U.S. patent application number 16/045509 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-17 for systems and methods for providing enhanced sports watching media guidance.
The applicant listed for this patent is Rovi Guides, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael D. Ellis, Jon P. Radloff.
Application Number | 20190020846 16/045509 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38830381 |
Filed Date | 2019-01-17 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190020846 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ellis; Michael D. ; et
al. |
January 17, 2019 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING ENHANCED SPORTS WATCHING MEDIA
GUIDANCE
Abstract
Systems and methods for enhanced sports-related media content
access and display are provided. An intelligent tuning module for
multi-tuner systems may designate one sporting event as a primary
sporting event and another sporting event as a secondary sporting
event. A primary tuner may tune the primary event whenever possible
and a secondary tuner may tune the secondary event whenever
possible. Sporting events may be assigned user profile scores and
tuned away from in reverse priority order. An interactive
scoreboard may also be displayed with various game status and alert
icons. The interactive scoreboard may allow a viewer to quickly
tune between high-interest sporting events. Sports-specific
features, such as wagering and fantasy league support, are also
provided.
Inventors: |
Ellis; Michael D.; (Boulder,
CO) ; Radloff; Jon P.; (Castle Rock, CO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Rovi Guides, Inc. |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
38830381 |
Appl. No.: |
16/045509 |
Filed: |
July 25, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14258956 |
Apr 22, 2014 |
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16045509 |
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|
11888675 |
Jul 31, 2007 |
8745661 |
|
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14258956 |
|
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60903808 |
Feb 26, 2007 |
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60834605 |
Jul 31, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 5/50 20130101; H04N
21/482 20130101; H04N 21/485 20130101; H04N 21/4583 20130101; H04N
21/47214 20130101; H04N 21/4532 20130101; H04N 21/488 20130101;
H04N 21/6582 20130101; H04N 21/8173 20130101; H04N 21/47 20130101;
H04N 7/17318 20130101; H04N 21/4823 20130101; H04N 21/431 20130101;
H04N 21/458 20130101; H04N 21/4383 20130101; H04N 21/47202
20130101; H04N 21/25891 20130101; H04N 21/44218 20130101; H04N
21/472 20130101; H04N 5/44543 20130101; H04N 21/4821 20130101; H04N
21/254 20130101; H04N 21/4667 20130101; G06F 3/0481 20130101; H04N
21/8126 20130101; H04N 21/4334 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 5/50 20060101
H04N005/50; H04N 21/442 20060101 H04N021/442; H04N 5/445 20060101
H04N005/445; H04N 21/482 20060101 H04N021/482; H04N 21/438 20060101
H04N021/438; H04N 21/81 20060101 H04N021/81; H04N 21/488 20060101
H04N021/488; H04N 21/254 20060101 H04N021/254; H04N 21/431 20060101
H04N021/431; H04N 21/458 20060101 H04N021/458; H04N 21/472 20060101
H04N021/472; G06F 3/0481 20060101 G06F003/0481; H04N 21/658
20060101 H04N021/658; H04N 21/466 20060101 H04N021/466; H04N 21/45
20060101 H04N021/45; H04N 21/433 20060101 H04N021/433; H04N 21/258
20060101 H04N021/258; H04N 7/173 20060101 H04N007/173; H04N 21/485
20060101 H04N021/485 |
Claims
1. A method for sports-related media content tuning in a
multi-tuner system, the method comprising: tuning to a first
sporting event on a first television channel with a first tuner;
tuning to a second sporting event on a second television channel
with a second tuner; receiving an indication of a primary sporting
event, wherein the primary sporting event is one of the first
sporting event and the second sporting event; receiving a user
request to tune to a first media content that is not currently
tuned by either the first tuner or the second tuner; in response to
receiving the user request, selecting a tuner other than the tuner
tuned to the primary sporting event; and tuning to the first media
content with the selected tuner, whereby the first media content is
tuned without tuning away from the primary sporting event.
2-127. (canceled)
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Nos. 60/834,605, filed Jul. 31, 2006 and 60/903,808,
filed Feb. 26, 2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by
reference herein in their entireties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to media systems and, more
particularly, to media systems with sports-specific viewing and
tuning enhancements.
[0003] An interactive media guidance application, such as an
interactive television program guide, allows a user to tune to and
display a wide array of media content that is available within a
media system. It also facilitates the display of additional
information (e.g., program schedule and summary information) about
the media content. This additional information may be accessed from
a variety of data sources and data feeds and may include, for
example, content summaries, genre classifications, and ratings
information. The interactive media guidance application may also
support advanced features, such as content searching and filtering,
channel scanning, and access to other interactive applications,
such as a home shopping application.
[0004] Such media guidance applications are typically generalized
applications that support basic media guidance functionality for a
wide array of media content of a variety of different genres and
subgenres. These applications, however, typically fail to provide a
custom set of features and functionality for specific types of
media content, such as sporting events and other sports-related
content.
[0005] In addition, some media guidance applications fail to take
full advantage of today's high-end user equipment devices. For
example, current user equipment devices may support multiple
digital or analog tuners, allowing for more than one channel or
media content to be tuned, displayed, and/or recorded
simultaneously. Current media guidance applications fail to
efficiently manage and leverage the capabilities of multiple tuners
to better match how certain types of viewers (e.g., sports viewers)
commonly watch and interact with sporting events displayed on the
user equipment device. As a result, idle tuners are often untuned
or tuned to content that is not of particular interest to the
viewer. In addition, traditional tuner management schemes for
multi-tuner systems are not optimized for certain types of viewing,
such as sports viewing.
[0006] For example, in order to tune and display a digital
television channel, many steps typically are performed. The digital
content may first be demodulated from a digital carrier frequency
and then FEC decoded from the demodulated transport stream (TS).
The digital content may then be demultiplexed from the demodulated
transport stream. After the digital content is demultiplexed from
the transport stream, the content may be extracted from a
particular packet identifier (PID) stream. In addition, decryption
and decoding (e.g., MPEG-2 or H.264 decoding) may be required.
These digital tuning and decoding processes may take an appreciable
amount of time, during which a blank or black screen is typically
displayed to the viewer. This idle time is particularly noticeable
to users who switch back and forth between a small number of
content selections, like the way sports viewers switch back and
forth between a small number of televised sporting events.
[0007] In addition, a viewer is unable to efficiently switch
between sporting events of interest to the viewer at any given
time. For example, although some user equipment devices support
last channel recall or similar functionality, last channel recall
functions are typically limited to switching back only to the most
recently accessed television channel. The ability to efficiently
switch between multiple high-interest content selections is
severely limited. Real-time buffering and immediate video control
(e.g., pause and rewind functions) after switching to a sporting
event of interest are also severely limited because of idle tuners
or tuners tuned to arbitrary content.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] In accordance with principles of the present invention,
systems and methods for providing enhanced information access and
viewing functionality for sports-related programming are provided.
An interactive "sports watcher" application may execute at least
partially on a local user equipment device to support the enhanced
access and viewing functionality. In some embodiments, the
interactive sports watcher application is integrated as a mode of
another interactive application already resident on the user
equipment device. For example, the sports watcher application may
be integrated with an interactive media guidance application, such
as an interactive television program guide. In other embodiments, a
separate interactive sports watcher application or module is
provided. This application or module may be automatically invoked
by the interactive media guidance application when certain
pre-determined conditions are met (e.g., when sports-related
programming or information is requested, accessed, or
displayed).
[0009] A user may designate a first sporting event as a primary
sporting event and up to N-1 additional sporting events as
secondary sporting events, where N is the number of available
tuners in the user equipment device. One tuner may be designated as
the primary tuner that, whenever possible, is tuned to the primary
sporting event. The other N-1 tuners may be designated secondary
tuners, each of which may be assigned a lower priority than the
primary tuner. After receiving a request to change channels or
access content that requires an available tuner, the secondary
tuner with the lowest priority may be used to tune to the requested
channel or access the requested content. In this way, the primary
sporting event may be tuned on the primary tuner whenever possible.
