Popular broadcasters are making major changes to their radio shows.
According to Barrett Media, Saga Communications plans to replace the station's imaging narration talent with voices generated by third-party services AI.
Saga Communications CEO Chris Forgy confirmed the news with the outlet and noted that the transition actually helps the company retain multiple employees in the process.
“When we started this process, we said we wanted to be cautious and control the costs. And where else can we go? It was one of the places we could go. We could generate by doing this other station imaging – using AI saved 10 people who wanted to get a job where he said they would otherwise lose their job.”
The changes will be implemented across all 113 AM and FM radio stations owned by Saga Communications nationwide. Some of these stations are located in Central New York, including:
- 607 News Now
- Alt 95.9
- Z95.5
- Rewind 107.7
- WHCU 870 AM
- I-100
- 1470 AM/94.1 FM Pure Oldies
- Q Country 103.7
- 96.7
- 96.3 buzzer
- Lite Rock 97.3
Forgy also noted that Saga Communications plans to use AI replica voices only for station imaging, and there are no plans to replace on-air talent with AI. For context, the radio imaging narration artist creates audio elements that identify and brand stations. Their work includes the promotion of shows and segments, creating jingles, intros, outros and other audio components.
“As long as I'm the CEO and CEO, I've said AI will never replace our on-air personality, period,” he said.
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