Walt Disney (DIS) is considering lending some of the keys to its TV kingdom to Yahoo (YHOO) for the Internet company's Yahoo Connected TV, according to a Wall Street Journal report. If Yahoo is successful in inking such a deal, it would bolster its Internet TV efforts and put it on better footing to compete against rival products such as Google (GOOG) TV and Apple (AAPL) TV.

According to those familiar with the talks, Disney is looking at sharing video clips from its ESPN, ABC and Disney networks with Yahoo, which would provide consumers with its free software to download and play the footage. The arrangement is likely to include snippets of video -- clips of shows, movie trailers and the like -- but whether it will also mean full episodes will be downloadable remains unclear.

Like Yahoo, Google is working to strike content deals with networks, but it has run into resistance. TV networks are concerned that working with Internet companies to distribute their content could cannibalize their broadcast business down the line.

Apple, however, recently unveiled its revamped Apple TV and announced content deals with Netflix (NFLX), Fox (NWS) and ABC. Under the deal, consumers will be able to access to TV shows and some movies for 99 cents, and first-run high-definition movies for $4.99.