How to Get Your Radio Station on Alexa in 2026 (Custom Skill Guide)

There's a moment that turns a casual listener into a regular: they walk into the kitchen, say four words, and your station starts playing. No phone, no app, no typing. "Alexa, play [your station]" — and you're on.

Smart speakers are a natural way to listen to live radio at home. If your station isn't available on Alexa, listeners who ask for you by name get nothing, or something else. This guide explains what an Alexa skill is, what Amazon requires, and the easiest way to get your station onto Amazon's smart speakers.

Why a smart-speaker presence matters

Voice is a hands-free way to listen — and that's exactly how people enjoy live radio at home.

• Listeners ask for you by name. Alexa plays you, which reinforces your station's name every time.
• Always-on listening. Kitchens, bedrooms, offices — smart speakers sit where people spend hours, often with audio running.
• No competition for screen space. Unlike an app fighting for a home-screen slot, your skill just needs your station's name.
• Credibility. Being on Alexa signals a professional, established station.

What a radio station Alexa skill includes

An Alexa skill is the voice equivalent of an app: it teaches Alexa how to find and play your station. A well-built one should provide:

• A clear invocation name — the words listeners say after "Alexa, play…".
• Live stream integration that starts your broadcast and plays cleanly.
• Now-playing information, so listeners can ask what's on.
• Proper skill branding — icons, a polished name, and a description that helps listeners find you in the Alexa Skills store.
• Successful passage through Amazon's certification so the skill is publicly available.

What Amazon requires

A few rules decide whether a radio skill can work at all. Check these before you start:

• An HTTPS stream. Must the audio come from an internet-accessible HTTPS endpoint on port 443 with a trusted certificate? Amazon's answer: Yes^[1]. Self-signed certificates and plain-HTTP streams are not accepted. If your stream URL starts with http:// or uses a port like 8000, ask your host for an HTTPS address, and check it with our stream tester.
• A supported format. Amazon lists: AAC/MP4, MP3, PLS, M3U/M3U8, HLS^[2].
• An invocation name that follows Amazon's rules. In English: No one-word names (unless proven brand); no launch phrases/connecting words; no 'Alexa','Amazon','Echo','skill','app'; lower-case letters, spaces, possessive apostrophes; numbers spelled out; can't change after publication^[3]. Amazon decides whether a name is accepted, so have a second choice ready (adding your town or "FM" often helps).
• A supported language. A skill is built for specific languages and locales: Arabic (SA), Dutch (NL), English (AU, CA, IN, UK, US), French (CA, FR), German (DE), Hindi (IN), Italian (IT), Japanese (JP), Portuguese (BR), Spanish (ES, MX, US)^[4]. You choose where it is distributed, and should only pick countries where you have the rights to broadcast.

Build it yourself vs. done-for-you

Creating and certifying an Alexa skill involves Amazon's developer console, stream configuration, an interaction model, a store listing and a certification review with specific requirements. It's very doable, but it's fiddly, and small mistakes lead to rejected submissions.

If you'd rather spend that time on programming and promotion, a done-for-you service makes sense: you provide your stream and branding, and a specialist builds, tests, and prepares the submission for you.

Get a custom Alexa skill built for $99

We build custom Alexa skills for radio stations. The pricing is straightforward: $99 (+ tax) as a one-time fee for your station's skill.

Here's exactly what's included:

• A custom Alexa skill so listeners can say "Alexa, play [your station]"
• Live stream integration that launches your broadcast on command, with "what's playing" answers from your now-playing data
• Invocation name setup within Amazon's rules, with alternatives ready if Amazon refuses the first choice
• Skill branding — icons, name, and a store description written so listeners can find you
• Build, testing, and preparation of the certification submission
• A one-time build fee with no recurring RadioSiteMaker charge for the skill

Whose account it lives in: the skill is published from your station's own Amazon developer account, so it stays yours. Registration is free ($0^[5]), and the skill uses Amazon's Alexa-hosted option, so there are no servers to run. Amazon reviews the skill for certification, decides the timing, and can ask for changes before it goes public; we handle the fixes.

Want your station on Alexa? See Alexa skills for radio stations for what we need from you and to send a request.

How the process works

1. Send a request from the Alexa skill page with your station name and HTTPS stream URL.
2. Create a free Amazon developer account in your station's name, and choose your invocation name (plus a backup).
3. Send your branding — logo and brand colors for the skill icons and listing.
4. We build and test the skill in your account and prepare it for Amazon's certification.
5. Amazon reviews it. Once certified, listeners in the countries you selected can enable it and say "Alexa, play [your station]".

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a radio station Alexa skill cost?

It's $99 (+ tax) as a one-time fee for building your station's skill. There's no recurring RadioSiteMaker charge for the skill. Registering an Amazon developer account costs $0.

Do I need an Amazon developer account or coding skills?

You need a free Amazon developer account in your station's name, because that's where the skill is published and it should belong to you. You don't need coding skills: we build, test and prepare the skill for Amazon's certification.

How will listeners use it?

Once your skill is certified and live, listeners in the countries where you published it can say "Alexa, play [your station]" and your live stream starts. They can also find and enable your skill in the Alexa app.

Will it work on all Alexa devices?

It works on Alexa devices that can play streamed audio, such as Echo speakers, in the languages and countries the skill is published for. Amazon controls certification and how phrases are recognised, so we can't guarantee that every phrase works the same on every device or in every market.

What if my stream isn't HTTPS?

Amazon only plays audio from HTTPS URLs on port 443 with a trusted certificate. Ask your stream host for an HTTPS stream address before you start; most hosts provide one.

Can you also build me a mobile app?

Yes. An Alexa skill pairs well with a branded mobile app. See our guide on getting a radio station mobile app for what's included and the per-platform pricing.

How long does it take?

The build itself is quick; the main variable is Amazon's certification review, which Amazon schedules. We prepare the skill to meet their requirements, and if Amazon asks for changes we make them and resubmit.