Yahoo! Connected TV to come pre-baked into Euro TVs

Yahoo and Vestel Group, the largest TV manufacturer in Europe you’ve never heard of (because much of their business is white-label), have struck a deal to ship Yahoo! Connected TV to consumers in more than 40 countries across Europe starting in Q1 2011.

The service covers movies, TV shows, social networks, videos, and other kinds of Internet content. The Vestel Group of companies, based out of Turkey, account for 16% of the LCD TV market and 25% of the digital set-top-box market in Europe, making it a leading OEM and ODM producer.

The Yahoo! Connected TV service is effectively widgets or apps on TV. The deal specifically mentions German content like sports scores on BILD mein Klub so it’s geared to an IFA watching crowd. Publishers can create widgets with the Yahoo! TV Widget Development Kit (WDK).