Yahoo’s TV Widget Store Delayed for Consumers

An online store for lightweight “widget” applications built for the Yahoo Connected TV platform will not open to consumers this month, as originally planned.

However, the project is very much in progress and Yahoo plans to distribute an updated version of the Connected TV platform, including software for the Connected TV Store, to select OEM partners by the end of March, a spokeswoman said via e-mail.

“After OEM partner certification is achieved, the Connected TV Store will be pushed out to existing TVs in consumers’ homes,” she said. It’s not clear at this point when the store will be open for consumers.

In November of last year, Yahoo announced that it would expand the Connected TV program by letting developers build fee-based widgets for television sets that use the Yahoo application platform.

At the time, Yahoo said that developers would be able to sell the applications, to be priced between $0.99 and $99, through the Yahoo Connected TV Store whose launch was slated for this month.

Developers interested in creating widget applications for the platform can download the development kit and review the program’s details at its developer site.

“Yahoo has built one of the largest global Internet-connected TV platforms, bringing the best of the Web to the TVs of millions of consumers across 135 countries,” the spokeswoman said.

Participating TV manufacturers include Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio and Toshiba, while developers include game companies Accedo Broadband and PlayJam, weather information provider MyCast Weather and MediaFly, with its video upload and sharing widget Kadoo.