This Dutch startup’s latest feature turns your news sites into radio stations

In a bid to celebrate World Radio Day, the Dutch tech startup XS2RADIO has introduced a new platform today, enabling publishers of news, special interest-and industry sites to start their radio station.

With this move, the Hilversum-based startup aims to shake up the traditional radio system. Founded by media and marketing entrepreneurs Richard Otto and Sebastian Plasschaert, this platform enables publishers to set up their radio stations using their existing content to reach out to their audience whenever they want at a meager amount.

Converts text to spoken radio items automatically!

As per the company claims, this end-to-end platform allows content producers to start new media channels to reach a targeted audience through their site traffic and to set up new business models. Interestingly, the written text is automatically converted into spoken radio items of high quality in nearly real-time, without any human involvement.

Radio tech + AI + Machine learning!

It uses a combination of high-end radio technology, AI, and machine learning. This advanced platform that turns RSS-newsfeeds into radio stations, by combining high-quality human text2speech, radio-style audio design. There is an extra option of adding other audio content like jingles, music, and commercials as well. According to the company, user data are stored safely in the XS2RADIO platform.

Available in 30 languages!

Based on user data, XS2RADIO will be able to offer content of ultimate relevance to the audience: customised news, weather forecasts, and others that are fully targeted to current topics or the personal interest of users. Available in over 30 languages, the XS2RADIO-tool can be used worldwide. The Dutch radio icon and media entrepreneur Erik de Zwart is also involved in this new project.

Richard Otto:

XS2RADIO will break the existing, petrified radio world wide open. Currently, there are only two radio news stations in the Netherlands. Our technology offers news sites the opportunity to reach radio audiences at any time, even when driving or cycling. Publishers can use their site traffic to service their target group of listeners or, of course, to reach entirely new audiences.

Sebastian Plasschaert:

Publishers’ audio content will become available to traveling listeners via platforms like Android Auto and Apple Car. With XS2RADIO, you can reach your customers by just making use of your existing content. You can skip radio items and –in the future- search through them with the specially designed XS2RADIO-player. The XS2RADIO-player reacts to voice commands (Alexa / Google Assistant / Siri), so mobile audiences keep total control over their news consumption, even in dense traffic.

Also, the XS2RADIO is negotiating with several publishers the implementation of radio on their platforms.

Main image credits: XS2RADIO

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