Premium channel promotion system and method

• US 6,745,391 B1
• Filed: 04/16/1999
• Issued: 06/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: E-Guide Inc.
• Inventors: Hancock, Kenneth S., Orlick, Jonathan B., Ward, Thomas Edward III, Macrae, Douglas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US09/293,201
• Time in Patent Office: 1,873 Days
• Field of Search: 725/31, 725/40, 725/42, 725/43, 725/50, 725/39, 725/61, 725/104, 725/25, 725/38, 725/56, 725/8, 725/27, 725/86-87, 725/32-33, 356/601, 345/716, 380/211
• US Class Current: 725/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4784 receiving rewards
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 : Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a television schedule guide which includes a detector for determining whether a previously scrambled program is unscrambled. If a previously scrambled program is momentarily unscrambled due to promotional efforts by the program provider, the system will visually distinguish the program on the guide, and a viewer may tune to or record the program from the guide. The view may also subscribe to the program provider through the guide during the promotional period.

Claims

1. A television schedule system comprising:

a display displaying program listings for a plurality of television channels in a guide format;

a processor coupled to the display, the processor configured to receive data indicating that a regularly scrambled television channel is to be unscrambled for a promotional time period and in response, configured to determine whether the regularly scrambled television channel is subscribed to by the use, and only if the regularly scrambled television channel is not subscribed to by the user, the processor being configured to insert into the display during or prior to the promotional period a promotional message indicating that the regularly scrambled television channel is unscrambled.

2. The television schedule system of claim 1 wherein the data indicating that the regularly scrambled television channel is to be unscrambled includes a time period in which the unscrambling will take place.

3. The television schedule system of claim 1 further comprising an electronic program guide memory storing program listings, wherein the processor updates the electronics guide memory with a program listing associated with a regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user in response to the receipt of data indicating that the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user is to be unscrambled.

4. The television schedule system of claim 1, wherein the display displays the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user during at least the promotional time period.

5. The television schedule system of claim 4, wherein placement of the display of the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user is based on a placement of the display of the promotional message.

6. The television schedule system of claim 5, wherein the promotional message and the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user are displayed on a single display page.

7. The television schedule system of claim 5, wherein the promotional message is displayed substantially adjacent to the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user.

8. The television schedule system of claim 4, wherein the processor displays the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user in response to a user command.

9. The television schedule system of claim 8, wherein the user command is provided by selecting the promotional message.

10. The television schedule system of claim 4, wherein the processor removes the display of the program listing associated with the regularly scrambled television channel not subscribed to by the user after the promotional time period.

11. The television schedule system of claim 1, wherein the display displays the program listings as a plurality of tiles, and the processor inserts the promotional message as an additional tile into the program listings.

12. The television schedule system of claim 1, wherein the promotional message is visually distinguished from the program listings.

13. The television schedule system of claim 1 further comprising;

means for receiving a user selection of the promotional message; and

means for transmitting a request for subscribing to the regularly scrambled television channel associated with the promotional message.