Google climbs on board.

The Australian commercial radio industry has partnered with Google to make it easy for listeners to find live streams of local stations on Google Nest devices. It means Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) and Google will make more than 300 Australian AM, FM and DAB+ digital radio stations easily accessible on Google Nest devices, including Nest Home, Nest Mini, Nest Max and Nest Hub Max via voice command.

The agreement includes joint marketing activities to promote easy reliable access to local radio on Google Nest devices.  Infinite Dial Australia 2019 research found that 2.7 million Australians own a smart speaker.

“Google Australia has shown an openness and willingness to work closely with us as an industry to ensure consumers have the best radio experience with their voice assisted devices,” CRA CEO Joan Warner said.

According to Google Australia managing director, Mel Silva, this new arrangement will make it easier for people to “tune in, discover and follow their favourite Aussie stations with a simple voice command.”