Yahoo! Launches TV Widgets for YouTube, Showtime, eBay

In a posting on the company's corporate blog, Friday, Yahoo!'s SVP of integrated consumer experiences, Tapan Bhat, announced the launch of a number of new widgets, including widgets designed to bring Internet content to the living-room television set through the Yahoo! Widget Engine (note: for an article on the August, 2008 launch of the Yahoo! Widget Engine and Widget Channel, see [itvt] Issue 8.06 Part 2A). According to Bhat's post, the new TV widgets--which he says are available on broadband-connected TV sets from Samsung and LG Electronics and will shortly be available on sets from Sony and Vizio--include:

• a YouTube widget that allows viewers to use their TV to search and view the video-sharing service's content library.
• a Showtime widget that allows viewers to access information on and schedules for programs offered by premium programmer, Showtime Networks, as well as interviews and other video clips.
• an eBay application (slated for availability in the near future) that allows viewers to access real-time updates, place bids and monitor their favorite items on the online auction service.