So Media Group adds new audio playback feature to make its content more accessible

Australian new media platform, So Media Group, has launched an innovative new listening experience for its readers that features audio playback and narration of its articles, increasing the accessibility of its content. 

So Media Group (SMG) is the parent company of national travel publication, So Where Next, news and lifestyle publication, So Perth, and entertainment publication, So Binge. The AI-driven functionality has been launched across all of SMG’s media platforms with the audio option offered directly beneath the main title of each article. Readers can simply hit the play button to listen to a unique and natural voice narrate the text of the article. The reader can also control the playback speed of the audio and skip back and forward as required. 

Jason Balchand, COO of SMG said “Adding functionality to our platforms that makes our content more accessible to the vision-impaired and consumers who have a preference of audio content was an easy decision for us to make. Early signs show strong usage across all three platforms with the engagement rates so far much higher than we had predicted.” 

In addition to offering a new, more convenient option for its readers, the audio player offers SMG a new revenue stream through advertising opportunities throughout the player experience, from branding on the player interface to pre- and post-roll audio advertising. 

Adam Barrell, co-founder of SMG, added “Providing our clients with new ways of engaging with our audience, without negatively impacting the user experience, will be good for everyone. This is also just the beginning of our focus on audio, with a number of podcasts due to begin episode release in the coming weeks.”

This new audio feature also facilitates the distribution of SMG’s content through popular streaming audio platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. This, combined with the podcasts due for release, will open SMG’s platforms up to new opportunities for audience and engagement growth in 2022. 

Across SMG’s three media platforms, it has topped 2 million monthly page views with its combined social media audience currently over 700,000 followers.