Technique for identifying favorite program channels for receiving entertainment programming content over a communications network

1. A system for updating a common list of user-preferred program channels comprising:

a network;

at least first and second set-top terminals (STTs) connected to the network, wherein the first STT comprises a first memory, a first timer and a first processing unit and wherein the second STT comprises a second memory, a second timer and a second processing unit;

a common list of “k” user-preferred program channels stored in the first and second memories;

a first channel table stored in the first memory, wherein the first channel table comprises a first list of viewed channels as selected by the first STT, wherein each viewed channel of the first list of viewed channels is associated with a first cumulative count value;

a second channel table stored in the second memory, wherein the second channel table comprises a second list of viewed channels as selected by the second STT, wherein each viewed channel of the second list of viewed channels is associated with a second cumulative count value; and

an application server connected to the network, wherein the application server executes instructions that cause the application server to:

receive the first and second channel table from the first and second STTs;

generate a common channel table from the first and second channel tables; and

send the common channel table to the first and second STTs.

wherein the first and second processing units execute instructions causing the first and second processing units to:

select from the common channel table the “k” program channels having the highest cumulative count values; and

update the common list of user-preferred program channels to reflect the selected “k” program channels.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the first and second processing units are configured with instructions that cause each processing unit to perform operations comprising:

(a) detecting a first channel change event to establish the tuning of an STT to a viewed channel;

(b) starting a timer to measure a first continuous duration of the STT tuned to the viewed channel;

(c) detecting the occurrence of a second channel change event to establish the tuning of the STT away from the viewed channel before the first continuous duration reaches a first milestone duration;

(d) when the first milestone duration is reached, then resetting the timer to zero and setting a count to 1;

(e) starting the timer to measure a second continuous duration of the STT tuned to the viewed channel;

(f) detecting the occurrence of a second channel change event to establish the tuning of the STT away from the viewed channel before the second continuous duration reaches a second milestone duration, wherein the second milestone duration is greater that the first milestone duration;

(g) when the second milestone duration is not reached, then adding the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel;

(h) when the second milestone duration is reached, then incrementing the counter for the viewed channel by 1 and then adding the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel, wherein,

the first processing unit updates the first channel table, and

the second processing unit updates the second channel table.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions causing each processing unit to:

prior to performing task (h), determine whether the count is greater than or equal to a count maximum; and

when the count is greater than or equal to the count maximum, then leave the cumulative count value for the viewed channel unchanged.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the instructions further comprise instructions causing each processing unit to:

prior to performing task (b), determine whether the first channel change event was initiated by selection of the viewed channel by its channel number; and

when the first channel change event was initiated by selection of the viewed channel by its channel number, then set a bonus flag to 0, and

wherein task (d) further comprises when the first milestone duration is reached, then set the bonus flag to 1,

wherein task (g) further comprises when the second milestone duration is not reached, then determine whether the bonus flag=1 and when the bonus flag=1, then add bonus points to the cumulative count for the viewed channel, and

wherein task (h) further comprises when the second milestone duration is reached, then determine whether the bonus flag=1 and when the bonus flag=1, then add bonus points to the cumulative count for the viewed channel.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein prior to the first and second processing units executing the instructions, the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels stored in the first and second memories is initialized with no data.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein prior to the first and second processing units executing the instructions, the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels stored in the first and second memories is initialized with channel data selected from a list of user viewable channels.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first STT is configured to display the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels on a first display device in response to a command from a first control device.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second STT is configured to display the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels on a second display device in response to a command from a second control device.

9. The system of claim 2 wherein the first and second processing units are each configured with instructions that cause each processing unit to perform operations further comprising segregating the cumulative count for the viewed channels in the channel table into time periods and wherein the instruction for adding the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel comprises:

determining a time;

determining a time period in the channel table that encompasses the time; and

adding the count to the cumulative count for the viewed channel within the time period.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels comprises a time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for each time period.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first STT is configured to display the time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for a particular time period on a first display device in response to a command from a first control device.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second STT is configured to display the time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for a particular time period on a second display device in response to a command from a second control device.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the time periods comprise different time periods of a day.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the time periods comprise different time periods of a week.

15. A method for updating a common list of user-preferred program channels comprising:

storing in a first memory of a first set top terminal (STT) a common list of “k” user-preferred program channels and a first channel table, wherein the first channel table comprises a list of channels viewed from the first STT and wherein each viewed channel is associated with a first cumulative count value;

storing in a second memory of a second set top terminal (STT) a common list of “k” user-preferred program channels and a second channel table, and the second channel table comprises a list of channels viewed from the second STT, wherein each viewed channel is associated with a second cumulative count value;

sending the first and second channel tables to an application server;

generating at the application server a common channel table from the first and second channel tables; and

sending the common channel table to the first and second STTs.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

the first STT comprises a first processing unit;

the second STT comprises a second processing unit; and

wherein the method further comprises executing instructions in each of the first and second processing units to cause each processing unit to:

(a) detect a first channel change event to establish the tuning of an STT to a viewed channel;

(b) start a timer to measure a first continuous duration of the STT tuned to the viewed channel;

(c) detect the occurrence of a second channel change event to establish the tuning of the STT away from the viewed channel before the first continuous duration reaches a first milestone duration;

(d) when the first milestone duration is reached, then reset the timer to zero and set a count to 1;

(e) start the timer to measure a second continuous duration of the STT tuned to the viewed channel;

(f) detect the occurrence of a second channel change event to establish the tuning of the STT away from the viewed channel before the second continuous duration reaches a second milestone duration, wherein the second milestone duration is greater that the first milestone duration;

(g) when the second milestone duration is not reached, then add the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel;

(h) when the second milestone duration is reached, then increment the counter for the viewed channel by 1 and then add the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel; and

updating the first channel table using the first processing unit of the first STT; and

updating the second channel table using the second processing unit of the first STT.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising executing instructions in each of the first and second processing units to cause each processing unit to:

prior to performing task (h), determine whether the count is greater than or equal to a count maximum; and

when the count is greater than or equal to the count maximum, then leave the cumulative count value for the viewed channel unchanged.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising executing instructions in each of the first and second processing units to cause each processing unit to:

prior to performing task (b), determine whether the first channel change event was initiated by selection of the viewed channel by its channel number; and

when the first channel change event was initiated by selection of the viewed channel by its channel number, then set a bonus flag to 0, and

wherein task (d) further comprises when the first milestone duration is reached, then set the bonus flag to 1,

wherein task (g) further comprises when the second milestone duration is not reached, then determine whether the bonus flag=1 and when the bonus flag=1, then add bonus points to the cumulative count for the viewed channel, and

wherein task (h) further comprises when the second milestone duration is reached, then determine whether the bonus flag=1 and when the bonus flag=1, then add bonus points to the cumulative count for the viewed channel.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising, prior to updating the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels, initializing the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels stored in the first and second memories with no data.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein prior to updating the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels, initializing the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels stored in the first and second memories with channel data selected from a list of user viewable channels.

21. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

displaying the common list of user-preferred program channels on a first display device connected to the first STT in response to a command from a first control device.

22. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

displaying the common list of user-preferred program channels on a second display device connected to the second STT in response to a command from a second control device.

23. The method of claim 15 further comprising executing instructions in each of the first and second processing units to cause each processing unit to segregate the cumulative count for the viewed channels in the channel table into time periods and wherein adding the count to the cumulative count value for the viewed channel comprises:

determining a time;

determining a time period in the channel table that encompasses the time;

and adding the count to the cumulative count for the viewed channel within the time period.

24. The system of method 23 , wherein the common list of “k” user-preferred program channels comprises a time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for each time period.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising displaying the time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for a particular time period on a first display device in response to a command from a first control device.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising displaying the time-based common list of “k” user-preferred program channels for a particular time period on a second display device in response to a command from a second control device.

27. The method of claim 23 , wherein the time periods comprise different time periods of a day.

28. The method of claim 23 , wherein the time periods comprise different time periods of a week.