every day at 7am.
- Alexa, Set my alarm to PLAY Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ every day at 7am.
OTHER NOTES:
- For voice commands, sometimes adding the tag “…on iHeartRadio” will help.
Q: Alexa doesn’t recognize my preferred station name but Google Home does? A: Google uses Google.com to power their content search. They take your voice request, search Google.com for the best search result to play and find your station with remarkable accuracy. Amazon does not have a search engine like Google. Amazon is playing catch up to figure out the best results to play when a user asks for something. We are working with them daily to try to refine their recognition and search results. That’s why your feedback when things aren’t working is so vital.
Q: Why doesn’t Alexa recognize the “point in my name”? A: Alexa doesn’t speak “radio” fluently, so when Alexa hears 94.5, the voice to text conversion results in 94 point 5. No station with that name comes back in search. These nuances in radio naming are what we are working with Amazon to resolve daily. Again, we need your help in identifying when Alexa or Google don’t recognize your preferred/primary name.
But what about enabling skills? A: I’m sure you’ve seen reports in the trades about broadcasters needing to enable skills to get their stations to work and the need for special wake phrases or utterances to make them work. A skill is a way that other radio companies have to develop so they can be accessed through Alexa. iHeartRadio does not, we are natively integrated as a first party partner. This means we are the only radio company that can get the word “PLAY” to work out of the box. It is the difference between being an app that has to be installed or being a preload. We are the preload – big advantage!
GOOGLE ASSISTANT
Google speakers: Google Home, Google Home Mini, Google Home Max
Google Assistant is integrated into other manufacturers speakers: Sony, Onkyo, LG, JBL, Panasonic, Mobvi, Anker and more
Google Assistant commands:
- “Ok Google, play Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ
- “Ok Google set my alarm to PLAY Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ every day at 7am”
- “Ok Google, set my alarm weekdays at 7am, to PLAY Ninety-Four-Point-Five The BUZZ”
OTHER NOTES:
- For voice commands, sometimes adding the tag “…on iHeartRadio” will help.