Sporting events designated as primary or secondary sporting events
may be manually selected by the user, or the interactive sports
watcher application may automatically designate certain events as
primary or secondary sporting events. This designation may be
based, at least in part, on user profile information, user
preferences, active user monitoring, user history information,
network viewing statistics, third-party ratings information (e.g.,
Nielson ratings), or any other suitable criterion or combination of
criteria.
[0010] The interactive sports watcher application may maintain a
dynamic, real-time buffer for each tuned sporting event. The user
may have full control over each real-time buffer, including pause,
instant replay, and slow motion replay control. In some
embodiments, the characteristics of the buffers (e.g., buffer size,
buffer window, and/or buffer resolution) may differ depending on
the type of sport, whether the buffered sporting event is
designated as a primary sporting event, secondary sporting event,
or otherwise matches the user's predefined sports viewing event
preferences. For example, a high-speed basketball game may be
buffered at the highest available resolution (e.g., in
high-definition, if available), while a golf tournament may be
buffered in a lower resolution (e.g., standard definition). In
addition, the buffer window (i.e., the length of time buffered) may
be longer for the basketball game than the golf tournament,
depending on user preferences.
[0011] In some embodiments, the interactive sports watcher
application may monitor all media content access requests on the
user equipment device. When sports-related content is accessed, an
interactive scoreboard may be automatically displayed in one area
of the display screen while the requested sports-related content
(e.g., a sporting event, sports news, or sports commentary) is
displayed in another area of the screen. The interactive scoreboard
may include an identification of a plurality of sporting events
that are in progress, recently ended, or match user-defined
preference criteria. The current score of each sporting event may
be provided within the interactive scoreboard. A user may interact
with the scoreboard to obtain more detailed information about a
sporting event, automatically tune a sporting event, or
automatically designate a sporting event as a primary or secondary
sporting event.
[0012] The interactive scoreboard may also feature a variety of
icons that indicate the status of sporting events associated with
scores displayed in the scoreboard. For example, one icon may
indicate that the sporting event is currently tuned by a tuner in
the user equipment device. Another icon may indicate that the event
is currently displayed in the main screen or active window. Game
status icons may also be included in the interactive scoreboard.
These game status icons may indicate that a sporting event has
returned from a commercial break (e.g., a live action
notification), is almost over (e.g., a time remaining
notification), currently has exciting action taking place, or any
other suitable content characteristic. Through these icons in the
scoreboard, a user may be presented with additional information
about sporting events of interest.
[0013] In some embodiments, value-added features, such as sports
wagering and fantasy leagues, are provided by the interactive
sports watcher application. Users may be credited with electronic
wagering points or dollars that may be redeemable for
sports-related merchandise (e.g., team clothing), on-demand
content, sports package subscriptions, premium channels and
services, or cash. Various incentives may be offered to encourage
participation in the wagering and/or the fantasy league features of
the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The above and other features of the present invention, its
nature and various advantages will be more apparent upon
consideration of the following detailed description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of a media system in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 2A is an illustrative block diagram of the control
circuitry shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0017] FIG. 2B shows illustrative tuner data tables in accordance
with one embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is an illustrative display screen with an interactive
scoreboard in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 4 is an illustrative display screen with an interactive
scoreboard and flip panel in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0020] FIG. 5 is an illustrative display screen with an interactive
scoreboard and informational status icons in accordance with one
embodiment of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 6 is an illustrative full-screen game information
display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0022] FIG. 7 is an illustrative sports watcher main menu display
screen in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0023] FIG. 8 is another illustrative sports watcher main menu
display screen in accordance with another embodiment of the
invention;
[0024] FIG. 9 is an illustrative display screen for searching for
sports-related content and programming in accordance with one
embodiment of the invention;
[0025] FIGS. 10-13 are illustrative display screens for setting
user favorites in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0026] FIG. 14 is an illustrative parental control display screen
in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0027] FIG. 15 is an illustrative display screen for wagering on
sporting events in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0028] FIGS. 16-21 are illustrative fantasy league display screens
in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0029] FIG. 22 is an illustrative display screen for setting
sports-related reminders in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0030] FIG. 23 is an illustrative display screen for scheduling
recordings in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
[0031] FIG. 24 is an illustrative display screen for scheduling
category recordings in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention;
[0032] FIG. 25 is an illustrative display screen for viewing sports
commentary from a variety of difference sources in accordance with
one embodiment of the invention;
[0033] FIGS. 26-28 show illustrative sports watcher setup display
screens for customizing sports watcher features in accordance with
one embodiment of the invention;
[0034] FIG. 29 shows an illustrative sports watcher preferences
display screen in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;
and
[0035] FIGS. 30, 31A, 31B, 32, and 33 are flow charts showing
illustrative processes for providing the enhanced sports watcher
features and functionality in accordance with various embodiments
of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0036] The interactive sports watcher application described herein
may be implemented as a stand-alone application executing at least
partially on a user equipment device, or the application may be
implemented as a module or mode of an existing interactive
application. If implemented as a module or mode of an existing
interactive application, such as an interactive media guidance
application, all the display screens, prompts, and overlays shown
herein may be integrated with the display screens, prompts, and
overlays of the existing application. For example, fonts, colors,
and overall layouts may be changed from those depicted to better
match the fonts, colors, and overall layouts of the already
existing application. In addition, features of an existing
interactive media guidance application (or any other interactive
application) may be incorporated into the sports watcher
application in order to provide added flexibility and functionality
without leaving the sports watcher application, if desired.
[0037] The interactive sports watcher application may monitor all
media content access requests, including television channel
requests, Internet webpage requests, requests for on-demand and
pay-per-view content, and requests for locally-recorded content.
The sports watcher application may automatically launch after a
request for a sporting event or sports-related content is received
or after such content is displayed. Alternatively, a user may
manually launch the sports watcher application by issuing a
suitable command to the user equipment device. For example, a user
may press a button on a remote control to launch the sports watcher
application in some embodiments.
[0038] Although the terms "sporting event" and "sports-related
content" are sometimes used interchangeably herein, both of these
terms include content, such as television programming, on-demand
movies, and Internet websites, that is accessible from a user
equipment device and is related to, or affiliated with, a sport,
sports team, or athlete. In addition to traditional television
programming, these terms may include webpages, online discussion
boards, chat rooms, web logs (blogs), interactive games, and
digital music. For example, in some embodiments, an online sports
commentary or sports blog may be considered a sporting event or
sports-related content by the interactive sports watcher
application. As another example, sports-themed movies and sports
news may also be considered sports-related content by the
interactive sports watcher application. As described below,
accessing this content may automatically launch the sports watcher
application (and automatically display any of the sports watcher
display screens described herein).
[0039] FIG. 1 shows illustrative interactive media system 100 that
may be used with the sports watcher application in accordance with
one embodiment of the invention. User equipment device 102 receives
content in the form of signals from content source 130 and/or
supplemental content source 120 over communications paths 150 and
152, respectively. Any suitable number of users may have one or
more user equipment devices, such as user equipment 102, coupled to
content source 130, data sources 140, and supplemental content
source 120. For the clarity of the figure, however, only a single
user equipment device is shown. In addition, although in practice
there may be numerous instances of content source 130 and
supplemental content source 120, for clarity only one instance of
each source has been shown in the example of FIG. 1.
[0040] Content source 130 may be any suitable source of media
content, such as, for example, a cable system headend, satellite
television distribution facility, television broadcast facility,
on-demand server (e.g., video-on-demand (VOD) server), Internet or
network media/web server, or any other suitable facility or system
for originating or distributing passive or interactive content to
user equipment 102. Media content that may be provided by content
source 130 to user equipment 102 includes broadcast programming,
VOD programming, digital music, news, interactive applications
(e.g., interactive games), Internet resources and web services
(e.g., websites, newsgroups, and chat rooms), and any other content
capable of being displayed by, presented to, recorded, or
interacted with, using user equipment 102.
