Innovation: Web TV (or TV 2.0)

The digital television ecosystem continues to evolve rapidly, in line with consumer trends and behavior. The arrival of digital television was itself a paradigm change, and the internet's incursion into what used to be television's exclusive domain represents another equally significant transformation of the ecosystem.As devices become more technologically advanced, operators and content providers can offer consumers more and more services and content. These developments drive changes in user behavior and alter the way in which programs are viewed.

Television and internet first crossed paths when it became possible to view television channels online and have on-demand access to content via the web. With the surge in connected television, certain web applications have been adapted for television and can enhance the television viewing experience.

Rather than offering content choices with a linear EPG environment, the trend now is towards providing these options in the form of applications that appear as icons on the TV screen. Users configure these applications according to their personal preferences and manage them via the remote control. These applications come from the internet and are known as "widgets" (short for "web" and "gadget"). They are the first step in the convergence of the TV and the web into a seamless multimedia experience.