With the Yahoo! Widget Engine already available in millions of living rooms globally, today we’re announcing an expanded partnership with Sony, bringing TV Widgets to Sony BRAVIA LCD TVs in more than 100 countries – increasing the number of markets where Yahoo! TV Widgets are available by nearly seven-fold.

In our earliest days of bringing the Yahoo! Widget Engine to TV, we knew that we had a compelling product to address a rapidly growing market of more than 70 million consumers that interact with Internet content while watching TV.  Addressing this consumer need also creates an economic opportunity for TV manufacturers, publishers, advertisers, and our more than 7,000 registered developers.

Launched in January 2009, we have distribution partnerships with five of the top 10 TV manufacturers around the world, including Sony, Samsung, LG, VIZIO and HiSense.  As we look to increase distribution and reach the broadest audience possible, we have partnered with silicon and integration partners including MIPS Technologies and Sigma Designs as well as new OEM partners like ViewSonic – enabling consumers to get the Yahoo! Widget Engine on set-top boxes, media players, Blu-Ray players, DVDs, DVRs and other devices that connect directly to the TV.

As we work to deliver innovative and compelling experiences to consumers, global partnerships, like this one with Sony, drive the industry forward and enable developers to achieve scale and reach engaged audiences on an entirely new level.

Here is a demo of Sony’s experience and more on the news with Roger Urrabazo, a product lead for Yahoo! Connected TV.

If you haven’t visited the new Connected TV blog – check it out today.