[0041] Supplemental content source 120 may be any suitable content
source configured to provide real-time sports scores and game
summary information, tournament brackets and tournament
information, sports commentary, athlete biographies, spread and
wagering data, and any other sports-related information to user
equipment 102. In some embodiments, this sports-related information
is provided to user equipment 102 as a plurality of real-time data
feeds. Each data feed may be individually accessed or subscribed to
by user equipment 102. For example, sports score and game status
information may be included in one real-time data feed, while
sports commentary may be included in another feed. The sporting
events with associated data available from supplemental content
source 120 may include events in progress or events that have
recently ended. In addition, supplemental content source 120 may
include information relating to sporting events not available for
viewing in media system 100. For example, a non-televised game may
nevertheless have associated sports-related information available
on supplemental content source 120.
[0042] Some or all of this sports-related information may be stored
in database 122 and provided to content source 130 or directly to
user equipment 120 over communications paths 154 and 152,
respectively. Supplemental content source 120 may include any
third-party application provider, data manager, content manager,
content aggregator, or intermediate content provider. Supplemental
content source 120 may also be contracted to provide enhanced
parental control services on behalf of user equipment 102. For
example, supplemental content source 120 may provide ratings
information for media types that traditionally are not associated
with ratings information. Supplemental content source 120 may
provide sports news ratings, website ratings, interactive
application and sports games ratings, as well as ratings
information for any other type of content accessible by user
equipment 102. The ratings information may be derived, at least in
part, from government agencies and public or private ratings
bureaus (e.g., the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA), and the Entertainment Software
Ratings Board (ESRB)).
[0043] Database 122 may also store network viewing statistics and
editor picks of sporting events. By accessing network viewing
statistics, user equipment 102 may determine which sporting events
are currently being watched by a large number of viewers. This may
be used as an indication of the popularity of the sporting event.
The sports watcher application may then advertise these games to
the user, as discussed in more detail with regard to FIG. 5
below.
[0044] Database 122 may also store the interactive sports watcher
application itself. Upon receiving a request from user equipment
102, supplemental content source 120 may transmit the interactive
sports watcher application directly to user equipment 102 via
communications path 152 (or supplemental content source 120 may
transmit the interactive content control application to content
source 130 for transmission to user equipment 120, if desired). In
one embodiment, the interactive sports watcher application is a
self-executing OpenCable Applications Platform ("OCAP") application
downloaded by middleware to user equipment 102. User equipment 102
(or a proxy acting on behalf of the user equipment) may
periodically query supplemental content source 120 for application
updates, or supplemental content source 120 may push application
updates to user equipment 102 automatically as updates become
available. Database 122 may also store data generated by the
interactive sports watcher application. By providing centralized
storage of such data, it may allow a user to access these features
from multiple locations. It may also allow for collation of the
data from multiple users. Data stored in database 122 may include
user preferences, setup options, active and recent wagers, wager
bank balances, wagering leader boards, sports reminders, sports
recordings, sports parental controls, user-defined sports searches,
fantasy sports teams and standings, or any other suitable data.
[0045] Content source 130 and supplemental content source 120 may
be configured to transmit signals to user equipment 102 over any
suitable communications paths 150 and 152 including, for example, a
satellite path, a fiber-optic path, a cable path, or any other
suitable wired or wireless path. The signals may be transmitted as
a broadcast, multicast, unicast, or any other suitable transmission
stream. Content source 130 may also include control circuitry 132
for performing operations on the signals transmitted by content
source 130, such as, for example, generating new signals or
communicating with user equipment 102 to provide on-demand
functionality.
[0046] User equipment 102 may receive interactive application data
from one or more instances of data sources 140, content source 130,
and supplemental content source 120. Data sources 140 may provide
data for a particular type of content or for a particular
application running on user equipment 102. For example, one data
source 142 may provide data for an interactive media guidance
application and another data source may provide data for
interactive sports watcher application 106. In some embodiments,
data sources 140 may provide data to the applications running on
user equipment 102 using a client-server model. There may be one
server per data source, one server for all sources, or, in some
embodiments, a single server may communicate as a proxy between
user equipment 102 and various data sources 140.
[0047] Content source 130, supplemental content source 120, and
data sources 140 are shown in FIG. 1 as separate elements. In
practice, their functionality may be combined into a single
mechanism and provided from a single system at a single facility,
or their functionality may be provided by multiple systems at
multiple facilities. For example, supplemental content source 120,
content source 130, and data sources 140 may be combined to provide
broadcast television content and associated broadcast television
data, including ratings information, sports-related information, or
other suitable information to user equipment 102.
[0048] User equipment 102 may include any equipment suitable for
presenting media content to a user. For example, user equipment 102
may include computer equipment, such as a personal computer with a
television card (PCTV) and/or Open Cable Unidirectional Receiver
(OCUR). User equipment 102 may also include television equipment
such as a television and set-top box, a recording device, a video
player, a user input device (e.g., remote control, a keyboard, a
mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, and/or a voice
recognition/verification module) or any other device suitable for
providing a complete, interactive experience. For example, user
equipment 102 may include a DCT 2000, 2500, 5100, 6208 or 6412
set-top box provided by Motorola, Inc.
[0049] In the example of FIG. 1, user equipment 102 includes
control circuitry 110, display device 104, interactive sports
watcher application 106, recording device 112, and user input
device 108, all of which may be implemented as separate devices or
as a single, integrated device. In addition to interactive sports
watcher application 106, other interactive applications, such as an
interactive media guidance application, may be implemented on user
equipment 102. In some embodiments, these interactive applications
may, for example, direct a tuner in control circuitry 110 to
display, on display device 104, the content transmitted by content
source 130 or supplemental content source 120 over communications
paths 150 and 152 and to provide interactive application
features.
[0050] Display device 104 may be any suitable device capable of
presenting human-perceivable media, such as, for example, a
television monitor, computer monitor, LCD display, video projection
device, holographic projector, or virtual reality simulator.
Display device 104 may also be configured to provide audio and
other sensory output.
[0051] Control circuitry 110 is adapted to receive user input from
input device 108, execute the instructions of interactive sports
watcher application 106, execute the instructions of any other
interactive applications, and direct display device 104 to display
media content and interactive application display screens and
overlays. Control circuitry 110 may include one or more tuners
(e.g., analog or digital tuners), encoders and decoders (e.g., MPEG
encoders and decoders), processors (e.g., MIPS and/or Motorola
68000 family processors), memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, flash memory, and
hard disks), communications circuitry (e.g., cable modem and ATSC
256QAM receiver circuitry), input/output circuitry (e.g., graphics
circuitry), connections to the various devices of user equipment
102 (e.g., recording device 112), and any other suitable components
for providing analog or digital television programming and
supplemental sports-related information. In one embodiment, control
circuitry 110 may be included as part of one of the devices of user
equipment 102 such as, for example, part of display 104 or any
other device (e.g., a set-top box, television, and/or video
player).
[0052] Control circuitry 110 may be connected to recording device
112 for storing data from data sources 140, content source 130, or
supplemental content source 120. For example, recording device 112
may include one or more digital video recorders (DVRs), hard disks,
or any other storage mechanism. Control circuitry 110 may also be
configured to execute the instructions of interactive sports
watcher application 106 from memory, which may include any type of
storage or memory mechanism (e.g., RAM, ROM, hybrid types of
memory, hard disks, and/or optical drives).
