System and method for modifying advertisement responsive to epg information

Abstract

A system and method for utilizing data stored in an EPG database for modifying advertisement information. In this way, a service provider and/or an advertiser can transmit a single advertisement to all the television stations regardless of their geographic location and other user specific information, and need not re-transmit the advertisement even if there is a change in the show's program description. When the advertisement is displayed, the correct updated information is retrieved from the EPG database and inserted into the advertisement. In one aspect, the present invention describes a method for modifying an advertisement in an EPG comprising the steps of: storing television schedule information in a first database; storing advertisement information in a second database; incorporating a portion of the television schedule information into a portion of the advertisement information to form a modified advertisement; and displaying the modified advertisement on a screen.

1 - 58 . (canceled) 
     
     
         59 . A method for linking a news service to a program, the method comprising:
 receiving a news feed comprising a plurality of news items from the news service, wherein at least one of the plurality of news items comprises information uniquely identifying the program;   receiving a user selection of the at least one news item; and   responsive to the user selection, enabling a user equipment device to access the program based on the information.   
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59 , further comprising accessing, at the user equipment device, the program based on the information and responsive to the user selection. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein receiving the news feed comprises receiving the news feed over an Internet connection. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 61 , further comprising generating for display the plurality of news items, and wherein generating for display the plurality of news items comprises generating for display a website associated with the news service. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt based on a user profile. 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 63 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt by selecting one of a plurality of news feeds based on a user profile. 
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 63 , wherein the user profile comprises information on past user interactions with an Internet connection. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises a code specifying a future broadcast time and a particular channel of the program, and wherein enabling the user equipment device to access the program comprises enabling the user equipment device to record the program at the future broadcast time and on the particular channel. 
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises an address that uniquely links to the program. 
     
     
         68 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions thereon for linking a news service to a program, the instructions comprising:
 instructions to receive a news feed comprising a plurality of news items from the news service, wherein at least one of the plurality of news items comprises information uniquely identifying the program;   instructions to receive a user selection of the at least one news item; and   instructions to, responsive to the user selection, enable a user equipment device to access the program based on the information.   
     
     
         69 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 68 , further comprising instructions to access, at the user equipment device, the program based on the information and responsive to the user selection. 
     
     
         70 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 68 , wherein the instructions to receive the news feed comprise instructions to receive the news feed over an Internet connection. 
     
     
         71 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 70 , further comprising instructions to generate for display the plurality of news items, and wherein the instructions to generate for display the plurality of news items comprise instructions to generate for display a website associated with the news service. 
     
     
         72 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 68 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt based on a user profile. 
     
     
         73 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 72 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt by selecting one of a plurality of news feeds based on a user profile. 
     
     
         74 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 72 , wherein the user profile comprises information on past user interactions with an Internet connection. 
     
     
         75 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 68 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises a code specifying a future broadcast time and a particular channel of the program, and wherein the instructions to enable the user equipment device to access the program comprise instructions to enable the user equipment device to record the program at the future broadcast time and on the particular channel. 
     
     
         76 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 68 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises an address that uniquely links to the program. 
     
     
         77 . A method for linking to a program from a news service, the method comprising:
 processing information uniquely identifying the program responsive to a user selection of one of a plurality of news items received from the news service, wherein the one news item comprises the information uniquely identifying the program; and   accessing the program based on the identifying information.   
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 77 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt based on a user profile. 
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 78 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt by selecting one of a plurality of news feeds based on a user profile. 
     
     
         80 . The method of  claim 78 , wherein the user profile comprises information on past user interactions with an Internet connection. 
     
     
         81 . The method of  claim 77 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises a code specifying a future broadcast time and a particular channel of the program, and wherein accessing the program comprises recording the program at the future broadcast time and on the particular channel. 
     
     
         82 . The method of  claim 77  wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises an address that uniquely links to the program. 
     
     
         83 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions thereon for linking to a program from a news service, the instructions comprising:
 instructions to process information uniquely identifying the program responsive to a user selection of one of a plurality of news items received from the news service, wherein the one news item comprises the information; and   instructions to access the program based on the identifying information.   
     
     
         84 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 83 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt based on a user profile. 
     
     
         85 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 84 , wherein the plurality of news items is selected for receipt by selecting one of a plurality of news feeds based on a user profile. 
     
     
         86 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 84 , wherein the user profile comprises information on past user interactions with an Internet connection. 
     
     
         87 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 83 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises a code specifying a future broadcast time and a particular channel of the program, and wherein the instructions to record the program comprise instructions to record the program at the future broadcast time and on the particular channel. 
     
     
         88 . The non-transitory machine-readable media of  claim 83 , wherein the information uniquely identifying the program comprises an address that uniquely links to the program.