MUMBAI: India’s premier podcast network, IVM Podcasts’ popular show Cyrus Says will now have its own official skill on Amazon Alexa. Thisd will aid listeners of Cyrus Says to play the popular podcast on Amazon Echo or any Alexa-enabled device with voice convenience.

Hosted by Cyrus Broacha, the show talks about various elements of urban life in India like sports, politics, sports, kids, civic sense, food, traffic, kids etc. Besides, cashing into the cricket season, LANSO (Left-Arm-Not-So-Orthodox) – a topical edition of Broacha’s podcast airs every Wednesday by just saying, “Alexa, talk to me about cricket.”

Alexa app that is available on iOS and Android can also be used to access the skill. Once enabled use simple voice commands such as “Alexa, open Cyrus Says”, or“Alexa, ask Cyrus says to play the latest podcast” to start listening.

Speaking on the association, IVM founder Amit Doshi said, “Making the skill available on Amazon Alexa is very exciting since it’s a sign of larger audiences adopting podcast as a medium of consuming content. It’s a seamless way to listen your favorite podcast with an official skill and I’m certain that fans of Cyrus Says will be very pleased with this development.”

Show host, Cyrus Broacha also said, "Wow Cyrus Says is on Amazon Alexa?   Keep in mind Cyrus himself is not available. Just Cyrus Says. Ask Alexa to play me, I mean Cyrus Says."

“It is exciting to see huge interest in podcasts and that Alexa Skills are enabling this adoption. We are delighted to see IVM onboard a popular name like Cyrus Broacha with a Alexa Skill focusing on cricket and other important topics”, says  for Amazon India Alexa Skills Country Manager Dilip R.S.

While podcasts are a fairly popular medium of content consumption in the west, the Indian market is still playing catch-up. Over the last four years, IVM has been creating audio content and building a consumer base for the medium by creating engaging content and has collaborated with over 50 podcasters to garner 10 million listens so far.