[0053] Although, in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1,
interactive sports watcher application 106 is internal to user
equipment 102, interactive sports watcher application 106 may be
implemented externally or partially implemented externally to user
equipment 102. For example, interactive sports watcher application
106 may be implemented at supplemental content source 120 or
content source 130 and may run using a client-server or distributed
architecture where some of the application is implemented locally
on user equipment 102 in the form of a client process and some of
the application is implemented at a remote location in the form of
a server process. Sports watcher application 106 may also be
implemented on any suitable server, computer equipment, or set-top
box accessible by user equipment 102. In some embodiments,
interactive sports watcher application 106 is integrated with
another interactive application or is implemented as a standalone
application, subprocess, or class (e.g., in an OCAP environment).
In one embodiment, interactive sports watcher application 106 is
completely integrated within an interactive media guidance
application running on user equipment 102. In this embodiment, the
management and administrative functionality of interactive sports
watcher application 106 may be invoked directly by the interactive
media guidance application or the underlying operating system after
some user input from input device 108.
[0054] In at least some embodiments, interactive sports watcher
application 106 is implemented in software. However, an
implementation of software and/or hardware may be used in other
embodiments. These arrangements are merely illustrative. Other
suitable techniques for implementing interactive sports watcher
application 106 may be used if desired.
[0055] Interactive sports watcher application 106 may use
application data from data sources 140 to determine the type of
content currently being displayed on display device 104 or recorded
on recording device 112. For example, media guidance application
data, which may include genre information (e.g., sports, mystery,
comedy) and subgenre information (e.g., football, baseball, or any
other sport) about media content accessible within media system
100, may be accessed to determine what content is sports-related as
well as the type of sport. Although, in some embodiments,
interactive sports watcher application 106 may consult the genre
data associated with media content to determine if media content is
sports-related, in other embodiments other methods may be used. For
example, content titles and descriptions may be searched for
keywords (e.g., "baseball" or "Yankees"). Content matching the
search criteria may be deemed sports-related for the purposes of
interactive sports watcher application 106. Content available on
specific channels (e.g., ESPN or the YES network) may also be
deemed sports-related in some embodiments.
[0056] After sports-related content is displayed on user equipment
102, the user equipment may automatically enter sports watcher mode
and/or execute the sports watcher application. Alternatively or
additionally, the user may manually select to enter sports watcher
mode. For example, the user may select a button on input device 108
to enter sports watcher mode. After entering sports watcher mode,
interactive sports watcher application 106 may automatically
display any of the screens shown in FIGS. 3-29 below.
[0057] FIG. 2A shows illustrative control circuitry 110 in more
detail. Control circuitry 110 may include one or more tuners 202,
204, 206, and 208. These tuners may be digital tuners, analog
tuners, or a combination of digital and analog tuners. Control
circuitry 110 may also include processor 212, which may include one
or more MIPS/RISC and/or Motorola 68000 family processors. Graphics
circuitry 210 may be used to decode video signals from tuners 202,
204, 206, and 208 and output the decoded video signals to one or
more display devices, such as display device 104 (FIG. 1). As is
currently understood in the art, the output from more than one
tuner may be decoded and displayed simultaneously on a single
display screen if desired. For example, picture-in-picture (PIP) or
picture-on-picture (POP) modes may be implemented to allow for
multiple video windows to be displayed simultaneously.
[0058] Graphics circuitry 210 may also include scaled video output
circuitry to perform operations on the outputs of tuners 202, 204,
206, and 208. For example, PIP windows may be dynamically resized
by the user in real-time. In addition, graphics circuitry 210 may
support the conversion from one output format or resolution to
another output format or resolution. For example, a high-definition
(HD) video output may be converted to a standard-definition (SD)
output and vice versa. A variety of highly compressed video codecs,
such as an H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec, may also be used by graphics
circuitry 210 to decode/encode additional formats.
[0059] Control circuitry 110 may be configured to automatically
buffer media content tuned by one or more of tuners 202, 204, 206,
and 208. This content may be buffered in memory 214, which may
include RAM, ROM, hard disks, and hybrid types of memory. Each
tuner may be associated with its own buffer in memory 214. For
example, the output of tuner 202 may be buffered in a first buffer
file and stored in memory 214. Similarly, the outputs of tuners
204, 206, and 208 may also be buffered in one or more separate
buffer files in memory 214. The buffer files may include real-time
buffers corresponding to a sliding window of time for each tuner
output. For example, in some embodiments, a 30-minute buffer window
may be used. In other embodiments, a maximum buffer size is used in
addition to, or in lieu of, a buffer time window. The
characteristics of the buffer (e.g., buffer size, buffer window,
and/or buffer resolution) may be dependent on the type of media
content being buffered as well as user preferences. For example,
certain sports may be given larger (or longer) buffers than the
buffers for other sports. In addition, tuner outputs may be
transcoded and buffered in a format other than the format
transmitted to the user equipment device. For example, graphics
circuitry 210 may be configured to buffer high-definition content
in standard definition, depending on the type of sporting event and
user preferences. This may save space in memory 214 for the buffers
of other tuners.
[0060] For example, a user's profile may determine which sports are
buffered in high-definition, which sports are buffered in
standard-definition, and which sports are buffered in H.264 format.
The user's profile may also indicate the preferred length or size
of the buffers. For example, a user may select to give football
sporting events a 45-minute buffer window, while basketball events
are buffered for only a 30-minute window.
[0061] As described above, an interactive media guidance
application may include a sports watcher mode, or the sports
watcher application may be a separate module or application (both
approaches are collectively referred to herein as "sports watcher
mode"). A user may enter the sports watcher mode to actively watch
one or more sporting events. The sports watcher mode may be
optimized for the multi-tuner user equipment devices, such as a
dual-tuner DVR, and for widescreen or normal aspect ratio
television. For example, in some embodiments, there may be always N
active sporting events or games, where N is the number of tuners in
the user equipment. One tuner may be designated as the primary game
tuner (i.e., "primary tuner"). This tuner may not change or tune
away while the primary game is in progress. The primary game may be
selected based on preferences of the user, and the user may change
these preferences at any time. The other N-1 tuners may be tuned to
user-selected secondary sporting events or games, but these tuners
can also be used to view other events, games, and programming. Any
of the N tuners can be in view, or more than one tuner can be in
view with PIP/POP or split screen mode. Smart channel changing, or
flipping, may be enabled whereby if a user-selected channel can be
brought up with a tuner swap, no actual tune will take place. In
this way, the primary sporting event or game may be always tuned,
allowing for advanced navigation functionality, such as
fast-forward, rewind, and slow motion replay, using the real-time
buffers described above.
[0062] FIG. 2B shows illustrative tuner data tables 220 and 230 in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In some
embodiments, only one sporting event is designated as the primary
sporting event at any given time. One or more sporting events other
than the primary sporting event may be designated as secondary
sporting events. The user may change or swap primary and/or
secondary sporting events at any time. In other embodiments,
however, each tuner within the user equipment is assigned a primary
sporting event. Each tuner may remain tuned to the tuner's primary
sporting event whenever possible. If the user requests media
content that requires tuning away from a primary sporting event,
the tuner currently tuned to the sporting event with the lowest
user profile score (or other priority designation) may be tuned to
the requested media content, and the newly tuned content may then
be displayed to the user. The other tuners may remain tuned on
their respective primary games.
[0063] In the example of FIG. 2B, tables 220 and 230 may be stored
in memory 214 of control circuitry 110 (FIG. 2A). Table 220 may
associate each tuner in tuner column 222 (e.g., all four tuners in
the user equipment device) with a primary sporting event or other
sports-related content. The source identifier (e.g., channel
identifier) of the primary sporting event for the tuner may be
included in primary source identifier column 224. Table 230 may
associate each sporting event available in the media system with a
user profile score. For example, source identifier column 232 may
include the source identifiers of all the sports-related media
content currently being broadcast (or otherwise available within
the media system, for example, via a VOD service). The type of
content (e.g., sports-themed movie, game, sports news, or sports
commentary) may be listed in type column 234. Finally, profile
score column 236 may include the user profile score for the
sports-related media content. For example, the user may define a
number of sports viewing preferences or criteria, such as the
user's favorite sport or sports, favorite sports team or teams,
favorite player or players, favorite venue or venues, favorite
league or leagues, or any other suitable criteria, in the user's
profile. In some embodiments, the user may setup the user's viewing
preferences from a sports watcher options screen, such as display
screen 2900 of FIG. 29, which is described in more detail below.
