Yahoo opened the gates to Internet-connected televisions this week, by unveiling partnerships with top manufacturers for an unprecedented TV experience. Following the announcement in August of the Widget Channel, a concept developed in collaboration with Intel, Yahoo went further and announced Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics and VIZIO will bring their contribution to the fusion of TV and Internet.

 

In order to do that, Yahoo announced the development of a robust Widget Development Kit (WDK) for developers, CE manufacturers, advertisers and content publishers that provides them with the necessary tools to create TV Widgets.

 

Just to give an example, in addition to Yahoo’s popular News, Weather, Video, Finance and Flickr features, Widgets will also include eBay, MySpace, CBS, The New York Times, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Showtime, USA Today, and Twitter.

 

Consumers are looking for richer TV experiences, and the Internet-enabled content will ultimately transform the TV viewing experience of millions of consumers, explained Allen Weiner, Research VP, Gartner.

 

The Widget Channel framework is based on established Internet technologies to lower the barrier of entry for developing applications optimized for TV.

According to Yahoo, we should expect products from its partners to become available as early as the spring of 2009, reaching millions of consumers.

 

“Yahoo has combined key attributes of the Internet, including openness, community, and personalization, with the power of television,” said Patrick Barry, vice president, Connected TV, Yahoo. He also added that by creating this new Internet experience, and by combining this technology with the global distribution of major consumer electronics partners, consumers will have access to relevant information and will be able to enhance their TV experience.