Has consumer interest for online TV programming really moved beyond the early adopter phase?
Shafer: We think so. Based on a comScore survey, more than 70 million TV viewers now go online while watching TV. Based on a 2009 Consumer Electronics Association survey, 14.5 million consumers are thinking of buying a Net-enabled TV in the next 12 months. Parks and Associates predicts that 90% of HDTVs sold in the United States will be Internet ready by the end of 2010. HM: Is the Widget Engine included in cable set-top boxes and Blu-ray players or is each widget designed for a proprietary client? Shafer: The Yahoo Widget Engine is embedded in TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio. That has been our focus. Through our partnership with Intel, Toshiba has announced their plans to bring to market a DVD player with the Yahoo Widget Engine. Intel demonstrated the Yahoo Widget Engine on Blu-ray players and set-top boxes at the Consumer Electronic show in January. HM: What are third-party content holders trying to accomplish with a Yahoo Widget? Shafer: Based on Q4 2008 Nielsen statistics, th
