Let's Go Blues

Intel, Yahoo to Offer Software for Web Access on TV (Update2)

By Ian King

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. are creating software to give televisions the ability to display the Web without interfering with the programming, allowing a viewer to check the bio of an actor in the movie on the screen.

TV watchers can access a news story, sports score or weather forecast from the Web by clicking an on-screen icon with the remote control, Intel Senior Vice President Eric Kim said today at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco. The software will be given for free to TV-service providers.

A drop in the price of computer-processors brought on by increasing competition has sent Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, seeking growth with consumer-electronics devices. For Yahoo, owner of the second most-used Internet search engine, offering content on TV may yield more viewers for its Web ads.

``Consumers are ready for more,'' said Kim. Internet traffic increased during the Super Bowl, one example of TV watchers wanting simultaneous access to more information, he said.

Televisions will need a device for the set-top box that enables them to pull up content from the Web, Kim said. Intel will sell chips for such devices, which will be available next year. Later, the capability will be built into set-top boxes and televisions directly, he said.

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable-TV service provider, said it will begin test services in the first half.

Two Shows, No Waiting

The Intel chips will also be capable of displaying two high- definition programs on the screen simultaneously, allowing the viewer to pause and fast-forward each independently, Kim said.

Companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. have already received samples and are working on products based on the chips, Kim said. Intel will start making the processor, known as system- on-a-chip, in larger quantities in a few weeks, he said.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, fell 20 cents to $23.39 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have fallen 12 percent this year. Yahoo, in Sunnyvale, California, dropped 25 cents to $19.17 and has declined 18 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net