The user may optionally assign a weight to each criterion as well
as a rank for each entry within the criterion. For example, the
user may designate the NY Yankees as the user's first favorite
baseball team and the NY Mets as the user's second favorite
baseball team, and so on.
[0064] Using the weights assigned to each criterion and the rank
assigned to each entry within each criterion, a user profile score
may be calculated by the sports watcher application and assigned to
each sporting event or sports-related content accessible by the
user equipment. The user profile score may be computed in
accordance with:
score = i = 1 N w i r i ( EQ 1 ) ##EQU00001##
where N is the total number of criteria defined in the user's
profile (and applicable to the media content), w is the weight
assigned to the criterion, and r is the rank within the criterion.
The profile score may also be scaled, if desired, so that, for
example, all the scores have a maximum value of 100 (or any other
convenient number). In general, the higher the user profile score,
the more user profile matches the media content has and the more
interested the user will be in the media content. In addition to
using the user profiles scores in column 236 to determine a
priority order for sports-related content, the sports watcher
application may also use the user profile scores to automatically
designate primary and/or secondary games. For example, as shown in
table 220, the media content with the greatest user profile score
(i.e., "sourceid_2" in the example of FIG. 2B) may be assigned as
the primary event for tuner 1, the media content with the next
greatest user profile score (i.e., "sourceid_1" in the example of
FIG. 2B) may be assigned as the primary event for tuner 2, and so
on. In this way, tuners may be assigned a priority ranking. This
ranking may determine the order in which tuners are tuned away from
their respective primary game, as described in more detail below in
regard to FIG. 31B.
[0065] Sports watcher mode may also include dual picture
capability. The user may select letterbox or standard aspect ratio,
and may additionally select a single video, PIP (with location
complementary to an interactive scoreboard, described below in more
detail with regard to FIG. 3), side by side view, or multiple video
windows, in which case any of the N tuners may be active. Audio may
be played from the active window, and channel flipping may be
relative to the active window. Video controls (e.g., pause, rewind,
slow motion replay) may also be relative to the active window.
[0066] Enhanced video controls may also be provided in some
embodiments. The enhanced controls may include all standard video
controls (e.g., pause, multi-speed rewind/fast-forward, multi-speed
slow forward/reverse, frame advance/reverse, and live play).
Sports-oriented additions may also be included, such as a
user-configurable or sport-specific instant replay time. For
example, replay requests for football games may automatically
replay the last 15 seconds of play, while replay requests for
basketball games may automatically replay only the last 10 seconds
of play. Replays may be automatically displayed in various
user-selected or system-selected slow motion or accelerated speeds,
if desired. For example, football may be replayed at 3/4 normal
speed while basketball may be replayed at 1/2 normal speed,
depending on user preferences. A user may set replay times and
speeds for specific sports in a sports watcher options display
screen, such as display screen 2900 (FIG. 29).
[0067] Sports-oriented video controls may also include a turbo
replay function. Turbo replay allows a user to hold a button (e.g.,
a "replay" button) on an input device, such as input device 108
(FIG. 1), to skip back continuously by a user-configurable amount
of time (for example, 0.5 seconds). The user may then release the
button to replay the portion of play from the desired location. The
user may also select to automatically repeat or loop the selected
replay portion at normal, slow, or increased speeds while the
replay button is pressed. To allow for greater flexibility, a user
may also use a mark/nudge/loop function whereby a user may mark a
spot in a video using the replay/slow/pause buttons on an input
device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1), and then nudge the
marked location using the arrow or cursor buttons. A nudge timeline
may be displayed for use with the mark/nudge/loop function in some
embodiments. By nudging the marked location, the user may set the
start and end positions of the replay window relative to the marked
location. The user may then replay the replay window repeatedly at
regular, slow, or increased speeds.
[0068] In some embodiments, the sports watcher mode may include an
interactive scoreboard feature. Display screen 300 of FIG. 3 shows
interactive scoreboard 302 in accordance with one embodiment of the
invention. Interactive scoreboard 302 is a sports scoreboard that
is available in sports watcher mode. It may be displayed and
dismissed with a single keystroke or button press on an input
device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1). Interactive scoreboard
302 may include a number of passive and interactive features. For
example, interactive scoreboard 302 may be automatically displayed
when sports watcher mode is entered or it may be automatically
displayed when the user requests or accesses sports-related
programming (e.g., a sporting event). Although interactive
scoreboard 302 may be displayed and dismissed with a single
keystroke, in some embodiments it may not time out and may persist
until manually dismissed by the user. Interactive scoreboard 302
may include a list of currently tuned sporting events and games,
such as scoreboard entries 304 and 306. Icon 310 may indicate that
the game associated with the score listed next to icon 310 is
viewable in an active or main window (e.g., in the foreground area
of main window 320). Icon 310 may also indicate that the game
associate with the score listed next to icon 310 is viewable
somewhere on the current display screen (e.g., in a PIP or POP
window). Interactive scoreboard 302 may also include scrollable
list 308 of other sports scores. The scores displayed in scrollable
list 308 may include scores of one or more of currently televised
games, non-televised games, and games that have recently ended
(e.g., games that have ended earlier in the day or within a 24-hour
period). The user may press left or right arrow keys on an input
device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1), to manually scroll
through additional sports scores in scrollable list 308.
[0069] Interactive scoreboard 302 may be displayed as an overlay on
main window 320, which may be currently displaying sports
programming. As shown in the example of FIG. 3, interactive
scoreboard 302 may occupy approximately 1/9 of one corner of
display screen 300. As described in more detail with regard to FIG.
28 below, interactive scoreboard 302 may also be dynamically
resized and/or repositioned as desired by the user. Although
interactive scoreboard 302 takes a square or rectangular shape in
the example of FIG. 3, interactive scoreboard 302 may also run
horizontally or vertically across the entire width or length of
display screen 300 in a banner or sports ticker format in other
embodiments. A highlight cursor may surround one of scoreboard
entries 304 and 306 or scrollable list 308 to indicate which
scoreboard element is currently selected by the user. In some
embodiments, the font size and/or font color of the highlighted
element may change to further indicate which scoreboard element is
selected.
[0070] In some embodiments, scrollable list 308 may scroll through
the scores of a plurality of different games automatically without
any user input. Each score in scrollable list 308 may be flashed
for a user-configurable amount of time, or the games may be
displayed in a scrolling fashion, whereby the score enters
scrollable list 308 from right to left or left to right and is
scrolled out after a user-configurable amount of time. A user may
also select a predefined subset of all the available sports scores
for display in scrollable list 308. For example, the user may set
preferences in the user's profile to include only scores of a
certain sport, a certain league, or a certain tournament in
scrollable list 308. The user may also indicate one or more custom
subsets of scores for display in scrollable list 308. For example,
the user may wish to see scores of his or her favorite teams,
leagues, or sports. This information may be saved to a user profile
and used to select which scores are displayed in scrollable list
308. As such, scoreboard 302 may offer users a method to customize
which scores are included or excluded in the display (e.g.,
football and baseball games, but not basketball games). In some
embodiments, games may be ranked based on user preferences for
multiple attributes (e.g., sport, team, venue, league, tournament,
etc.). In such embodiments, inclusion on the scoreboard (and order)
may be determined based on the calculated rank. Games that are
currently tuned or which have been recently tuned may be included
in the scoreboard even if their ranks would not otherwise cause
them to be included. The data for use by scoreboard 302 (e.g., the
scores and any related game summary information) may be accessed
from one or more real-time data feeds received from any suitable
content or data source (e.g., content source 130, supplemental
content source 120, or data sources 140 (all of FIG. 1)).
[0071] In some embodiments, scoreboard 302 may be adjusted to
include more or less information about each game. In addition to
real-time scores, the information displayed in scoreboard 302 may
include channel names, channel numbers, team names, clock time,
time remaining, performance of specific players in the game (e.g.,
configured in such a manner that only select players' statistics
are displayed, thus becoming a fantasy team tracking feature),
other current status and game summary information from real-time
data feeds, sports news information that is not related to any
specific game, or any other suitable information. Depending on the
size and location of scoreboard 302, this additional information
may be displayed within each scoreboard entry (e.g., next to the
appropriate score), above or below the scores, or at any other
suitable location within scoreboard 302. This information may also
be displayed in a separate window from scoreboard 302, if desired.
In some embodiments, when a user highlights or selects a score in
scoreboard 302 that is associated with a game that is currently
tuned, the interactive media guidance application may automatically
swap the display to that tuner. If the user highlights or selects a
score associated with a game that is available but not currently
tuned, the interactive media guidance application may tune that
game on an available tuner. The tuner used to tune the selected
game may be the tuner with the lowest priority so that the user's
primary game or games remain tuned whenever possible.
[0072] As shown in display screen 400 of FIG. 4, the user may
highlight a score in scoreboard 302 and press an "Info" button on
an input device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1), to view a game
information screen or banner for the game associated with the
selected score. In the example of FIG. 4, banner 402 displays more
detailed game information, including time remaining, quarter, down,
yards remaining to first down, field location, and summary
information for the Seattle at Pittsburgh football game highlighted
in scoreboard 302. Banner 402 may also display the channel number
and call letters that the game is currently being broadcast on. The
amount and type of information displayed in flip banner 402 may be
customized via a user preferences screen, such as sports watcher
options display screen 2900 (FIG. 29), which is described in more
detail below.
[0073] Scoreboard 302 may also include television icon 404 next to
one or more of the scores listed in scoreboard 302. Television icon
404 may indicate that the game associated with the score is
currently available on at least one television channel accessible
by the user equipment device. Similar to icon 310 (FIG. 3),
television icon 404 (FIG. 4) provides more information to the user
in a convenient, highly-visible way. If the user wishes to tune a
different game on a foreground or background tuner, the user may
select any score in scoreboard 302 that shows television icon 404
(FIG. 4) to automatically tune the game associated with the
selected score. Icon 310 may then be displayed adjacent to the
selected score, indicating that this game is now tuned in the
active window. In some embodiments, a tuned icon (not shown) may be
used to indicate that the game is tuned by a tuner other then the
tuner being shown in the active window. More than one instance of
tuned icon may appear in scoreboard 302 if the user equipment
device includes more than one tuner. In some embodiments, the order
in which games are shown on the scoreboard may reflect the priority
of the games. For example, the top game on the scoreboard may be
for the primary game, and the second game on the scoreboard may be
for the secondary game with the highest priority. Games that are
not currently tuned may be included in scrollable list 308.
[0074] For traditional analog television systems, tuned content may
include content acquired or locked from a particular channel
carrier frequency. For digital television systems, tuned content
may include content demodulated from a digital carrier frequency,
content FEC decoded from the demodulated transport stream (TS),
content demultiplexed from the transport stream, and/or content
extracted from a particular packet identifier (PID) stream. This
digital content may be received by the user equipment device over a
number of switched digital television channels. For IPTV, tuned
content may include content to be delivered on a particular network
address (e.g., multicast address) on which an IP socket is
currently joined.
[0075] As mentioned above, one feature of the sports watcher
application is more efficient sports tuning, especially in
dual-tuner or multi-tuner systems. In the example of FIG. 4,
scoreboard 302 lists the Seattle at Pittsburgh score in position 1
(e.g., the top row) of scoreboard 302 and the ASU at USC football
game in position 2 (e.g., the second row) of scoreboard 302. The
game associated with the score in position 1 of scoreboard 302 may
be designated as the user's primary game. The game associated with
the score in position 2 of scoreboard 302 may be designated as the
user's secondary game (for example, in user equipment with two
tuners). A user may set or switch the primary game at any time. The
sports watcher application may keep the sporting event designated
as the primary game tuned whenever possible. For example, if a user
requests media content (e.g., by changing channels), the tuner
tuned to the primary sporting event may persist on the primary
sporting event while another available tuner tunes to the requested
media content. In this way, channel changing or flipping may be
generally performed on a secondary tuner (i.e., a tuner other than
the tuner that is currently tuned to the primary sporting event),
so that the primary tuner can remain tuned on the primary sporting
event. Flipping to the primary sporting event may perform a tuner
output swap (i.e., display the output from the tuner already tuned
to the primary sporting event) rather than a new tune. Flipping
from the primary sporting event may perform a tuner output swap
first, and then a tune, if required.
[0076] In some embodiments, a sport pilot feature may allow the
sports watcher application to automatically designate particular
sporting events as primary and/or secondary sporting events. In
this way, the most pertinent game or games that are active at the
moment may be automatically tuned without the user requesting that
the game or games be tuned. For example, network access or network
usage statistics may be received by the user equipment device from
a network usage monitoring service. The network statistics may be
used to determine which games are popular within the entire network
or some subset of the entire network (e.g., the local geographic
region in which the user equipment device is currently located). In
some embodiments, the geographic location of the user equipment
device may be derived from the user equipment device's network
address (e.g., IP address) or a multicast address of a local cable
headend that the user equipment device is subscribed to. The user
equipment device may use the received network statistics along with
user profile or preference information to automatically designate
one or more sporting events as primary and/or secondary events.
Some weighted function (e.g., taking into account both network
activity and user preferences) may be used to determine which
events qualify as primary and/or secondary events. The weighted
function may be similar to EQ 1, described above, which may be used
to calculate user profile scores for sports content. Network access
or usage statistics may represent one criterion in EQ 1.
[0077] In addition to, or in lieu of, receiving network statistics,
system selections of primary and/or secondary sporting events may
be automatically received by the user equipment device in some
embodiments. The system selections may include events with high
network access requests in a local geographic region or throughout
the entire media system or network. Primary sporting events may
also be selected by one or more sports editors. For example, an
artificial intelligent agent, live agent, or other editor (e.g., at
the headend or the production facility) may monitor all sporting
events currently in progress and designate popular games, high
action games, high excitement games, or games that might be of
interest to the user as primary sporting events. An indication of
the designated primary sporting events may then be provided to user
equipment 102 (FIG. 1) in the form of a primary sporting event
flag. For example, a game that has a tie score with two minutes
left or a game where a high number of points are being scored could
be flagged as more interesting than a shut-out or a low scoring
game. User equipment 102 (FIG. 1) may automatically designate a
sporting event, based on the editor-selected events and user
viewing preferences, as the primary sporting event (and optionally
automatically tune a foreground or background tuner to the
event).
[0078] In some embodiments, historical information related to a
match-up is also made available. For example, in a text-oriented
addition, scores, statistics, player differences, etc., can be
provided of prior match-ups between the two teams featured in the
game or games currently being displayed on the user equipment
device. This match-up information may then be displayed in the
display screen simultaneously with the sporting event. As another
example, the prior match-ups between these teams or highlights of
those match-ups can be provided via a VOD service for the game or
games currently being displayed on the user equipment device. This
prior match-up information may be accessible from the game
information screen (e.g., display screen 600 of FIG. 6), if
desired.
