Patent ID: 7735106

Claim:
A method for providing a subscription-on-demand service in an interactive information distribution system, the method comprising: providing access to all on-demand programs available in an interactive information distribution system for allowing a subscriber to select two or more on-demand programs of said on-demand programs available in the interactive information distribution system to create a personal active on-demand content subscription containing only the two or more on-demand programs selected by the subscriber, wherein each one of the plurality of on-demand programs are purchased individually; receiving a single payment from the subscriber to create the personal active on-demand content subscription, wherein the personal active on-demand content subscription provides access to only the two or more on-demand programs that are individually selected by the subscriber and wherein the single payment for the personal active on-demand content subscription enables a subscriber to be authorized to access any one of the on-demand programs in the personal active on-demand content subscription without further payment; providing a user selectable channel having controlled access; receiving identification of the subscriber and an associated subscriber terminal in response to selection of the user selectable channel; and in response to receiving the single payment from the subscriber for the personal active on-demand content subscription, sending authorization to a subscriber terminal associated with the identification, wherein the authorization enables access by the subscriber to any of the on-demand programs within the personal active on-demand content subscription associated with the user selectable channel.