The Smart TV Weekly Digest is a curated collection of the week’s best articles about smart TVs and the future of content.

Beating out HBO, Netflix cuts streaming movie deal with DreamWorks
“In scoring the deal, Netflix managed to beat out HBO, marking the first time Netflix’s web streaming has beat out a major pay TV producer in securing a distribution deal with a major film maker.”

Buckle up: Traditional TV is in for a heck of a ride
“A 2010 Forrester study showed that for the first time, Americans now spend as much time on the Internet as they do in front of the TV. Is it inevitable that like print media, consumers will turn to the Internet for their TV and video content and eventually drain the profits from TV’s ad-driven business model? According to Pew’s annual State of the Media report, local TV news is still the No. 1 news source for the majority of people…”

Sezmi says goodbye. Here’s why.
“The company, which had offered a combination of over-the-air broadcast content and some streaming video, announced it has shuttered its consumer-facing services and will be focusing on selling its hardware to operators instead. The decision comes after finding little customer adoption, despite raising some $71 million…”

$500 Billion TV Market New Battlefield For Internet Companies
“We’ve seen this in other content markets (see books and music). Distribution usually dies first. Borders and Tower Records died in the books and music battles. However the stakes in this battle are bigger, a lot bigger. Incumbents are better prepared, bring more to the table, and are more aggressive…”

The pieces are falling into place for an “internet of things”
“Those puzzle pieces include ubiquitous network connectivity, cloud-based services, cheap assembly of electronics, social design, open collaboration tools and low-volume sales channels. When put together, Kuniavsky said, they create an “innovation ecosystem”…”

Only DirecTV subs can use Miso app for Showtime’s ‘Dexter’
“Social TV firm Miso teamed up with Showtime to deliver second-screen content to viewers watching Sunday’s premiere of hit drama Dexter, but DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) is the only pay TV provider whose subscribers will be able to watch content synchronized on Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone…”

Hulu’s highest bidders? Google and Dish Network
“Streaming video service Hulu has had a second series of bids from potential buyers, ranging from $1.9 billion to $4 billion, reports Business Insider…”

Video games making leap into Web TV
“Cambridge start-up Happy Cloud plans to bring on-demand video games to Internet-connected TVs. The company —which offers “cloud”-based, digital distribution technology and has partnered with California chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices on the project — is in talks with TV manufacturers about licensing the new technology and building it into their sets…”

ivi asks Web surfers to fund battle with broadcasters “Seven months after it was ordered to shut down a website that delivered the signals from local broadcast stations online, ivi Inc. is asking Web surfers to fund its legal battle against CBS Corp., Fox Broadcasting, Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), NBCUniversal and other broadcasters…”

Amazon’s “privatized merchant data aggregation network”
“Lost in the “Is it an iPad Killer?” hype is the audacious introduction of the Silk browser. Under the guise of increasing speed (on WiFi; there is no 3G Fire where download speed would be a larger issue), Amazon is performing astonishing jujitsu on Google…”

‘Psych’ revs up new season with social TV game
“’The thrilling ‘whodunit’ experience will take fans of the show through an engaging Psych storyline specifically created for this experience, allowing them to send and receive messages directly with Shawn and Gus (series stars James Roday and Dulé Hill), in an effort to solve the case,’ explains the network…”