In the latest in the very ongoing quest to bring interactive TV to life, Yahoo and Comcast just announced that they are partnering with Intel to deliver widgets for digital TV.  Interactive TV a reality?  After so many promises, can it really happen?
Are Yahoo, Intel and Comcast the ones to make it happen?

The announcement seemed to hinge on technology that isn’t currently in people’s homes.  (I could be misreading this though.) What is already in people’s homes?  Tivo.  Apple TV.  Well, at least in a few people’s homes.  And PCs.  Mobile phones.

Many people already have ‘interactive TV.’  They watch TV with their laptops open. They watch with their internet-enabled phones close at hand.  (Yes, I hit up IMDB on my phone at least once a night.) They watch with the game system on. Mostly young people, but I hear it’s all the rage.  Now it’s not the seamless experience this announcement is hinting at, but it puts the ‘interactive’ part where people are already interacting.

They’re also starting to watch TV programming on network sites or online TV like Hulu.   Seems like that might be a reasonable test bed for some interactive programming.  

Apple TV? Not a breakout hit, but if anyone is going to put the sexy in interactive TV, Apple is certainly a contender.

If Yahoo is in this to provide their widget platform to the mix, will they be rolling out widgets that interact with existing online programming first?  This does seem to be a good time to get people inspired with the possibilities.

And at the end of the day, do people want interactive TV or just a better designed program guide that gets them to something they can watch as they sink into their couch, leaving the interactivity-filled days behind?  

Maybe Apple, Hulu, Tivo, Yahoo and the like will all start to duke it out, and we’ll actually start to see some interactivity in television that’s more compelling that texting your vote to American Idol.

David Lewis