Yahoo! and the Vestel Group announced that they will roll out Yahoo! Connected TV to consumers in more than 40 countries across Europe starting in Q1 2011. The connected TV devices will be sold under the Vestel brand name as well as under partner OEM brands.
With Yahoo! Connected TV, consumers can launch TV widgets or apps with a click of a button, which will give them direct access to thousands of entertainment sources, movies, TV shows, videos, and other kinds of Internet content on demand. They can stream the latest movies on Coolroom; get local and global updates from Sky News (from the UK) and Bild News (from Germany); browse the latest sports scores on Bild mein Klub; listen to music on Putpat; shop on eBay; play games on PlayJam; and keep up with their friends on Twitter and Facebook — all while watching TV.
“As a leader in the consumer electronics space, Vestel is committed to delivering the highest quality entertainment experiences across devices to our consumers. Yahoo! has a proven track record of enabling a powerful developer community and delivering the best internet TV experiences to millions of users around the world,” said Turan Erdogan, board member and president of sales, marketing and R&D, Vestel Group, in a statement. “Through this partnership, we provide customers with a high-quality, easy to use, well-known platform for delivering internet apps directly to our connected products.”
“Yahoo! is transforming the television experience for millions of consumers around the world. Vestel’s innovative consumer electronics products combined with Yahoo!’s industry-leading connected TV platform allow consumers to experience the Internet and television together in ways they never have before,” said Rich Riley, senior VP and MD, Yahoo! EMEA. “This is the future of television.”
