Systems and methods for presenting multiple assets in an interactive media guidance application

Systems and methods for presenting multiple assets in an interactive media guidance application are provided. A guidance display containing media guidance application listings is provided, where non-linear media assets are extracted from the media guidance application listings and the guidance display is divided into different portions to present media guidance application listings of non-on-demand media assets and non-linear media assets. One portion of the guidance display may include media guidance application listings of non-on-demand assets and may indicate the non-linear media assets extracted from the portion of the guidance display. Another portion may include media guidance application listings of non-linear media assets that were extracted from the media guidance application listings. This portion may also include additional non-linear assets that are available for retrieval and playback.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Due to the overwhelming volume of media content (e.g., television shows) available to the average person (e.g., via cable or satellite television), interactive media guidance applications, such as interactive program guides, have gained widespread popularity. Typically, these guidance applications present guide listings in a two-dimensional grid indexed by time and source (e.g., a television channel).

In addition to providing access to programs provided according to a schedule, these guidance applications also provide access to non-linear programming which is not provided according to a schedule, such as on-demand content. As the popularity of on-demand content and other non-linear programming continues to grow, advanced media guidance support is becoming increasingly important. For example, the two-dimensional grid provided by these guidance applications may need to be adjusted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, systems and methods for presenting multiple assets in an interactive media guidance application are provided. In particular, a guidance display containing media guidance application listings is provided, where non-linear (e.g., on-demand) media assets are extracted from the media guidance application listings and the guidance display is divided to present media guidance application listings of non-on-demand media assets and non-linear media assets. One portion may include media guidance application listings of non-on-demand assets, such as broadcast listings, and may indicate the non-linear media assets extracted from the portion of media guidance application listings. Another portion may include media guidance application listings of non-linear media assets that were extracted from the media guidance application listings. This portion may also include additional non-linear assets that are available for retrieval and playback.

In some embodiments, a user request to display a plurality of media guidance application listings (e.g., program listings) is received. In particular, a user may select a television listings icon from a guidance display to instruct control circuitry to retrieve program listings. The control circuitry may, in response to receiving the request, present a guidance display that includes a plurality of media guidance application listings. The media guidance application listings may include listings corresponding to non-linear assets and non-on-demand assets.

In some embodiments, a user request to organize the plurality of media guidance application listings is received. In particular, a user may select a “clean up” or organization option from a guidance display to instruct control circuitry to divide the media guidance application listings in the guidance display.

The control circuitry may, in response to receiving the request to organize the guidance display, extract the media guidance application listings of non-linear assets. In addition, the control circuitry may cause the displayed media guidance application listings to be divided into a first portion of content listings and a second portion of content listings.

The first portion of content listings may include a portion of the media guidance application listings of the non-on-demand assets from the guidance display. The first portion of content listings may also indicate the non-linear assets extracted from within the first portion of content listings. For example, a cell corresponding to an non-linear asset may be shaded, or blackened to indicate the extraction of the on-demand asset. In another example, in response to receiving the request to organize the guidance display, the control circuitry may animate the extraction of non-linear assets from the guidance display. In particular, the control circuitry may cause one or more animations to provide the appearance of dividing the guidance display into a first portion and a second portion, highlighting media guidance application listings of non-linear assets, sliding those listings to the second portion of the guidance display, and fading the extracted listings back to indicate the extraction of the non-linear assets.

The second portion of content listings may include media guidance application listings of the non-linear assets extracted from the first portion of content listings. In some embodiments, the second portion of guide listings may include additional listings of non-linear assets available to the user. For example, the second portion of content listings may include non-linear assets available to the user that were not listed in the guidance display.

In some embodiments, the first portion of content listings may be displayed as a program listings grid and the second portion of content listings may be displayed as a list of the extracted non-linear assets.

In some embodiments, the guidance display may be divided horizontally, where the first portion of content listings are displayed in a grid format above the second portion of content listings of on-demand assets. Alternatively, the guidance display may be divided vertically, where the first portion of content listings and the second portion of content listings are displayed side by side.

In some embodiments, the user may be provided with a navigation option that allows the user to navigate between media guidance application listings in different portions of the guidance display. For example, upon dividing the media guidance application listings between on-demand assets and non-on-demand assets, the control circuitry may highlight a cell within the second portion of content listings that contains non-linear assets and allows the user to navigate between media guidance application listings of non-linear assets. Upon receiving an indication that the user has selected the navigation option, the control circuitry may direct the highlight region to a call within the first portion of the content listings or another divided portion of the guidance display.

In some embodiments, the control circuitry may perform the extraction of non-linear listings based on a category of interest received from the user. For example, in response to receiving the request to organize the non-linear assets in a guidance display, the control circuitry may generate a prompt for display. The prompt may provide the user with an opportunity to input a category of interest, such as a particular genre (e.g., sports, family, action, game shows, etc.). Based on the received category of interest, the control circuitry may extract non-linear listings that fall within the received category of interest. Additionally, the control circuitry may divide the guidance display, where the second portion of non-linear media assets includes the extracted non-linear listings in the category of interest.

