Amazon’s Echo Show will apparently also work like a little TV, not just a visual interface for Alexa and her many apps. When the newly announced 10-inch HD screen Echo Show begins shipping next month, it will offer support for Hulu – the first live streaming TV service to work on the screen-based Alexa device. Users will be able to tune into Hulu with Live TV using just their voice, by saying things like “Alexa, play…” followed by the name of TV show, movie or channel.
Amazon also tells us that the streaming won’t be limited to only the new Echo Show devices – the first gen Echo Show will support live streaming, too.
Company execs at Amazon said at an event last week that one of the primary use cases for Echo Show was in the kitchen – and the new device takes particular advantage of that, by offering step-by-step cooking instructions from apps like Kitchen Stories, Allrecipes, Epicurious, Food52, TheKitchn and SideChef.
But there are many other times you’re working in the kitchen, but not following a specific recipe, when you’d rather just have the TV on to keep you entertained instead. That’s where Hulu’s live streaming service comes in. You could have the news on, or a game, or whatever else you want to watch while you prep your meal.
Hulu was one of two TV apps announced for Echo Show, the other being NBC. But Hulu is the only one for now that supports live streamed TV.
As to why Hulu would bother building for what is still a fairly niche Echo device – after all, the top seller is the entry-level Dot, not the Show by any means – the company says it’s about engagement.
Since launching a voice app on Fire TV last November, Hulu says that those who use Alexa watch double the number of hours of content, compared with those who use remotes.
Separately from its live-streaming plans for Echo Show, Hulu also announced a redesigned web version last week. The updated site now supports multiple windows, picture-in-picture mode while browsing, and support for Chromecast.
Source: TechCrunch
