Method and system for displaying advertising, video, and program schedule listing

Abstract

A television schedule system and method for displaying television schedule information on a television screen includes a program guide having a schedule information area that depicts the programs that are being presented on each channel at each time during the day. An input device allows the viewer to browse through the schedule information area and/or obtain more information about programs of particular interest. In one aspect, the viewer may watch a program on the currently-tuned channel, while browsing through the other channels on a portion of the television screen. In another aspect, the viewer may watch programs currently being shown on the television, while he or she browses through the program guide. In yet another aspect, the system includes a database, a processor and associated software for automatically customizing the television schedule guide to an individual viewer or a group of viewers, e.g., a family, to facilitate use of the television schedule.

1 - 87 . (canceled) 
     
     
         88 . A method for simultaneously displaying advertisements with a program guide and a program on a screen, comprising:
 displaying a video of the program on the screen;   displaying at least one schedule information item on the screen;   navigating a highlight region to one of the at least one schedule information item to indicate a user selection of a program;   selecting an advertisement for display from a plurality of advertisements, wherein the displayed advertisement includes content descriptive of a product or service unrelated to the selected program;   activating the displayed advertisement to invoke a function, the function related to the advertised product or service; and   simultaneously displaying the selected advertisement with the displayed at least one schedule information item and the video of the program on the screen.   
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the displayed at least one schedule information item include time and channel. 
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the video of the program is displayed in a picture-in-guide window. 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the video of the program is a live broadcast of the program. 
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service. 
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the function is one or more of scheduling an autotuning to a broadcast about an advertised product, scheduling a recording of a broadcast about an advertised product, and tuning to a broadcast about an advertised product. 
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the advertisement is about a program. 
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the function is autotuning to the program. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 94 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of the program. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the advertisement is about a pay program. 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 97 , wherein the function is scheduling viewing of the pay program. 
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the displayed advertisement includes one or more of text, graphics, and video. 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 88 , wherein the displayed at least one schedule information item is arranged in a first by-time-and-channel mode, the method further comprising:
 receiving a user input to change to a second display mode;   in response to receiving the user input, simultaneously displaying at least a portion of the at least one television schedule information item with the selected advertisement and the video of the television program on the screen, wherein the at least a portion of the at least one television schedule information item is arranged based on the second mode.   
     
     
         101 . A system for simultaneously displaying advertisements with a program guide and a program on a screen, comprising:
 a display configured to:
 display a video of the program on the screen; and 
 display at least one schedule information item on the screen; and 
   a processor configured to:
 navigate a highlight region to one of the at least one schedule information item to indicate a user selection of a program; 
 select an advertisement for display from a plurality of advertisements, wherein the displayed advertisement includes content descriptive of a product or service unrelated to the selected program; 
 activate the displayed advertisement to invoke a function, the function related to the advertised product or service; and 
 simultaneously display the selected advertisement with the displayed at least one schedule information item and the video of the program on the screen. 
   
     
     
         102 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the displayed at least one schedule information item include time and channel. 
     
     
         103 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the video of the program is displayed in a picture-in-guide window. 
     
     
         104 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the video of the program is a live broadcast of the program. 
     
     
         105 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the function is ordering one or more of an advertised product and an advertised service. 
     
     
         106 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the function is one or more of scheduling an autotuning to a broadcast about an advertised product, scheduling a recording of a broadcast about an advertised product, and tuning to a broadcast about an advertised product. 
     
     
         107 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the advertisement is about a program. 
     
     
         108 . The system of  claim 107 , wherein the function is autotuning to the program. 
     
     
         109 . The system of  claim 107 , wherein the function is scheduling a recording of the program. 
     
     
         110 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the advertisement is about a pay program. 
     
     
         111 . The system of  claim 110 , wherein the function is scheduling viewing of the pay program. 
     
     
         112 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the displayed advertisement includes one or more of text, graphics, and video. 
     
     
         113 . The system of  claim 101 , wherein the displayed at least one schedule information item is arranged in a first by-time-and-channel mode, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive a user input to change to a second display mode;   in response to receiving the user input, simultaneously display at least a portion of the at least one television schedule information item with the selected advertisement and the video of the television program on the screen, wherein the at least a portion of the at least one television schedule information item is arranged based on the second mode.