It should be noted that, although the embodiments described herein generally refer to non-linear media assets and non-on-demand media assets, this is merely illustrative. For example, the control circuitry may divide the guidance display to present media guidance application listings between linear programming (e.g., broadcast listings) and non-linear programming (e.g., on-demand listings, recorded media listings, Internet content listings, etc.). In another example, the control circuitry may provide the user with a menu option for selecting content types and/or categories of interest for dividing the guidance display (e.g., extract recorded content listings placed into the guidance display and divide the guidance display to create a grid portion of broadcast listings and a list portion of recorded content listings).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

This invention generally relates to systems and methods for presenting multiple assets in an interactive media guidance application. In particular, systems and methods are provided for allowing a user to extract on-demand listings from a display of guide listings for presentation in a different portion of the display.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to provide media guidance data to users. As referred to herein, the phrase “media guidance data” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any data related to content, such as media listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratings information (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.), genre or category information, actor information, logo data for broadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standard definition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement information (e.g., text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, blogs, websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among and locate desired content selections.

FIG. 1shows illustrative grid program listings display100arranged by time and channel that also enables access to different types of content in a single display. Display100may include grid102with: (1) a column of channel/content type identifiers104, where each channel/content type identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a different channel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifies a time block of programming. Grid102also includes cells of program listings, such as program listing108, where each listing provides the title of the program provided on the listing's associated channel and time. With a user input device, a user can select program listings by moving highlight region110. Information relating to the program listing selected by highlight region110may be provided in program information region112. Region112may include, for example, the program title, the program description, the time the program is provided (if applicable), the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, and other desired information.

Grid102may provide media guidance data for non-linear programming including on-demand listing114, recorded content listing116, and Internet content listing118. A display combining media guidance data for content from different types of content sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of the types of media guidance data that may be displayed that are different than display100may be based on user selection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114,116, and118are shown as spanning the entire time block displayed in grid102to indicate that selection of these listings may provide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings, or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings for these content types may be included directly in grid102. Additional media guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selecting one of the navigational icons120. (Pressing an arrow key on a user input device may affect the display in a similar manner as selecting navigational icons120.)

Advertisement124may provide an advertisement for content that, depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscription programming), is currently available for viewing, will be available for viewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, and may correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listings in grid102. Advertisement124may also be for products or services related or unrelated to the content displayed in grid102. Advertisement124may be selectable and provide further information about content, provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing of content, a product, or a service, provide content relating to the advertisement, etc. Advertisement124may be targeted based on a user's profile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of display provided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

In some embodiments, the user may navigate through media guidance application listings, such as the content listings shown inFIG. 1. The user may request that the media guidance application organize the content listings by positioning highlight region110over an organization option and pressing a suitable key on a remote control (e.g., a select key). Alternatively, when the media guidance application is executed on a wireless communications device with a touch screen, the user may make contact with the touch screen using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, finger, etc. For example, instead of pressing a suitable key on the remote control, the media guidance application may respond to contact with a touch screen, such as one or more taps on the touch screen, maintaining continuous contact with the touch screen, movement of the point of contact while maintaining continuous contact, a breaking of the contact, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may provide the user with one or more displays for organizing media guidance application listings. For example, as shown inFIGS. 5-11, the media guidance application may determine which listings from the media guidance application listings are on-demand listings. In a more particular example, the media guidance application may access a media guidance data source or media content source and search through content metadata to determine which listings are on-demand listings. It should be noted that the media guidance application may determine on-demand listings within the media guidance application listings displayed in the grid shown inFIG. 2, within the media guidance application listings stored in user equipment (see, e.g., storage308ofFIG. 3), or through any other suitable number of listings.

As shown inFIGS. 5-11, the media guidance application may extract the on-demand listings from the guidance display and provide them in a different portion of the display. The media guidance application may also continue to provide non-on-demand listings in a portion of the display, where the extracted on-demand listings are indicated.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may prompt the user to select a genre or a category of interest (e.g., news, sports, family, all, etc.). In response to receiving a user selection, the media guidance application may selectively extract on-demand listings from the guidance display that match the user selected category of interest. In a more particular example, the media guidance application may access a media guidance data source or media content source and search through content metadata to determine which listings are on-demand listings and which of those listings match the user selected category of interest. The media guidance application may then provide the user with a guidance display, where a divided portion of the guidance display provides on-demand listings relating to a particular category of interest.

For example, as described above, the media guidance application may select one or more categories of interest for extracting on-demand listings from media guidance application listings based on a user profile, user history, previously recorded content, previously ordered content, parental control settings, etc.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display200includes selectable options202for content information organized based on content type, genre, and/or other organization criteria. In display200, television listings option204is selected, thus providing listings206,208,210, and212as broadcast program listings. In display200the listings may provide graphical images including cover art, still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to a user the content being described by the media guidance data in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also be accompanied by text to provide further information about the content associated with the listing. For example, listing208may include more than one portion, including media portion214and text portion216. Media portion214and/or text portion216may be selectable to view content in full-screen or to view information related to the content displayed in media portion214(e.g., to view listings for the channel that the video is displayed on).

An organization option220may be included to allow the user to organize media guidance application listings or any other suitable content. In particular, selection of organization option220may navigate the user to one of the guidance displays shown inFIGS. 5-8,10, and11. In some embodiments, the selection of organization option220may navigate the user to category of interest prompt910(FIG. 9), which allows the user to instruct the media guidance application to extract on-demand listings from the media guidance application listings based on defined media parameters (e.g., a particular genre, a particular time slot, a particular rating, etc.).

