Interactive masthead

• US 9,319,618 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2011
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kandanala, Venket S., Joshi, Nicky Pinakin, Sankaran, Anand N., Narayanan, Rajesh, Caputo, Lisa A., Srinivasan, Karthik, Dasgupta, Mousumi, Parambath, Jubish C., Selvakumar, Sudharsan, Jayaraman, Sumithra
• Primary Examiner(s): Dubasky, Gigi L
• Application Number:
  US13/205,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20130042269A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,715 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A method and system that provides a television service; receives a customer input to access a graphical user interface that includes a main menu pertaining to the television service; retrieves the graphical user interface; and displays the graphical user interface via the customer device, wherein the graphical user interface includes a main menu body and an interactive masthead having an interactive element that permits a customer to access content via the interactive element.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a television service via a customer device, wherein providing the television service comprises;

receiving a customer input to access a graphical user interface pertaining to the television service;

retrieving the graphical user interface; and

displaying the graphical user interface via the customer device, wherein the graphical user interface includes;

a main menu body that includes a main menu and a program window, wherein the main menu includes user-selectable menus of the television service;

an interactive masthead having an advertisement and an interactive element that permits a customer to access a content, which pertains to the advertisement, via the interactive element, wherein the interactive masthead is contextually-related to a context of one of the user-selectable menus of the main menu, wherein the user-selectable menus include a video-on-demand menu, a pay-per-view menu, a digital video recorder (DVR) menu, and a widgets menu, and wherein the interactive element permits the customer to auto-tune to a particular television channel, launch a widget, order and purchase a pay-per-view event or a video-on-demand event, or obtain cast member and storyline information pertaining to the pay-per-view event or the video-on-demand event, and correspondingly access the content that pertains to the advertisement and is contextually-related to the context of the one of the user-selectable menus;

receiving, during the displaying of the graphical user interface, a customer input via the interactive element, to access the content;

storing information indicating the interactive element of the interactive masthead that the customer accessed via the graphical user interface in response to receiving the customer input to access the content; and

using the information, a next time the customer provides a request to access the graphical user interface, to generate another interactive masthead that includes another advertisement and another interactive element that permits the customer to access a new content that is contextually-related to the one of the user-selectable menus.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving another customer input, via the main menu, to access another graphical user interface;

retrieving the other graphical user interface; and

displaying the other graphical user interface via the customer device, wherein the other graphical user interface includes an interactive masthead having an interactive element that is contextually-related to an interactive body of the other graphical user interface.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive masthead includes a reminder to view a purchased content.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive masthead includes a description element pertaining to the interactive element, and the method further comprising:

receiving another customer input, subsequent to receiving the customer input to access the content, to access the graphical user interface; and

displaying the graphical user interface via the customer device, based on the using of the information, wherein the graphical user interface includes the main menu body and the other interactive masthead that includes the other advertisement and the other interactive element.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the content includes a pay-per-view event, a video-on-demand event, a free preview of a channel or a television package, or information pertaining to a service included in the television service, and wherein the interactive masthead is located at a top portion of the graphical user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

loading, by the customer device, the graphical user interface based on a communication with a network device, in response to the customer device being turned on; and

storing, by the customer device, the graphical user interface at the customer device based on the loading.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user-selectable menus are interactive graphical elements that permit the customer to access pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital video recording (DVR), games, widgets, settings, and help, and the interactive element is an interactive graphical element of the graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking a purchase of content made, via the interactive masthead, by the customer.

9. A device comprising:

a communication interface;

one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories store instructions; and

one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to;

provide a television service;

receive a customer input to access a graphical user interface pertaining to the television service;

obtain the graphical user interface; and

output the graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes;

a main menu body that includes a main menu and a program window, wherein the main menu includes user-selectable menus of the television service;

an interactive masthead having an advertisement and an interactive element that permits a customer to access a content, which pertains to the advertisement, via the interactive element, wherein the interactive masthead is contextually-related to a context of one of the user-selectable menus of the main menu, wherein the user-selectable menus include a video-on-demand menu, a pay-per-view menu, a digital video recorder menu, and a widgets menu, and wherein the interactive element permits the customer to auto-tune to a particular television channel, launch a widget, order and purchase a pay-per-view event or a video-on-demand event, or obtain cast member and storyline information pertaining to the pay-per-view event or the video-on-demand event, and correspondingly access the content that pertains to the advertisement and is contextually-related to the context of the one of the user-selectable menus;

