Method and system for displaying targeted advertisements in an electronic program guide
View Patent ↗The present invention is an improvement over previous Electronic Programming Guides (“EPG”) in that it provides, among other things: Improved viewer interaction capabilities with the EPG; improved viewer control of video recording of future-scheduled programming; improved features to the EPG display and navigation; parental control of the EPG display; improved television program information access by the viewer; improved opportunities for the commercial advertiser to reach the viewer; improved product information access by the viewer; creation of a viewer's profile; utilization of viewer profile information to customize various aspects of the EPG; and utilization of viewer profile information to provide customized presentation of advertising to the viewer.
1. A method for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
monitoring television programs that the user tunes to and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the television programs that the user tunes to;
displaying a plurality of television schedule information items including time and channel; and
simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the function is scheduling an autotuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the function is tuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the advertisement is about a television program.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the function is autotuning to the television program.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of the television program.
10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the advertisement is about a pay program.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the function is scheduling viewing of the pay program.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the advertisement includes one or more of text, graphics, and video.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring television programs that a plurality of users tune to and gathering information on each of the plurality of user's interests responsive to the television programs that the plurality of users tune to.
14. A method for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
monitoring television channels that the user tunes to and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the television channels that the user tunes to;
displaying a plurality of television schedule information items including time and channel; and
simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the function is scheduling an autotuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the function is tuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the advertisement is about a television program.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the function is autotuning to the television program.
22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of the television program.
23. The method of claim 15 , wherein the advertisement is about a pay program.
24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the function is scheduling viewing of the pay program.
25. The method of claim 14 , wherein the advertisement includes one or more of text, graphics, and video.
26. The method of claim 14 , further comprising monitoring television channels that a plurality of users tune to and gathering information on each of the plurality of users' interests responsive to the television channels that the plurality of users tune to.
27. A method for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
monitoring user's interactions with the EPG and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the user's interactions with the EPG;
displaying a plurality of television schedule information including time, channel, and date; and
simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
28. The method of claim 27 , further comprising activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
30. The method of claim 28 , wherein the function is scheduling an autotuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
31. The method of claim 28 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
32. The method of claim 28 , wherein the function is tuning to a television broadcast about the one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
33. The method of claim 28 , wherein the advertisement is about a television program.
34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the function is autotuning to the television program.
35. The method of claim 33 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of the television program.
36. The method of claim 28 , wherein the advertisement is about a pay program.
37. The method of claim 36 , wherein the function is scheduling viewing of the pay program.
38. The method of claim 27 , wherein the advertisement includes one or more of text, graphics, and video.
39. The method of claim 27 , further comprising monitoring a plurality of users' interactions with the EPG and gathering information on each of the plurality of users' interests responsive to the plurality of users' interactions with the EPG.
40. A system for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
means for monitoring television programs that the user tunes to and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the television programs that the user tunes to;
means for displaying a plurality of television schedule information items including time and channel; and
means for simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
41. The system of claim 40 , further comprising means for activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
42. The system of claim 41 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
43. A system for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
means for monitoring television channels that the user tunes to and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the television channels that the user tunes to;
means for displaying a plurality of television schedule information items including time and channel; and
means for simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
44. The system of claim 43 , further comprising means for activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
45. The system of claim 44 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.
46. A system for presenting a targeted advertisement to a user in an electronic program guide (EPG), comprising:
means for monitoring user's interactions with the EPG and gathering information on user's interests responsive to the user's interactions with the EPG;
means for displaying a plurality of television schedule information including time, channel, and date; and
means for simultaneously displaying the targeted advertisement with the displayed plurality of television schedule information, wherein the advertisement is targeted to the user responsive to the user's interests.
47. The system of claim 46 , further comprising means for activating the displayed targeted advertisement to invoke a function.
48. The system of claim 47 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service.