Case Study: Nonprofit Faith-based Media Organization delivers podcasts to Amazon Alexa and expands audience with Acquia DAM

Delivering Podcasts to Amazon Alexa From the Widen Collective

Widen helped a nonprofit, faith‑based media organization meet the growing opportunity of voice‑assistant distribution by delivering podcasts and news briefings directly to Amazon Alexa. The challenge was technical: Alexa requires specific file formats and metadata, and the client wanted a branded, user‑friendly experience that reached younger listeners who increasingly use voice assistants.

Widen’s team built two Alexa skills—a daily 20–30 minute podcast player and a 90‑second flash briefing—linked via an API to the Widen Collective DAM so Alexa could pull the correct audio by URL. They standardized six metadata fields, added playback controls, and followed a create‑once, publish‑everywhere approach that makes future expansion to Google Home simple. The result: a branded, multi‑channel distribution pipeline that delivers audio to new audiences, centralizes asset management, and provides basic listener metrics (unique listeners, devices, and plays).