Reuters launches a dedicated audio and voice service enabling customers to expand and engage their audiences

LONDON, June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Reuters, the world's largest multimedia news provider, today launched a market-leading service designed specifically for the audio and voice sector.

Two new products – Reuters Audio and Reuters Ready Audio – give customers access to a global collection of rights-cleared real-time and archive audio clips, as well as ready-to-publish audio stories:

• With nearly half a million archive clips dating back to the early 1900s available, Reuters Audio customers have access to more than a century's worth of news coverage at their fingertips, to add depth and dimension to their audio production.
• Reuters Ready Audio provides a curated daily package of global news stories, voiced by Reuters journalists around the world in a ready-to-publish offering.

Both are available from today via a new user experience on Reuters Connect, the most comprehensive digital platform powering the news ecosystem.

The development comes as the audio market continues to grow, with consumers listening more than ever, driving up demand for high-quality audio content.

Recent research from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University* found:

• Nearly 20% of the most popular podcasts were categorised as news
• There has been a 32% rise in the number of news podcasts in 2019
• 54% of US and 41% UK adults 18-25 listened to a podcast monthly and 62% use their smart speakers for news

Reuters Audio and Reuters Ready Audio give customers the opportunity to enhance their existing audio productions and to instantly create brand-new audio experiences. 

Nick Cohen, Global Head of Product, Core News Services, Reuters, said: "As demand for audio content continues to grow, podcasters, radio producers and platforms need an easy-to-access destination for high-quality material. With this new audio experience and a Reuters archive that goes back over a century, producers and publishers can now get instant access to hundreds of thousands of clips, whether they are looking for historic moments or the latest breaking news of the day."

(*source: Reuters Institute 2019)

Notes to Editors

About Reuters:

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider. Founded in 1851, it is committed to the Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias. With unmatched coverage in over 16 languages, and reaching billions of people worldwide every day, Reuters provides trusted intelligence that powers humans and machines to make smart decisions. It supplies business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Reuters: The Real World in Real Time.

About Reuters Connect:

Combined with the output from Reuters world-class newsroom of around 2,500 journalists in 200 locations, Reuters Connect now offers more than 26 million news stories, videos, audio and pictures from 70+ partners in one place. It provides a full range of content - from breaking news to raw video and viral UGC - to clients including broadcasters, publishers, corporations and governments, who can choose from the content through Reuters Points.

Media Contact:

Joel Ivory-Harte
PR Manager, Europe, Middle East & Africa
Reuters
[email protected] 
Tel: + 44 7967 293452

SOURCE Reuters