The listings in display200are of different sizes (i.e., listing206is larger than listings208,210, and212), but if desired, all the listings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes or graphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user or to emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider or based on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphically accentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and its display screens described above and below) from one or more of their user equipment devices.FIG. 3shows a generalized embodiment of illustrative user equipment device300. More specific implementations of user equipment devices are discussed below in connection withFIG. 4. User equipment device300may receive content and data via input/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path302. I/O path302may provide content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, content available over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), and/or other content) and data to control circuitry304, which includes processing circuitry306and storage308. Control circuitry304may be used to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable data using I/O path302. I/O path302may connect control circuitry304(and specifically processing circuitry306) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 3to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry304using user input interface310. User input interface310may be any suitable user interface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or other user input interfaces. Display312may be provided as a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of user equipment device300. Display312may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display312may be HDTV-capable. In some embodiments, display312may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidance application and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A video card or graphics card may generate the output to the display312. The video card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be any processing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry304. Speakers314may be provided as integrated with other elements of user equipment device300or may be stand-alone units. The audio component of videos and other content displayed on display312may be played through speakers314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may be configured to receive instructions from user input interface310. For example, control circuitry304may cause media guidance application listings to be presented by selecting a selectable option in a display screen (e.g., a listings option) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface310.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may be configured to receive an instruction from user input interface310to organize the media guidance application listings. In response to receiving the instruction, control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings (e.g., from within the guidance display, from all available listings, etc.). Control circuitry304may render an animation or any other suitable sequence of images that removes the extracted on-demand listings from the guidance display and moves the extracted on-demand listings to a different portion of the guidance display. Control circuitry304may allow the user to navigate within different portions of the guidance display, where one portion has non-on-demand listings and another portion has on-demand listings. Control circuitry304may also allow the user to switch navigational control between the different portions of listings.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitable architecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application wholly implemented on user equipment device300. In such an approach, instructions of the application are stored locally, and data for use by the application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from an out-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitable approach). In some embodiments, the media guidance application is a client-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin client implemented on user equipment device300is retrieved on-demand by issuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device300. In one example of a client-server based guidance application, control circuitry304runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by a remote server.

User equipment device300ofFIG. 3can be implemented in system400ofFIG. 4as user television equipment402, user computer equipment404, wireless user communications device406, or any other type of user equipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gaming machine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to herein collectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may be substantially similar to user equipment devices described above. User equipment devices, on which a media guidance application may be implemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices. Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system features described above in connection withFIG. 3may not be classified solely as user television equipment402, user computer equipment404, or a wireless user communications device406. For example, user television equipment402may, like some user computer equipment404, be Internet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while user computer equipment404may, like some television equipment402, include a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The media guidance application may have the same layout on various different types of user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computer equipment404, the guidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled down for wireless user communications devices406.

In system400, there is typically more than one of each type of user equipment device but only one of each is shown inFIG. 4to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize more than one type of user equipment device and also more than one of each type of user equipment device.

System400includes content source416and media guidance data source418coupled to communications network414via communication paths420and422, respectively. Paths420and422may include any of the communication paths described above in connection with paths408,410, and412. Communications with the content source416and media guidance data source418may be exchanged over one or more communications paths, but are shown as a single path inFIG. 4to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of content source416and media guidance data source418, but only one of each is shown inFIG. 4to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, content source416and media guidance data source418may be integrated as one source device. Although communications between sources416and418with user equipment devices402,404, and406are shown as through communications network414, in some embodiments, sources416and418may communicate directly with user equipment devices402,404, and406via communication paths (not shown) such as those described above in connection with paths408,410, and412.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outside a home can use their media guidance application to communicate directly with content source416to access content. Specifically, within a home, users of user television equipment402and user computer equipment404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locate desirable content. Users may also access the media guidance application outside of the home using wireless user communications devices406to navigate among and locate desirable content.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may display media guidance application listings to the user. For example, control circuitry304may display media guidance application listings by providing a display similar to grid102ofFIG. 1or a mosaic display with program listings similar to display200ofFIG. 2. In some embodiments, the media guidance application listings may be displayed simultaneously with a program or video of the program being watched. In particular, control circuitry304may allow the user to browse program listings for other programs while watching the program on the display.

FIG. 5shows an illustrative guidance display500containing on-demand listings and non-on-demand listings in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. Similar toFIG. 1, a user may indicate a desire to access mixed media guidance information by selecting a selectable option provided in a display screen (e.g., a television listings option204) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In response to receiving an indication from the user, control circuitry304may provide a guidance display with non-on-demand listings230, such as broadcast listings and other content that may be provided according to a schedule, and on-demand listings235. For example, as shown, guidance display200may include broadcast listings230, such as “Live News 01” and “Live Entertainment Updates” on Ch. 1 (FOX). As also shown inFIG. 2, guidance display200may include on-demand listings235, such as “Show 02” and “Recorded NBA Game” on Ch. 3 (ABC) and Ch. 2 (ESPN), respectively.

It should be noted that media guidance application listings for on-demand content, such as on-demand listings235, may be placed into guidance display200using any suitable approach.

