At the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, Yahoo announced that it’s introducing some new connected TV features, partnerships and apps. 

For one, Yahoo announced "Broadcast Interactivity" to launch with select national broadcast and cable TV providers and brand advertisers. The company is collaborating with ABC, CBS, HSN, and Showtime on content for a pilot program in the first half of 2011. Brand advertisers Ford, Mattel and Microsoft are also planning to work with Yahoo on this. 

Verizon announced today that it is extending its free FiOS mobile app to the iPad. With this, FiOS customers with iPads can remotely control their DVRs, and use the iPad as a TV remote control. 

Apple announced that it expects sales of Apple TV to top one million units later this week. 

Apple TV has a few things working to its advantage. The main one is the price. It’s only $99, compared to the first Google TV set-top box – the Logitech Revue, which is on sale (at Best Buy) for $249.99 with a regular price of $299.99. 

Logitech has a new ad for its Revue device (the set-top box/Blu-Ray player with Google TV) that has Kevin Bacon playing a guy that is a huge Kevin Bacon fan in what quite possibly is some of Kevin Bacon’s finest work to date. 

Maybe this ad is just what Google TV needs to pick itself up after a disappointing launch. 

AOL has launched a new AOL Video division, which the company says will aggregate its online video library assets under one "strategic umbrella." The company also says it delivers on the entire video value chain from creation through syndication to distribution, consumer experience and monetization. 

Not only is Hulu being blocked on Google TV, but so is the content at network sites like ABC, NBC, and CBS. Essentially, the TV stations are just blocking people from watching their content on the web (via their own sites). I’m having a hard time figuring out why this makes sense for a variety of reasons. 

First of all, Google TV is simply providing a web browser for users to access web content on their TVs. With regard to the content, it’s no different than if you were to hook up your computer to your TV and go to these stations’ sites. 

It’s become clear that the television industry is at the beginning of a revolution as connected TVs and devices that bring the web to TV are really starting to hit mainstream interest. There are plenty of reasons to speculate that the industry will go through a similar pattern as we’ve seen with print and music.

ABC Nightline ran a story last evening about Google’s plans to take over the living room with Google TV. As you may know, Sony is one of the launch partners and will launch HD TVs and Blu-ray players supporting the service. 

Late last week, a deal between FOX and DISH Network came to an end, leaving DISH Network subscribers without FX, FOX Sports, and the National Geographic Channel. FOX raised their rates and DISH didn’t want to pay. While the two companies continue negotiations, some of us wonder how we are going to watch the shows that we regularly enjoy. 

Google has set up a new site for Google TV, with a "quick tour" spotlighting the features. Many of these were on display at the product announcement at Google I/O earlier this year, but it’s still nice to be able to look at the details in one place. 

Earlier this year, an anonymous Samsung executive indicated that his (or her) company might build TVs based on Android.  Now, although Samsung hasn’t exactly released a list of shipping dates, an exec has at least gone on record saying that the possibility remains.

According to Jun Yang and Pavel Alpeyev, Yoon Boo Keun, President of the Visual Display Division at Samsung, made the comment offstage at a forum in Seoul, South Korea.

When Google unveiled Google TV at Google I/O in May, the company said it would be out for the holidays. CEO Eric Schmidt is now saying more specifically, this autumn, according to Reuters. It’s unclear whether this is ahead of the originally planned schedule or if it was always intended to be Autumn (as opposed to Winter), but Apple’s release of Apple TV may provide a little motivation to get Google TV on the market as soon as possible. 

After wisely letting the air clear following the big Apple TV announcement (and all the comparisons to Google TV), Yahoo’s stepped forward to remind everyone that it also intends to compete in the connected TV space.  Yahoo announced a partnership with a major TV manufacturer this morning.

Vestel, the TV manufacturer in question, is Europe’s largest.  It claims to produce 16 percent of LCD TVs made on the continent, and 25 percent of digital set-top boxes, too.

There is a lot of talk about connected TV, particularly with Apple’s announcement on the subject expected this afternoon.

Retrevo reached out to WebProNews with some commentary on the subject. The following comes from Retrevo’s Andrew Eisner, a computer journalist and the director of content for Retrevo.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon is working on a subscription service for TV shows and movies. The company has reportedly been talking with NBC Universal, Time Warner, News Corp. Viacom, and others about such a service.

Rupert Murdoch’s not the only one with tablet fever. The Wall Street Journal reports that at least seven of the ten largest subscription-TV providers in the U.S. are building new tablet apps to offer TV content to subscribers. Some might even be free.

Apple’s TV project has been renamed iTV, according to a report from Engadget, and it will run apps, much like the iPhone/iPad. Joshua Topolsky says, "it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications." It will apparently cost $99, but it reportedly won’t be able to handle 1080i or 1080p video.

AT&T has launched a U-Verse iPhone app, which gives U-verse subscribers the ability to download and watch TV shows on their phones.

The company says it is the first to provide an integrated mobile app that lets you manage your DVR and download/watch select shows. The app replaces the Mobile Remote Access for iPhone app.

Logitech has started a contest to promote Google TV, the upcoming service for which Logitech is a launch partner. The contest is called "Host with the Most", and asks if "you have what it takes to be a ‘host with the most’ for Logitech Revue with Google TV?"

Logitech Revue is the company’s set-top box that will help the Google TV service launch (alongside TVs and Blu-ray players from Sony).

The 4th season opener of the AMC show Mad Men aired last night, and in it, the main character Don Draper had an interview with a reporter from Ad Age. While the show is clearly fictional and takes place in the 60s, it seems that Ad Age has taken some issue with how it was represented as a publication.

Rance Crain has posted a spiel about what the show failed to get right (in Ad Age’s eyes), and how it really was back then: