Patent ID: 7634786

Claim:
A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide based on a user demographic category value that represents a likelihood that the user fits within a demographic category, the method comprising: receiving advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with a demographic criteria for at least one demographic category; receiving a user input requesting activation of a function of the interactive television program guide for a program, wherein the user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide; determining a type of function of the interactive television program guide that was requested for the program; determining a weight associated with the determined type of function, wherein each of a plurality of interactive television program guide function types are associated with a predetermined weight value; determining a demographic category value associated with the program; determining a user demographic category value for at least one demographic category based on the determined demographic category value adjusted by the determined weight; comparing the determined user demographic category value with the demographic criteria associated with the received advertisements; selecting advertisements for display if the determined user demographic category value meets the demographic criteria; and displaying the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide.