How do you hide the complexity from the consumer?  This question, raised by Russ Schafer, Senior Director, Global Consumer and Business Marketing (Developer, Advertiser, Channel) at Yahoo!, may be the most important one in determining the success of interactive television.   He suggested that ease of use and convenience are critical to ensure customer adoption.  Yahoo has quietly been building a presence in interactive television through its presence online and as part of the connected TV.

The above video interview, filmed at Parks Associates’ 2011 Connections Conference, provides a look at some of Yahoo!’s multi-screen, interactive applications.

Speaking at last week’s TV Next conference, Schafer reiterated that Yahoo!’s interactive television platform is embedded in over 8 million TVs today and will find its way into another 16 million TVs by early 2012.  Up to 70% of these devices are connected to the Internet and 60% use Yahoo! on a monthly basis.

This platform is on 160 models of televisions and set-tops and features 180+ apps in categories that include finance, news, sports, games, social, shopping, photos and music.

The top 10 apps

1. Facebook
2. Widget Gallery
3. Yahoo! Weather
4. Amazon VOD
5. TV Guid
6. YahooNew
7. MyCast Weather
8. Pandora
9. Twitter
10. Ebay

He cited fantasy football as another popular application the of interactivity, as it allows fantasy football participants to get updated stats and interact with opponents, while watching the game in real-time.

Content Identification technologies will play a central role in synchronizing content with applications.  With Yahoo!’s acquisition of Into.Now and Soundprint , they are able to take real-time Internet content and synchronize it with a TV Show or advertisement.  He pointed out that these technologies work with any video, whether it is from cable, satellite, VOD, DVR or web video.  Some of the applications it enables include, trivia, voting, polling, play along with game shows, merchandise sales and interactive advertising.

By simplifying the interaction through invisible technologies, Yahoo! is aiming to create a bigger pie for content owners and app developers, while making for a more engaging content experience for the viewer.