For example, as shown in guidance display200, control circuitry304may retrieve an on-demand listing and dynamically place the on-demand listing in a cell adjacent to related content (e.g., “Recorded NBA Game” is placed in the cell following the program “Live NBA Game”). In particular, control circuitry304may receive an on-demand asset for populating into a grid from a content provider, determine keywords associated with the received on-demand asset, and search through metadata or any suitable media guidance data for content with metadata matching the keywords.

An illustrative example is shown in connection with media guidance listings540and545. Upon receiving the on-demand media asset having the program title “New Moon,” control circuitry304may determine keywords associated with the on-demand media asset. For example, control circuitry304may retrieve keywords in metadata associated with the on-demand asset or keywords provided by the content provider. In another example, control circuitry304may access media content source416or media guidance data source418to determine one or more keywords, such as “vampire” and “werewolf,” for association with the on-demand asset. In response, control circuitry304may search through program metadata (e.g., associated with broadcast programming) for content matching the keywords “vampire” and “werewolf.” Upon finding content, such as broadcast listing540, with metadata that matches one or more keywords, control circuitry304may dynamically place a listing for the on-demand asset adjacent to broadcast listing540. As shown inFIG. 5, on-demand listing545for the on-demand content “New Moon” has been dynamically inserted in the cell immediately adjacent to broadcast listing540, which is a broadcast listing for the movie “American Werewolf in London.”

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, control circuitry304may dynamically place a listing of the on-demand asset adjacent to any suitable number of listings. Additionally or alternatively, the on-demand asset may instruct control circuitry304to dynamically place a listing of the on-demand asset adjacent to a predetermined number of broadcast listings (e.g., one listing, five listings, etc.).

It should also be noted that, in some embodiments, control circuitry304may update the placement of on-demand listings. For example, to not obscure upcoming listings for programming scheduled on a particular channel, control circuitry304may update the placement of on-demand listings as time elapses. In particular, when the current time approaches 8:00 PM, control circuitry304may remove the placement of on-demand listing535for “Recorded NBA Game” and replace it with the broadcast listing assigned by the particular channel. In another example, control circuitry304may update the placement of on-demand listings as the user browses through guidance display500.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may monitor user interaction with dynamically placed on-demand assets. For example, control circuitry304may monitor whether the user has highlighted the on-demand listing (e.g., listing545) in the grid, whether the user has selected the on-demand listing in the grid, whether the user has watched a preview of the on-demand asset, whether the user has purchased the on-demand asset, etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may transmit user interaction information to the content provider associated with the dynamically placed on-demand asset. Alternatively, control circuitry304may store user interaction information for determining categories of interest, preferred content, etc.

Additionally or alternatively, control circuitry304may retrieve an on-demand listing relating to a particular channel and dynamically place the on-demand listing in a cell assigned to the particular channel. For example, control circuitry304may determine that channel 5 is the HBO On Demand channel and, in response to the determination, dynamically place HBO On Demand content in the row assigned to the HBO On Demand channel.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may dynamically generate personalized channels. Personalized channels may be generated based on user history data (e.g., previously recorded programs, favorite channels, program reminders, previous keyword searches, etc.). In some embodiments, personalized channels may be generated based on receiving a user selection of a genre, a category of interest, or a keyword.

For example, as shown in rows550ofFIG. 5, control circuitry304may determine from user history data, user profile information, or any other suitable user data to generate a personalized channel related to the keyword “horse.” In response to the determination, control circuitry304may search through program metadata or any other suitable media guidance data to determine content matching the keyword “horse.” As shown in the row corresponding to channel901, which is indicated by the channel identifier “HORSE1,” control circuitry304has retrieved and populated the row with the media guidance application listings for “A Man Named Horse” on the A&E channel that starts at 7:00 PM (listing555), “The Horse Whisperer” on the TNT channel that starts at 8:00 PM, and “Mr. Ed” on the NICK channel that starts at 9:00 PM.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may retrieve media guidance application listings for content scheduled at the same time. For example, control circuitry304has performed a search through storage for content matching the keyword “horse” and retrieved two broadcast listing, such as listing555for “A Man Named Horse” on the A&E channel and listing560for “Only Fools and Horses” on the BBC channel. In response, control circuitry304may generate an additional personalized channel, such as channel902, which is indicated by the channel identifier “HORSE2.” As shown inFIG. 5, listing560for the program “Only Fools and Horses” has been placed into a newly generated channel row.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may retrieve media guidance application listings for populating into a row for a personalized channel. For example, control circuitry304may search for broadcast listings for populating into the additional personalized channel identified by “HORSE2.” In response to determining that no other broadcast content fits into an empty cell in the channel row, control circuitry304may search for other content that matches the particular keyword. For example, in response to determining that there are no broadcast programs showing at 8:00 PM having metadata matching the keyword “horse,” control circuitry304may determine which on-demand assets have metadata matching the keyword “horse” and select one of the on-demand assets for populating the empty cell. As shown inFIG. 5, control circuitry304has retrieved and populated the cell with on-demand listing565for “Seabiscuit.”