[0079] Primary sporting events may also be automatically selected
by the sports watcher application itself. For example, the sports
watcher application may monitor one or more real-time data feeds
and designate games, for example, that are on the verge of scoring
opportunities, almost over, or have players approaching statistical
milestones (e.g., 400 yard passer or 1,000 yard rusher), as primary
games. In some embodiments, a primary game flag may be included in
media guidance application data associated with sporting events and
other sports-related media content that are designated as primary
sporting events. This allows for virtually any criterion or
combination of criteria (user-selected, editor-selected, or
application-selected) to be used to select and designate primary
games. The sports watcher application may parse the media guidance
application data for primary game flags and compile a list of games
that are primary game candidates. From the candidate list, the
sports watcher application may select and designate one or more
primary games based on user preferences or profile information. In
some embodiments, after entering sports watcher mode, the primary
games may be automatically tuned by one or more tuners in the user
equipment device. The scores of these games may also be displayed
in an interactive scoreboard, such as scoreboard 302. For example,
if the user equipment device includes three tuners, three games may
be selected and tuned automatically after sports mode is
entered.
[0080] The sports watcher application may also support intelligent
channel changing, or flipping. Channel changing may change the
video in the active window. The active window may be the main
window, PIP window, POP window, or either side window. In some
embodiments, the active window is surrounded by a cell or region
highlight to visually distinguish the active window from other
windows in display screen 400. The channel up/down buttons on an
input device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1), may change
channels relative to the channel of the active window. As described
above, channel changing may swap tuners (if the requested content
is already tuned) or tune one of the secondary tuners.
[0081] In some embodiments, an all-sports channel flipping function
may be defined, whereby flipping is constrained to channels
currently showing sporting events or sports-related programming.
Other channels may be automatically skipped in the flipping
sequence. The sports watcher application may maintain a list or
table of channels currently showing sports programs in memory. This
list or table may be derived from media guidance application data
transmitted to the user equipment device. This media guidance
application data may include genre (e.g., "sports") and subgenre
(e.g., "football") information about all channels currently
accessible by the user equipment device. The all-sports flipping
function may include in the channel line-up one or more of all
channels showing sporting events, all channels showing any
sports-related programming (sporting events, sports commentary,
sports news, sports-themed movies, etc.), or all channels showing
sporting events of a particular type of sport (e.g., football). The
channels included in the all-sports channel flipping function may
be set using sports watcher options display screen 2900 (FIG. 29),
which is described in more detail below.
[0082] Using the all-sports flipping function, the interactive
media guidance application may also automatically scan through the
all-sports channel lineup. Each channel in the lineup may be
displayed for a predetermined or user-configurable amount of time
before the next channel in the lineup is displayed. The channels
may be displayed in any order, for example, by channel number (low
to high or high to low), by profile score (low to high or high to
low), or by priority (low to high or high to low).
[0083] A favorites flipping function may also be defined in some
embodiments, whereby only channels showing media content that
matches the user's favorites (as determined by the user profile or
user favorites list) are tuned in the flipping sequence. Other
channels may be automatically skipped. The favorites flipping
function and the all-sports flipping function may also be combined
in some embodiments, so that only channels showing content that
matches the user's favorites and the user's all-sports flipping
options are included in the channel line-up. All other channels may
be automatically skipped.
[0084] In some embodiments, an interactive listing of the channels
included in the all-sports and/or favorites flipping functions may
be displayed on the screen in a scrollable overlay. The interactive
listing may also be displayed in a PIP/POP window anywhere on the
screen. A user may navigate a cursor within the interactive listing
and select one or more entries in the listing. After selecting one
or more entries in the listing, a media guidance application
function may be automatically invoked. For example, the selected
channel or channels may be automatically tuned and displayed in the
main window, added to the user's favorites, scheduled for
recording, added to an alert list, or a reminder may be set. The
user may select to reorder the interactive listing by channel name,
channel number, title, time started, or sport. In this way, the
user may have access to a complete list of the channels currently
showing sporting events. By reordering the interactive listing by
sport, the user may view a list of all the channels currently
showing a particular type of sport (e.g., baseball) in a convenient
on-screen overlay without entering the main guidance application
screen or tuning away from media content currently being displayed
on the display screen.
[0085] In some embodiments, scoreboard 302 may be moved to
different screen positions to support avoidance of different
on-screen displays, overlays, and windows. For example, scoreboard
302 may be dynamically moved to another area of the screen or
reduced/enlarged in size in response to another overlay, window
(e.g., PIP/POP window), or prompt being displayed. Scoreboard 302
may also be made into a ticker (e.g., displayed horizontally across
the bottom of the screen or displayed vertically across the side of
the screen). Such a ticker may be somewhat translucently overlaid,
partially blocking a portion of the video, may be opaquely
overlaid, fully blocking a portion of the video, or the video
portion may be squeezed in such a way that the ticker can coexist
without overlap with the video, and without either the ticker or
the video interfering with each other.
[0086] As previously mentioned, the scores listed in scoreboard 302
may include scores of games that are currently airing and of
interest to the user. After entering sports watcher mode, a
real-time data feed including sports scores of a plurality of
sporting events may be received by the user equipment device. The
scores selected for inclusion in scoreboard 302 may be based on
user sports preferences previously stored. The user may modify the
list at any time while sports watcher mode is active. The list may
include several games; however, as previously described, the first
two positions in scoreboard 302 may be special. For example, the
first position may display the score of the primary game. This game
is assigned to a primary tuner and generally the tuner may not be
tuned away from the primary game. The second position in scoreboard
302 may be the secondary game. It is assigned to the second tuner,
but the tuner may be tuned to another game in the list. Tuned games
are automatically buffered in real-time on the user equipment
device to support standard and advanced video controls, such as
rewind, pause, instant replay, slow motion replay, etc.
[0087] The user may highlight any score in scoreboard 302 using an
input device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1), and immediately
tune to the game associated with the selected score or perform any
available media guidance function on the game associated with the
selected score. If the game is already tuned on one of the tuners
in the user equipment device, no tune may actually take place.
Rather, the output of the tuner already tuned to the sporting event
is displayed (i.e., a tuner swap) or made active. While sports
watcher mode is active, flipping through channels via the
"Favorites" key may be constrained to the games associated with
scores in scoreboard 302. The scores displayed in scoreboard 302
may update automatically as games start and end. In some
embodiments, scores may remain in scoreboard 302 for some time
after the game associated with the score has ended.
[0088] In a typical usage scenario, when a user presses the "OK"
key while any scoreboard entry is highlighted, if the game
associated with the highlighted score is on television but not
tuned, the selected game may be tuned using a secondary tuner, and
the game may be brought into foreground view. If the selected game
is already tuned on a background (e.g., secondary) tuner, the game
may be brought to foreground view. If the user is in PIP or POP
mode, the selected game may be made the active video window. A flip
banner, such as flip banner 402, may be automatically displayed
with detailed game information after a new sporting event is tuned,
brought into foreground view, or designated an active window. The
flip banner may time out after some predetermined amount of
time.
[0089] FIG. 5 shows display screen 500 with enhanced game status
icons in interactive scoreboard 302. Display screen 500 may be
similar to display screen 400 (FIG. 4). In the example of FIG. 5,
scoreboard 302 includes game status icons 502 and 504. Game status
icon 502, which in some embodiments may resemble a lightning bolt,
may be positioned adjacent to any of the entries in scoreboard 302,
including scrollable list 308. The sports watcher application may
display icon 502 next to a score associated with a sporting event
that has resumed play or is back from a commercial break. In a
typical usage scenario, a user may access another sporting event
after the primary event goes to commercial by selecting another
score listed in scoreboard 302. Even though the game may not be
currently viewable in display screen 500, the sports watcher
application may monitor a real-time data feed for one or more game
status flags. These status flags may indicate any suitable
characteristics about the sporting events associated with scores
displayed in scoreboard 302. For example, the status flags may
indicate that the game has resumed play, is back from commercial,
has gone to commercial, the current clock time, or any other
suitable game status information. Using these status flags, the
sports watcher application may display appropriate game status
icons, such as icon 502 and 504 within scoreboard 302. These icons
provide additional information to the user about games associated
with scores displayed in scoreboard 302. Game status icons may be
associated with any score in any position within scoreboard 302,
including scores in scrollable list 308.
