Newsbeat Converts Text-Based News Stories to Voice-Read Audio Stories
Rahul Kalvapalle — March 22, 2014 — Tech
References: newsbeat.me & fastcolabs
Newsbeat is an app that is trying to revolutionize the way people consume news. The app takes content from its parent company Tribune Company's newspapers and feeds into a text-to-speech software to create an on-demand news radio service tailored to each user.
Newsbeat will analyze roughly 7,000 stories each day and rank them by importance and popularity based on user feedback. The top stories will then be read and recorded by humans. The remaining stories will be fed through a high-quality text-to-speech software and be made available along the top stories.
The app works a bit like a music playlist in that you can skip 'tracks,' zoom out for a broader view of available media and jump directly to a chosen file.
Right now, news radio is still a mostly one-dimensional object. You tune in, listen for however long you have, and then tune out. The listener gets very little say in the editorial process, but Newsbeat’s underlying technology may change that.
Newsbeat will analyze roughly 7,000 stories each day and rank them by importance and popularity based on user feedback. The top stories will then be read and recorded by humans. The remaining stories will be fed through a high-quality text-to-speech software and be made available along the top stories.
The app works a bit like a music playlist in that you can skip 'tracks,' zoom out for a broader view of available media and jump directly to a chosen file.
Right now, news radio is still a mostly one-dimensional object. You tune in, listen for however long you have, and then tune out. The listener gets very little say in the editorial process, but Newsbeat’s underlying technology may change that.
Trend Themes
1. Voice-read News - Opportunity for voice-driven news platforms that convert text-based news content into audio stories for personalized consumption.
2. Text-to-speech Software - Disruptive innovation opportunity in developing high-quality text-to-speech software for news applications.
3. Personalized News Radio - Potential to create on-demand news radio services tailored to individual listener preferences.
Industry Implications
1. News Media - Application of voice-read news technology in the news media industry to offer personalized news experiences.
2. Software Development - Opportunity for software developers to create advanced text-to-speech solutions for news apps.
3. Mobile Apps - Disruptive potential for news apps to deliver customized radio news experiences on mobile devices.
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