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to organize the plurality of media guidance application listings provided in guidance display500. For example, while browsing through media guidance application listings, control circuitry304may provide the user with access to a divided guidance display that organizes media guidance application listings between on-demand assets and non-on-demand assets. For example, as shown in FIGS.2and5-11, control circuitry304may provide the user with organization option220. Organization option220may allow the user to organize content information based on media type, genre or category information, media format, and/or other organization criteria or type of guidance data. For example, the user may select organization option220to organize on-demand content from non-on-demand content.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may monitor the media guidance application listings provided in guidance display500. In response to determining that there are multiple content types (e.g., on-demand assets and non-on-demand assets), control circuitry304may activate organization option220(e.g., allow the user to select or press organization option220). Additionally or alternatively, the user may select organization option220and, in response, control circuitry304may determine whether there are multiple content types within guidance display500.

As shown inFIG. 5, the user may navigate cursor225to organization option220and press a select key on the user input device. Alternatively, organization option220may be selected by the user by pressing a dedicated button on the user input device.

In response to receiving an indication from the user to organize on-demand content from non-on-demand content (e.g., using organization option220), control circuitry304may determine which listings within the media guidance listings shown in display200are on-demand listings. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may access a database of media guidance application listings and search through metadata relating to content type or content source to determine which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings. Alternatively or additionally to determining which listings within guidance display200are on-demand listings, control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings currently stored in the user equipment (e.g., storage308ofFIG. 3) are on-demand listings. As such, control circuitry304may provide the user with available on-demand listings and, as the user browses through media guidance application listings, may instantaneously update the guidance display to indicate which on-demand listings have been extracted from the media guidance application listings.

In response to determining which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings, control circuitry304may divide the guidance display into at least an on-demand portion containing on-demand listings and a non-on-demand portion containing non-on-demand listings. The non-on-demand portion may appear similar to the grid program listings display shown inFIG. 1orFIG. 5. In addition, the non-on-demand portion may indicate which on-demand listings have been extracted from within the non-on-demand portion.

It should be noted that control circuitry304may present the user with on-demand portion and non-on-demand portion of guidance display using any suitable arrangement. For example, as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, control circuitry304extracts on-demand listings from guidance display and presents a non-on-demand portion that indicates the extracted on-demand listings and an on-demand portion with the extracted on-demand listings. In another example, as shown inFIG. 8, control circuitry304may provide on-demand listings and non-on-demand listings in pop-up windows. In yet another example, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected the organization option220, control circuitry304may extract on-demand listings from a guidance display provided on a first user equipment device, indicate on the guidance display of the first user equipment device the locations of the extracted on-demand listings, and instruct a second screen device to provide a list of the extracted on-demand listings for playback and retrieval.

FIG. 6shows an illustrative divided guidance display600in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. As shown, guidance display600includes a non-on-demand listings portion610, an on-demand listings portion620, and a navigation control option630. As discussed above, non-on-demand listings portion610may contain non-on-demand listings, such as broadcast listings614for “Live News 01” and “Live Entertainment News,” in a grid612.

It should be noted that grid612presented in non-on-demand listings portion610may be any suitable portion of the grid shown in display500ofFIG. 5. For example, grid612may include half of the number of rows of the grid shown in display500ofFIG. 5. In another example, grid612and the associated media guidance application listings may occupy half of the available screen size.

In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected organization option220, control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings from at least within non-on-demand listings portion620are on-demand listings. Upon determining which media guidance application listings from within non-on-demand listings portion620are on-demand listings, control circuitry304may extract the on-demand listings from the media guidance application listings. Grid612presented in non-on-demand listings portion610may also provide an indication for each of the extracted on-demand listings from within non-on-demand listings portion610. The indication may be, for example, a shaded area, such as a shaded cell616. In some embodiments, the indication may be provided in the form of an animation or a sequence of images, where an extracted on-demand listing fades into the background until a shaded cell remains. In another example, the animation may present holes that are punched into locations of extracted on-demand listings.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may display on-demand listings in on-demand listings portion620. On-demand listings portion620may include the on-demand listings that were extracted from non-on-demand listings portion610or the listings in display500ofFIG. 5.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may display additional on-demand listings that are available for playback by the user in on-demand listings portion620. For example, control circuitry304may determine additional on-demand listings stored in the user equipment (e.g., in storage308ofFIG. 3) that are available for playback. In another example, control circuitry304may determine content providers subscribed to by the user (e.g., HBO and HBO On Demand offerings), programs that were recorded by the user, and/or content that was locally stored by the user and retrieve the associated media guidance application listings or media guidance data for display in on-demand listings portion320.

In some embodiments, for on-demand listings portion320, control circuitry304may also supplement the on-demand listings with media guidance data or access to media guidance applications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications) from over-the-top (OTT) content providers.

It should be noted that, although on-demand listings portions620inFIG. 6presents a listing of on-demand assets, any suitable arrangement may be provided. For example, a video region containing a video clip preview may be provided adjacent to each on-demand listing. In another example, a transfer playback option may be provided adjacent to each on-demand listing, where the transfer playback option allows the user to playback the corresponding on-demand asset on a first user equipment device or a second screen device (e.g., a wireless communications device). In yet another example, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected the organization option220, control circuitry304may extract on-demand listings from a guidance display provided on a first user equipment device, indicate on the guidance display of the first user equipment device the locations of the extracted on-demand listings, and instruct a second screen device to present on-demand listings portion320, which contains the extracted on-demand listings and/or additional on-demand listings for playback and retrieval.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to navigate within different portions of the divided listings in guidance display600. For example, as shown inFIG. 6, the user is provided with cursor622for navigating through and/or selecting from on-demand listings within on-demand listings portion620. Control circuitry304may allow the user to return to navigating within the non-on-demand listings portion610by using, for example, a navigation control option630. In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected navigation control option630(e.g., by navigating cursor622to navigation control option630and pressing a select key on the user input device, by pressing a dedicated button on the user input device, etc.), control circuitry304may direct cursor622to non-on-demand listings portion610.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, navigation control option630may allow the user to move cursor622between non-on-demand listings portion610and on-demand listings portion620. In some embodiments, navigation control option630may allow the user to toggle between any number of divided listings portions generated by control circuitry304.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to control the size of on-demand listings portion620with respect to non-on-demand listings portion610. For example, guidance display600may include a screen ratio option640. Screen ratio option640may allow the user to change between different ratios of the divided portions. In particular, the user has selected a ratio of 1:2 with screen ratio option640, which divides the media guidance application listings such that non-on-demand listings portion610occupies one-third of display600and on-demand listings portion620occupies two-thirds of display600. Any other suitable option for dividing screen size may also be used, such as, for example, a percentage, a number of rows, etc.

An alternative display arrangement for providing media guidance application listings that are divided into different portions is shown inFIG. 7. As shown, control circuitry304may provide a guidance display700that vertically divides the media guidance application listings into a non-on-demand listings portion710and an on-demand listings portion720.

As described above, non-on-demand listings portion710may contain non-on-demand listings, such as a broadcast listing714for “Live News 01,” in a grid712. Grid712provided in non-on-demand listings portion710may be any suitable portion of the grid shown in guidance display500ofFIG. 5. For example, grid712may include half of the number of columns or timeslots of the grid shown in display500ofFIG. 5.

In addition to providing non-on-demand listings, control circuitry304may also extract on-demand listings from non-on-demand listings portion710and provide an indication for each of the extracted on-demand listings within non-on-demand listings portion710. The indication may be, for example, a shaded region716. In some embodiments, the indication may be provided in the form of an animation, where extracted on-demand listings fade into the background until shaded cells remain. The animation may also cause the extracted on-demand listings to shift horizontally into on-demand listings portion720.

On-demand listings portion420may include the on-demand listings that were extracted from non-on-demand listings portion710or the listings in guidance display500ofFIG. 5. In some embodiments, on-demand listings portion720may also include additional on-demand listings that are available for playback by the user. As described above in connection withFIG. 6, control circuitry304may retrieve and display additional on-demand listings that are available for playback by the user in on-demand listings portion720. For example, control circuitry304may determine additional on-demand listings stored in the user equipment (e.g., in storage308ofFIG. 3) that are available for playback. In another example, control circuitry304may determine content providers subscribed to by the user (e.g., HBO and HBO On Demand offerings), programs that were recorded by the user, and/or content that was locally stored by the user and retrieve the associated media guidance application listings or media guidance data for display in on-demand listings portion320.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to set guidance settings indicating whether to divide the media guidance application listings in the listings display horizontally or vertically. Alternatively or additionally, control circuitry304may provide the user with a division option for indicating whether to divide the guidance display horizontally or vertically.

Another alternative display arrangement for providing media guidance application listings divided into different portions is shown inFIG. 8. As shown, control circuitry304may divide the media guidance application listings in a guidance display into a non-on-demand listings portion810displayed in a first pop-up window800and an on-demand listings portion860in a second pop-up window850. In some embodiments, first pop-up window800and second pop-up window850may overlap.

Non-on-demand listings portion810may contain non-on-demand listings, such as a broadcast listing812for “Live NBA Game” in a grid similar to the one shown inFIG. 5. As shown in first pop-up window800, the grid presented in non-on-demand listings portion810may be any suitable portion of the grid shown in guidance display500ofFIG. 5. For example, the grid may include a predetermined number of rows of the grid shown in guidance display500ofFIG. 5. In another example, the grid may include a particular number of rows based on the available screen area.

In addition to providing non-on-demand listings, control circuitry304may also extract on-demand listings from non-on-demand listings portion810and provide an indication for each of the extracted on-demand listings within non-on-demand listings portion810. The indication may be, for example, a shaded region814that replaces the listing for “Recorded NBA Game.” In some embodiments, the indication may be provided in the form of an animation, where an extracted on-demand listing pops out from non-on-demand listings portion810and jumps into on-demand listings portion860in pop-up window850.

On-demand listings portion860may include the on-demand listings that were extracted from non-on-demand listings portion810or the listings in guidance display500ofFIG. 5. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may retrieve and display additional on-demand listings that are available for playback by the user in on-demand listings portion820of pop-up window850. For example, control circuitry304may determine additional on-demand listings stored in the user equipment (e.g., in storage308ofFIG. 3) that are available for playback. In another example, control circuitry304may determine content providers subscribed to by the user (e.g., HBO and HBO On Demand offerings), programs that were recorded by the user, and/or content that was locally stored by the user and retrieve the associated media guidance application listings or media guidance data for display in on-demand listings portion820of pop-up window850.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to switch between navigating within the listings of non-on-demand listings portion810in pop-up window800and navigating within the listings of on-demand listings portion860in pop-up window850. For example, as shown inFIG. 8, the user is provided with navigation control option820. In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected navigation control option820while the user is browsing through listings within on-demand listings portion860, the interactive media guidance application may direct cursor862to a media guidance application listing within non-on-demand listings portion810in pop-up window800. In some embodiments, navigation control option820may allow the user to toggle between a plurality of divided listings portions in different pop-up windows generated by control circuitry304.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may provide the user with options for dividing media content. For example, in response to the user selecting organization option220, the interactive media guidance application may generate a prompt for display. An illustrative example of a prompt900is shown inFIG. 9. Prompt900may provide the user with an opportunity to input a category of interest, such as a particular genre (e.g., sports, family, action, game shows, etc.). In some embodiments, prompt900may allow the user to instruct control circuitry304to extract all on-demand listings regardless of genre or category (e.g., by selecting a “view all” option).

