How many times have you been watching television, something sparks your interest and you want–no–need to find more about that topic immediately (any LOST fan knows exactly what I am talking about)? You grab your laptop and fervently search for more information on what you have just witnessed.

A common trend at this year’s CES was Internet-ready televisions and new vehicles for users to digest Web content. We’ve heard of products and applications such as Apple TV, Roku, Netflix through Xbox 360 amongst many others. This has been the existing way to absorb web content directly through your large format television. Taking this a step further, Yahoo and Intel Corp. are planning on developing television ”widgets” in order to access such Web content more easily through your existing remote, bypassing previously mentioned hardware and using the television exclusively.

“You are going to see very broad adoption of this open technology by the best brands in the TV industry — not just for specialty products but deeply penetrated in their product lines”…..Patrick Barry, VP of Connected TV @ Yahoo

We currently can access services such as YouTube and Google’s Picasa on our televisions as well as generic services like the weather. With the adoption of “Ready- Web” televisions, users will more frequently access Web content alongside their regular, habitual television programming. This opens the opportunity for advertisers to capture audiences outside the 30-second spot and could add a layer of targeting methodology that was not previously possible.