Advanced Television

netgem.tv integrates Amazon Alexa Video Skill APIs

June 24, 2019

By Colin Mann

Internet TV streaming service netgem.tv has integrated Amazon Alexa Video Skill APIs into its TV boxes, which it says simplifies the viewer experience by making content searchable and controllable by voice.

The implementation also removes the need for users to ask for the netgem.tv skill for Alexa by name, meaning you no longer need to ask: ‘Alexa, open netgem.tv, go to BBC One’. Instead you can just command: ‘Alexa, go to BBC One’.

Alongside faster channel navigation, the netgem.tv skill for Alexa provides users with a ‘search and play’ function for enhanced content discovery: for example ‘Alexa, search Killing Eve’ will return all the seasons and episodes. With any Alexa-enabled device, viewers can use the new skill to switch between apps, live TV content, catch-up players from Freeview Play and even use remote controls such as: play, pause live TV, rewind, fast-forward, guide and navigate.

These capabilities mean users no longer need to search for the lost remote control; simply by saying: ‘Alexa, go to ITV2’ or ‘Alexa, Play Love Island’; they could be watching their favourite show as soon as they walk in the door. This feature delivers a more personalised and engaged experience to the netgem.tv service by enabling users to interact with their Alexa-enabled devices.

“Voice Control is rapidly becoming an integral part of how users interact with their devices,” noted Sylvain Thevenot, Managing Director of netgem.tv. “The Video Skill APIs represents the latest innovation to enable viewers to better engage with their TV content in an easier, faster and more efficient way. Endless searching and clicking is now kept to a minimum with fast voice control, and losing a remote control is now not an issue in any household.”

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