ETX Studio and Targetspot, a subsidiary of the AudioValley, announced the signing of a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening their respective positions at the heart of text to speech. The two companies are investing in the use of semantic AI to transform readers not only into listeners but also into a source of revenue for publishers.
The text-to-speech audio augmentation market is currently valued at USD $2 billion, notes a press release from Targetspot. It is likely to hit $5 billion within 5 years according to the January 2021 Markets and Markets report. The market has been boosted by growing demand for mobile devices and new ways of learning and reading, which has been greatly accelerated by the health crisis and the resulting change in lifestyles.
This global partnership between ETX Studio and Targetspot brings together advanced know-how in AI technology for text-to-speech audio augmentation and experience with monetization through advertising.
Their goal is to support publishers and help them promote their text content in a mobile context, thanks to voice synthesis.
“Content publishers, like the print media, can now easily transform their readers into listeners and thereby develop new audience territories,” the partners commented. “ETX Studio and Targetspot provide a turnkey solution to publishers that allows them to monetize these new audiences, and this solution also gives advertisers the opportunity to communicate in high-quality editorial environments.”
ETX Studio is a news agency founded in 2000 (formerly Relaxnews). Its teams consist of journalists, strategists, creative producers and digital technologists who offer full-service strategic advice, content production, editorial outsourcing and innovative technologies. The ETX Daily Up platform, launched in 2020, is the first 100% augmented audio news solution. It is available in 82 languages thanks to Microsoft’s semantic AI and is marketed in 150 countries by AFP.
“Digital audio represents a new source of growth for content publishers, including print media. Listeners are engaged on average three times longer than readers. We can now transform a reader into a more engaged listener without the need for further development,” said Alexandre Saboundjian, CEO and Founder of AudioValley.
“This strategic agreement confirms our desire for leadership in what we call the Audio Revolution,” added ETX Studio’s CEO and Founder Jérôme Doncieux. “It requires constant innovation so that publishers can profitably make the move to audio, of which podcasts are just the tip of the iceberg.”