Based on the received category of interest, control circuitry304may extract on-demand listings from the media guidance application listings500inFIG. 5that fall within the received category of interest. In particular, in response to receiving a category of interest, control circuitry304may query a storage device, a media content server, or any other suitable source to determine which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings and which of the on-demand listings fall within the category of interest. In a more particular example, control circuitry304may search through metadata or any other suitable media guidance data to determine which media guidance application listings have metadata that indicate the content is on-demand content and that have keywords matching or falling within the category of interest.

Additionally, control circuitry304may cause the guidance display to be divided into portions, where the second portion of on-demand media assets includes the extracted on-demand listings that meet the category of interest.

For example, upon displaying prompt900ofFIG. 9, the user may select the “sports” category of interest for extracting on-demand assets. In response to selecting the “sports” genre or category, control circuitry304may provide guidance display1000. To generate guidance display1000, control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings within grid1022(or the grid shown inFIG. 5) are on-demand listings that fall within the “sports” genre or category. In response to the determination, control circuitry304may extract those on-demand listings, such as on-demand listing1026originally displayed within grid1022, and provide an indication (e.g., a shaded region) showing that on-demand listings1026has been removed from grid1022.

Upon extracting the on-demand listings from grid1022, control circuitry304may provide a divided guidance display, where an on-demand listings portion1010and a non-on-demand listings portion1020are provided. Non-on-demand listings portion1020contains non-on-demand listings and indications of the extracted on-demand listings that are sports-related within non-on-demand listings portion1020. On-demand listings portion1010contains on-demand listings that are related to sports and includes at least the on-demand listings extracted from non-on-demand listings portion1020. Control circuitry304may also supplement on-demand listings portion1020with additional sports-related on-demand media listing.

Referring back toFIG. 2, control circuitry304presents the user with a video mosaic display200for providing media guidance. Mosaic display200includes media guidance application listings206,208,210, and212. In some embodiments, the listings may include a media portion214, such as cover art, still images from the content, video clip previews, live video from the content, or other types of content that indicate to the user the content being described by the media guidance data in the listing, and a textual portion216.

In response to selecting organization option220, control circuitry304may extract on-demand listings from video mosaic display200and place the extracted on-demand listings in a portion of the display separate from the non-on-demand listings. For example, as shown inFIG. 11, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected organization option220, control circuitry304determines which media guidance application listings from at least listings1112,1114,1116, and1118are on-demand listings. In response to determining that listing1114is an on-demand listing within non-on-demand listings portion1110, control circuitry304may indicate the extraction of listing1114from non-on-demand listings portion1110and display listing1114within on-demand listings portion1120. In addition, control circuitry304may provide additional on-demand listings, such as listings1122and1124for “New Moon” and “Seabiscuit,” respectively. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may restrict user navigation to a divided portion—e.g., either non-on-demand listings portion1110or on-demand listings portion1120. Control circuitry304may allow the user to change navigational control between divided portions by using, for example, a navigational control option1130.

FIG. 12illustrates a flow diagram1200for presenting an interactive media guidance application, where a guidance display is divided into a portion of non-on-demand guide listings and a portion of on-demand guide listings in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

At step1210, media guidance application listings are displayed. For example, control circuitry304may cause media guidance application listings to be presented by selecting a selectable option in a display screen (e.g., a listings option) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remote control or other user input interface310.

At step1220, control circuitry304may determine whether the media guidance application listings include multiple types of assets, such as on-demand assets and non-on-demand assets. For example, control circuitry304may search through metadata or any other suitable media guidance data to determine the content type associated with the media guidance application listings displayed at step1210. Alternatively, control circuitry may search through metadata or any other suitable media guidance data to determine the content type associated with media guidance application listings stored in the user equipment.

In response to determining that the displayed media guidance application listings contain on-demand assets and non-on-demand assets, control circuitry304may provide the user with an organization option (e.g., organization option220inFIG. 2) at step1230. For example, in response to determining that on-demand assets may be extracted and a guidance display that divides on-demand assets from non-on-demand assets may be provided, control circuitry304may activate the organization option.

In response to receiving an indication that the user has selected the organization option at step1240, control circuitry304may prompt the user to indicate a genre or category of interest for organizing the media guidance application listings at step1250. For example, as shown inFIG. 9, control circuitry304may allow the user to select from a plurality of categories of interest, such as news, sports, family, reality, comedy, game shows, movies, etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may determine particular genres or categories for the user based on user history information (e.g., previously viewed programs, previously recorded programs, previous keyword searches, etc.), user preference information, or user profile information.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may allow the user to extract all on-demand assets from the media guidance application listings. At step1260, control circuitry304may extract the on-demand assets from the media guidance application listings. For example, control circuitry304may search through metadata and other media guidance data to determine which of the media guidance application listings are on-demand listings. In another example, control circuitry304may search for on-demand listings from the currently displayed media guidance application listings.