receive, during an output of the graphical user interface, a customer input via the interactive element, to access the content;

store information indicating the interactive element of the interactive masthead that the customer accessed via the graphical user interface in response to receiving the customer input to access the content; and

use the information, a next time the customer provides a request to access the graphical user interface, to generate another interactive masthead that includes another advertisement and another interactive element that permits the customer to access a new content that is contextually-related to the one of the user-selectable menus.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to:

receive another customer input, via the main menu, to access another graphical user interface;

obtain the other graphical user interface; and

output the other graphical user interface, wherein the other graphical user interface includes an interactive masthead having an interactive element that is contextually-related to an interactive body of the other graphical user interface.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the interactive masthead includes a social message.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the interactive masthead includes a description element pertaining to the interactive element, and wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to:

receive another customer input, subsequent to a receipt of the customer input to access the content, to access the graphical user interface; and

display the graphical user interface based on a use of the information, wherein the graphical user interface includes the main menu body and the other interactive masthead that includes the other advertisement and the other interactive element.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the content includes a pay-per-view event, a video-on-demand event, a free preview of a channel or a television package, or information pertaining to a service pertaining to the television service, and wherein the interactive masthead is located at a top portion of the graphical user interface.

14. The device of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors further execute the instructions to:

load the graphical user interface based on a communication, via the communication interface, with a network device, in response to the device being turned on; and

store the graphical user interface at the device based on a loading of the graphical user interface.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the user-selectable menus are interactive graphical elements that permit the customer to access pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital video recording (DVR), games, widgets, settings, and help, and the interactive element is an interactive graphical element of the graphical user interface.

16. A method comprising:

receiving an input request to access a graphical user interface pertaining to a television service;

storing the graphical user interface;

identifying the graphical user interface based on the received input request;

transmitting the graphical user interface to a customer device; and

displaying the graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes;

a main menu body that includes a main menu and a program window, wherein the main menu includes user user-selectable menus of the television service;

an interactive masthead having an advertisement and an interactive element that permits a user to access a content, which pertains to the advertisement, via the interactive element, wherein the interactive masthead is contextually-related to a context of one of the user-selectable menus of the main menu, wherein the user-selectable menus include a video-on-demand menu, a pay-per-view menu, a digital video recorder menu, and a widgets menu, and wherein the interactive element permits the customer to auto-tune to a particular television channel, launch a widget, order and purchase a pay-per-view event or a video-on-demand event, or obtain cast member and storyline information pertaining to the pay-per-view event or the video-on-demand event, and correspondingly access the content that pertains to the advertisement and is contextually-related to the context of the one of the user-selectable menus;

receiving, during the displaying, an input via the interactive element to access the content;

storing information indicating the interactive element of the interactive masthead that the user accessed via the graphical user interface in response to receiving the input; and

using the information, a next time the user provides a request to access the graphical user interface, to generate another interactive masthead that includes another advertisement and another interactive element that permits the user to access a new content that is contextually-related to the one of the user-selectable menus.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving another input request, via the main menu, to access another graphical user interface;

storing the other graphical user interface;

identifying the other graphical user interface based on the received other input request;

transmitting the other graphical user interface to the customer device; and

displaying the other graphical user interface, wherein the other graphical user interface includes an interactive masthead having an interactive element that is contextually-related to an interactive body of the other graphical user interface.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the other graphical user interface pertains to one of pay-per-view, video-on-demand, widgets, games, television listings, messages, settings, or help.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the content includes a pay-per-view event, a video-on-demand event, a free preview of a channel or a television package, or information pertaining to a service pertaining to the television service.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, another input, subsequent to receiving the input to access the content, to access the graphical user interface; and

displaying the graphical user, based on the using of the information, wherein the graphical user interface includes the main menu body and the other interactive masthead that includes the other advertisement and the other interactive element.