METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC PROGRAMMING GUIDE

摘要

A subscription television system is provided that transmits a plurality of television signals to a plurality of subscribers. The television signals include pay-per-view programs (purchased by feature) or near-video-on-demand programs (purchased for a period of time for unlimited viewing) that are provided only to subscribers that purchase the programs. Data (16) representing an electronic programming guide is also transmitted. The electronic programming guide can be displayed by a subscriber terminal at the subscriber's location. The electronic programming guide is a grid (Fig. 4A and 4B) listing television programs by date, time and channel. A subscriber can select programs for watching or recording from the electronic program guide. Moreover, the subscriber can purchase pay-per-view or near-video-on-demand programs from the electronic programming guide.