IP Library Granted Patent US 9,289,692
Granted Patent B2
US 9,289,692 · App. 14/641,269 · Granted Mar 22, 2016

Systems and methods for using an interactive television program guide to access fantasy sports contests

Inventor: David Barber (Tulsa, OK)
Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc.
A63F13/828G06F19/00H04N21/4334H04N21/4532H04N21/4622H04N21/4755H04N21/4781
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,289,692
App. No.
14/641,269
Filed
Mar 6, 2015
Granted
Mar 22, 2016
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2424
USPC
725/46
Abstract

Systems and methods for using an interactive television program guide application to access fantasy sports contests are presented. In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive television program guide application may display information indicating to a user that one or more programs is related to a fantasy sports contest. In some embodiments of the present invention, the application may provide to the user a schedule of programs related to one or more fantasy sports contests in which the user participates. The application may provide additional features to fantasy sports contestants including automatic recording of programs related to a user's fantasy sports contest, playback of highlight video clips for events that affect a user's fantasy sports contest standing, and targeted advertisements for fantasy sports contests.

Claims (49)

1. A method for providing fantasy sports contest information, the method comprising:

receiving, using input circuitry, a data stream comprising fantasy sports contest information, wherein the fantasy sports contest information includes a real-life sports player associated with media;

parsing the data stream, using control circuitry, to identify the real-life sports player associated with the media;

determining, using the control circuitry, that the real-life sports player is included in a user's fantasy sports contest team roster by comparing the real-life sports player to a database listing a plurality of real-life sports players included in the user's fantasy team roster;

in response to determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy team roster, retrieving from memory a display position of a cell corresponding to the media; and

generating for display on a display device, at the display position, information indicating to the user that the media is related to the fantasy sports contest in which the user participates.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a number of real-life sports players included in the media that are also included in the user's fantasy team roster; and

determining whether to schedule the media for automatic recording based on the number.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that an event has occurred in the media if it is determined that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster; and

generating for display, on the display device, in response to the determination that the event has occurred, an overlay on top of the media, wherein the overlay includes fantasy sports contest information associated with the event.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the event corresponds to an accumulation of a statistic by the real-life player, wherein the statistic affects the user's performance in the fantasy sports contest.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster comprises determining that the real-life sports player participates in a real-life competition that corresponds to a real-life competition associated with the fantasy sports contest.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein generating for display, on the display device, information associated with the event comprises generating for display information that indicates a number of fantasy sports points that the user has received as a result of the event.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating for display, on the display device, information comprises generating for display a program listing that includes an indicator, wherein the indicator indicates that a program associated with the program listing is related to the fantasy sports contest.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving, using the input circuitry, a user indication of the program listing; and

generating for display, on the display device, information that indicates the user's performance in the fantasy sports contest.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating for display, on the display device, in response to user selection of the media and in response to determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster, fantasy sports contest information associated with the real-life sports player in conjunction with video for the media.

10. A system, for providing fantasy sports contest information, the system comprising:

input circuitry configured to:

receive a data stream comprising fantasy sports contest information, wherein the fantasy sports contest information includes a real-life sports player associated with media;

memory configured to:

store a display position of a cell corresponding to the media;

control circuitry configured to:

parse the data stream, received by the input circuitry, to identify the real-life sports player associated with the media;

determine that the real-life sports player is included in a user's fantasy sports contest team roster by comparing the real-life sports player to a database listing a plurality of real-life sports players included in the user's fantasy team roster;

in response to determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy team roster, retrieve, from the memory, the display position of the cell corresponding to the media; and

generate for display on a display device, at the display position, an indicator that the media is related to the fantasy sports contest in which the user participates.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine a number of real-life sports players included in the media that are also included in the user's fantasy team roster; and

determine whether to schedule the media for automatic recording based on the number.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

determine that an event has occurred in the media if it is determined that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster; and

generate for display, on the display device, in response to the determination that the event has occurred, an overlay on top of the media, wherein the overlay includes fantasy sports contest information associated with the event.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the event corresponds to an accumulation of a statistic by the real-life player, wherein the statistic affects the user's performance in the fantasy sports contest.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster comprises determining that the real-life sports player participates in a real-life competition that corresponds to a real-life competition associated with the fantasy sports contest.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein generating for display, on the display device, information associated with the event comprises generating for display information that indicates a number of fantasy sports points that the user has received as a result of the event.

16. The system of claim 10 , wherein generating for display, on the display device, information comprises generating for display a program listing that includes an indicator, wherein the indicator indicates that a program associated with the program listing is related to the fantasy sports contest.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the input circuitry is further configured to:

receive a user indication of the program listing; and

wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

generate for display, on the display device, information that indicates the user's performance in the fantasy sports contest.

18. The system of claim 10 , wherein the input circuitry is further configured to:

receive user selection of the media; and

wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

generate for display, on the display device, in response to user selection of the media and in response to determining that the real-life sports player is included in the user's fantasy sports contest team roster, fantasy sports contest information associated with the real-life sports player in conjunction with video for the media.

Assignments (9)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053481/0790 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053458/0749 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 1, 2020
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS INC.; VEVEO, INC.; INVENSAS CORPORATION; INVENSAS BONDING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TESSERA, INC.; TESSERA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DTS, INC.; PHORUS, INC.; IBIQUITY DIGITAL CORPORATION
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053468/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051110/0006 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 22, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051143/0468 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 21, 2015
From: BARBER, DAVID
To: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 035691/0448 →
MERGER Recorded May 21, 2015
From: UV CORP.
To: TV GUIDE, INC.
Reel/Frame 035749/0286 →
MERGER Recorded May 21, 2015
From: UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
To: UV CORP.
Reel/Frame 035749/0279 →
MERGER Recorded May 21, 2015
From: TV GUIDE, INC.
To: ROVI GUIDES, INC.
Reel/Frame 035691/0560 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 13763897 · Feb 11, 2013
Continuation 13215046 · Aug 22, 2011
Continuation 10234727 · Aug 30, 2002
Related Publication 20150182865A1 · Jul 2, 2015