Any suitable mechanism for extracting on-demand content to be presented in a separate portion of the guidance display may be used. For example, in some embodiments, control circuitry304may transmit a query to storage for content data. In response to receiving content data from storage (e.g., in an XML structure as illustrated inFIG. 13), control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings for presentation in a separate portion of the guidance display. Upon determining the on-demand listings for extraction, control circuitry may save such information in storage (e.g., in an XML structure as illustrated inFIG. 13).

Referring back to step1250, in response to determining that the user has selected a genre or a category of interest (e.g., sports), control circuitry304may perform the extraction of on-demand listings based on a category of interest received from the user at step1270. For example, control circuitry304may search through metadata and other media guidance data to determine which of the media guidance application listings are on-demand listings and which of the media guidance application listings falls within the category of interest.

Any suitable mechanism for extracting on-demand content of a particular category may be used. For example, in some embodiments, control circuitry304may transmit a query to storage for content data. In response to receiving content data from storage (e.g., in an XML structure as illustrated inFIG. 13), control circuitry304may determine which media guidance application listings are on-demand listings and may determine which media guidance application listings have keywords or category data that falls within the category of interest. Upon determining the on-demand listings for extraction, control circuitry may save such information in storage (e.g., in an XML structure as illustrated inFIG. 13).

At step1280, control circuitry304may cause the guide listings to be divided into a first portion of guide listings and a second portion of guide listings.

At step1282, the first portion of content listings may include a portion of the media guidance application listings of the non-on-demand assets from the guidance display. The first portion of content listings may also indicate the on-demand assets extracted from within the first portion of content listings. For example, a cell corresponding to an on-demand asset may be shaded or blackened to indicate the extraction of the on-demand asset. In another example, in response to receiving the request to organize the guidance display, the control circuitry may animate the extraction of on-demand assets from the guidance display. In particular, the control circuitry may cause one or more animations to provide the appearance of dividing the guidance display into a first portion and a second portion, highlighting media guidance application listings of on-demand assets, sliding those listings to the second portion of the guidance display, and fading the extracted listings back to indicate the extraction of the on-demand assets.

At step1284, the second portion of content listings may include media guidance application listings of the on-demand assets extracted from the first portion of media guidance application listings. In some embodiments, the second portion of guide listings may include additional listings of on-demand assets available to the user. For example, the second portion of media guidance application listings may include on-demand assets available to the user that were not listed in the guidance display. In another example, control circuitry304may determine content providers subscribed to by the user (e.g., HBO and HBO On Demand), programs that were recorded by the user, and/or content that was locally stored by the user in storage and retrieve the associated media guidance application listings or media guidance display for presentation in the second portion.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may supplement the on-demand listings in the second portion with media guidance data or access to media guidance applications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications) from over-the-top (OTT) content providers.

Any suitable mechanism for providing additional listings of available on-demand assets may be used. For example, in some embodiments, control circuitry304may transmit a query to storage for content data relating to on-demand assets. In response to receiving content data from storage (e.g., in an XML structure as illustrated inFIG. 13), control circuitry304may determine the availability of the on-demand assets and, in some embodiments, may filter through the on-demand assets based on user history information, user preferences, user profile information, etc.

In some embodiments, the first portion of media guidance application listings may be displayed as a program listings grid and the second portion of content listings may be simultaneously displayed as a list of the extracted on-demand assets. Alternatively, control circuitry304may extract on-demand listings from a guidance display provided on a first user equipment device, indicate (e.g., by shading) on the guidance display of the first user equipment device the locations of the extracted on-demand listings, and instruct a second screen device to display a list of the extracted on-demand listings and/or additional on-demand listings for playback and retrieval.

In some embodiments, the guidance display may be divided horizontally, where the first portion of media guidance application listings are displayed in a grid format above the second portion of media guidance application listings of on-demand assets. Alternatively, the guidance display may be divided vertically, where the first portion of media guidance application listings and the second portion of media guidance application listings are displayed side by side.

In some embodiments, control circuitry304may restrict the user to navigation within one of either the first portion of media guidance application listings or the second portion of media guidance application listings. In some embodiments, control circuitry304may provide the user with a navigation option (e.g., a switch button) to transfer navigational control between media guidance application listings in different portions of the guidance display.

It should be noted that, although the embodiments described herein generally refer to on-demand media assets and non-on-demand media assets, this is merely illustrative. For example, the control circuitry may divide the guidance display to present media guidance application listings between linear programming (e.g., broadcast listings) and non-linear programming (e.g., on-demand listings, recorded media listings, Internet content listings, etc.).

It should be understood that the above steps of the flow diagram ofFIG. 12may be executed or performed in any order or sequence not limited to the order and sequence shown and described in the figure. Also, some of the above steps of the flow diagram ofFIG. 12may be executed or performed substantially simultaneously where appropriate or in parallel to reduce latency and processing times.

The above described embodiments of the present disclosure are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present disclosure is limited only by the claims which follow.