Yahoo! to bring web widgets, video to Samsung HDTVs

Samsung Electronics and Yahoo! announced a new web-based service that will bring the Yahoo Widget application platform to Samsung HDTVs as early as spring 2009. It was the third announcement of a whirlwind day for over-the-top video delivery, as LG and Netflix, and Adobe and Intel announced separate plans to bring online video content and films on demand to the living room.

The Yahoo! Widgets are Javascript and XML applications that will enhance the TV viewing experience by incorporating social media, IM, and content-specific extras into the traditional lean-back consumption model. Samsung will demo the new HDTVs at its booth at CES in Las Vegas this week. The service will be available with a broadband Ethernet connection or through a WiFi dongle, according to Samsung.

The release said the Widgets will include a Flickr app, Yahoo! News content, YouTube online videos and third-party content from partners like USA Today and eBay, and that the offering will eventually have streaming video capabilities as well. Developers can craft original TV Widgets through an open platform called the Widget Development Kit.  The TVs will be available initially in the following 13 countries: U.S, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. 

For more:
- see the joint release here 

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