Westwood One, Google Partner For NCAA March Madness

CUMULUS MEDIA’s Westwood One, America’s largest audio network, and Google will collaborate once again to integrate Westwood One’s exclusive live NCAA March Madness programming directly on smart devices with the Google Assistant. Beginning on Selection Sunday, March 15th, consumers will be able to hear Westwood One’s live coverage of NCAA March Madness on Google Assistant-powered smart speakers and Smart Displays, like Nest Mini and Nest Hub. Westwood One is the NCAA’s Official Network Radio partner.

The Google Assistant puts the fans first with a simple voice command that will take them directly to Westwood One’s live audio stream of the games. Users can be part of the upsets and buzzer-beaters just by saying, “Hey Google, play NCAA March Madness on Westwood One.” 

With users spending more time than ever listening to AM/FM radio streams on smart speakers (24% in 2019, up from 18% in 2018, according to Edison Research), Westwood One and Google continue their successful collaboration integrating premium live content into Google’s digital assistant, offering fans more convenience for listening to the live NCAA March Madness coverage.

“Westwood One continues to innovate on our voice platform, with the largest network of custom voice apps, voice landing pages for brands, and a new slate of voice programming in 2020,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP, Marketing for CUMULUS MEDIA and President, Westwood One. “Collaborating with our partners at Google to highlight our NCAA March Madness coverage elevates our voice platform and speaks to our strategy of continuous innovation, all while serving the fan with premium content whenever and however they listen.”

CUMULUS MEDIA and Google will promote the integration across multiple owned and operated properties for the duration of NCAA March Madness through the Final Four® games. For more info visit assistant.google.com.