Method and system for displaying advertisements between schedule listings

Abstract

In one embodiment, the invention is a system and method for simultaneously displaying advertisements with an electronic program guide (EPG). The system displays television schedule information in rows of schedule information items including the time and channel for at least a portion of the displayed television schedule information items. An advertisement is selected for display from a plurality of advertisements, and the selected advertisement is displayed between two rows of the schedule information items simultaneously with the displayed television schedule information items.

1 - 4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A method for simultaneously displaying channel advertisements with an electronic program guide (EPG), the method comprising:
 storing schedule information in memory for each of a plurality of programs;   storing in the memory at least one advertisement as part of the stored schedule information; and   displaying on a display at least a portion of the stored program schedule information and at least one of the stored advertisements, wherein:
 the at least a portion of the program schedule information and the at least one of the advertisements are displayed on the display as a plurality of row items. 
   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the stored advertisements is stored as an address that links to the advertisement. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 at least one of the stored advertisements is associated with at least one of the plurality of programs, and   the step of displaying comprises displaying the at least one of the stored advertisements and the program schedule information of the program associated therewith in adjacent row items in the plurality of row items.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the association between the at least one of the stored advertisements and the at least one of the plurality of programs is based on the scheduled time of the program. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the association between the at least one of the stored advertisements and the at least one of the plurality of programs is based on sponsorship of the scheduled program. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the displayed advertisements is interactive. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein wherein at least one of the displayed advertisements relates to a service or a product. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 highlighting a row of a displayed program schedule information item with a cursor;   displaying a detail window in a second area of the display; and   displaying, in the second area of the screen, information relating to the displayed program schedule information item that was highlighted.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 highlighting a row of a displayed advertisement with a cursor;   displaying a detail window in a second area of the display; and   displaying, in the second area of the screen, information relating to the displayed advertisement that was highlighted.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein:
 the portion of the stored program schedule information being displayed relates to a user-selected time,   and the displayed advertisement is independent of the user-selected time.   
     
     
         15 . A system for simultaneously displaying channel advertisements with an electronic program guide (EPG), the system comprising:
 a memory for storing schedule information and advertising data;   a display; and   a processor, wherein the system is configured to:   store schedule information in the memory for each of a plurality of programs, store in the memory at least one advertisement as part of the stored schedule information, and display on the display at least a portion of the stored program schedule information and at least one of the stored advertisements, wherein:
 the at least a portion of the program schedule information and the at least one of the advertisements are displayed on the display as a plurality of row items. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the stored advertisements is stored as an address that links to the advertisement. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 at least one of the stored advertisements is associated with at least one of the plurality of programs, and   the system is further configured to display the at least one of the stored advertisements and the program schedule information of the program associated therewith in adjacent row items in the plurality of row items.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the association between the at least one of the stored advertisements and the at least one of the plurality of programs is based on the scheduled time of the program. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the association between the at least one of the stored advertisements and the at least one of the plurality of programs is based on sponsorship of the scheduled program. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the displayed advertisements is interactive. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein wherein at least one of the displayed advertisements relates to a service or a product. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the system is further configured to:
 highlight a row of a displayed program schedule information item with a cursor;   display a detail window in a second area of the display; and   display, in the second area of the screen, information relating to the displayed program schedule information item that was highlighted.   
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the system is further configured to:
 highlight a row of a displayed advertisement with a cursor;   display a detail window in a second area of the display; and   display, in the second area of the screen, information relating to the displayed advertisement that was highlighted.   
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the portion of the stored program schedule information being displayed relates to a user-selected time,   and the displayed advertisement is independent of the user-selected time.