[0090] Game status icons may be displayed near other icons within
the scoreboard. Each entry in scoreboard 302 may be associated with
zero, one, or more icons. For example, game status icons 502 and/or
504 may be positioned near icon 310 (FIG. 3), icon 404 (FIG. 4), or
any other suitable icons described herein. Multiple icons adjacent
to the same entry in scoreboard 302 may indicate that all the icons
are applicable to the given scoreboard entry. For example, if, in
the example of FIG. 5, the Seattle at Pittsburgh game was currently
displayed in the active window, tuned on a tuner within the user
equipment device, and back from commercial, all three icons may be
displayed next to the appropriate entry in scoreboard 302.
[0091] Action icon 504 is a special type of game status icon.
Action icon 504, which may resemble an exclamation point in some
embodiments, indicates that exciting action is currently taking
place in the game associated with the score that action icon 504 is
displayed adjacent to. For example, action icon 504 may be
displayed when there is a scoring drive, rally, or any other
suitable event of interest currently occurring in the game
associated with the score. In the example of FIG. 5, action icon
504 is presented as a time remaining warning, indicating that less
than two minutes of clock time is remaining in the fourth quarter
of the football game. Time remaining indicator 506 may display the
current quarter and clock time remaining. This information may be
received from the same real-time data feed as the game status
information, or this information may be received from another
real-time data feed. As shown in display screen 500, time remaining
indicator 506 may be displayed within a scoreboard entry or
adjacent to a scoreboard entry.
[0092] Although FIGS. 3-5 show some of the most common icons that
may be associated with scores displayed in scoreboard 302, other
icons may also be defined and displayed within the scoreboard at
the appropriate times. For example, as described above, when
certain milestones are about to be reached by a team or a
particular player on a team, a milestone icon may be displayed in
the scoreboard. In general, a user may choose which icons the user
would like to appear in the scoreboard using a sports watcher
options display screen, such as display screen 2900 of FIG. 29.
[0093] Pressing the "Info" key on any scoreboard entry may cause a
flip banner, such as flip banner 402 (FIG. 4), for that entry to be
displayed if not already displayed (even if the game is not tuned).
Full-screen game information may also be displayed if the flip
banner is already displayed for that game, as shown in game
information display screen 600 of FIG. 6. The flip banner or
full-screen game information 604 may be co-located on the screen
with scoreboard 302 and available for any game on scoreboard 302,
including games not on television. Alternatively, scoreboard 302
may be removed from the display and the game itself may be
displayed in picture-in-guide (PIG) window 602. A supplemental data
source (e.g., supplemental content source 120 of FIG. 1) may be
accessed to retrieve information for games not broadcast on
television. The flip banner or full-screen game information 604 may
also include additional live update data that is not shown on
scoreboard 302. As shown in display screen 600, full-screen game
information 604 may feature a scrollable description, live score
and status updates, point spread, money line, and other wagering
information, and other game-specific information.
[0094] Display screen 600 may also include a number of
game-specific options in a game menu. The game specific options may
include watch option 608. Watch option 608 may change depending on
the status of the game. For example, if the game is on television
but not tuned, selecting watch option 608 may tune the game using a
secondary tuner and bring it to foreground view (i.e., makes the
game the active window). If the game is tuned in the background,
selecting watch option 608 may bring it to foreground view. If the
game is in the foreground on a secondary tuner, the label of watch
option 608 may change to "Make Primary Game." Selecting watch
option 608 after the label has changed to "Make Primary Game" may
designate the game as the user's primary game. If appropriate, the
label of watch option 608 may also change to "Watch Pregame" or
"Watch Postgame" if the game has ended or not yet started (and
postgame or pregame content is available). Pregame and postgame
video may be available from the same channel the game is to be
broadcast on, or was broadcast on, or from a supplemental content
source, such as supplemental content source 120 (FIG. 1). If the
selected game is not on television, but the same team is playing,
the label of watch option 608 may change to "Watch [team name]." In
this case, after selecting watch option 608, a listing of available
games (e.g., both prerecorded and live games) featuring the team or
teams in the game the user requested more information about may be
displayed to the user. The user may then select any game from the
listing to watch the selected game.
[0095] The user may also set game reminders using reminders option
610. Reminders may be set for specific games, or any of a specific
game's categories (e.g., sport, league, event, or team). Reminders
on categories may result in any game with a matching category
designation to automatically receive a reminder. Standard reminders
may be created that will appear whether sports watcher mode, the
interactive media guidance application, or any other application is
active. Reminders are discussed in more detail below with regard to
display screen 2200 (FIG. 22), which shows an example game reminder
screen.
[0096] A recordings page may also be accessed from the game
information screen, such as display screen 600. After selecting
recordings option 612, one or more display screens may be presented
to the user that allow for recordings to be scheduled for specific
games. Recordings may also be scheduled for any of a game's
categories (e.g., sport, league, event, or team). Schedule a
category for recording may result in any game with same category
designation to be automatically recorded (or scheduled for
recording). Standard recording options may also be available that
are present whether sports watcher mode, the interactive media
guidance application, or any other application is active.
Recordings are discussed in more detail with regard to display
screens 2300 (FIG. 23) and 2400 (FIG. 24) below.
[0097] Game commentary may also be accessed from the game
information screen, such as display screen 600. After selecting
commentary option 614, the user may access multiple sources of
additional information about the game, including recommendations,
analysis and predictions, and odds and spreads. Game commentary may
also feature scrollable text and may include images and links to
video clips. Game commentary is discussed in more detail below with
regard to display screen 2500 (FIG. 25), which shows an
illustrative game commentary screen.
[0098] The sports watcher application may also provide
comprehensive wagering support. A user may access a wagering
interface from the game information screen by selecting wagering
option 616. After selecting wagering option 616, a wagering
interface, such as display screen 1500 (FIG. 15), may be displayed
to the user. The wagering interface may be customized to the
currently selected game. For example, after the user selects
wagering option 616, a custom wagering interface for the Detroit at
Colorado game may be displayed. This interface may allow the user
to wager on the game, to modify a previous wager on the game, or to
view a wager previously made on the game, including any results.
Wagering functionality is described in more detail below with
regard to FIG. 15.
[0099] To set or view user favorites, the user may select favorites
option 618. Favorites may be set for specific game, or any of a
game's categories (e.g., sport, league, event, or team). For
example, display screen 1100 (FIG. 11) may be displayed after a
user selects favorites option 618. Favorites are described in more
detail below with regard to FIG. 11.
[0100] Sports-related parental control features may also be
supported in some embodiments. After the user selects lock option
620, a parental control display screen, such as display screen 1400
(FIG. 14), may be displayed. From the parental control display
screen, the user may create, remove, or modify parental control
locks for the game, any of the game's categories (e.g., sport,
league, event, tournament, or team), or the channel the game is
being broadcast on. Locks may be set by sport (e.g., lock "Auto
Racing"), and may be enforced during regular (i.e., non-sports)
television watching even if the sports watcher application or
interactive media guidance application is not currently active.
Alternately, locks may be enforced only while the sports watcher
application is active and running. Parental control locks are
described in more detail below with regard to FIG. 14.
[0101] Information shown on the game information screen, such as
display screen 600 (FIG. 6), may also include all or a part of the
information from the media guidance application program database
(if applicable), score and other information from the live data
feed (for current or recent games), odds, point spreads, or other
wagering information, advance or real-time commentary, and any
other suitable information. A textual game summary may also be
provided as an option. In some embodiments, a video summary may be
provided via VOD or some other mechanism. This video summary may
include a half-time highlights reel or key plays video, for
example. The text game summary may be configured to not only
display to the user on television, but to also send the summaries
as an e-mail, text message, or Instant Message (IM) to a cellular
telephone, PDA, or other mobile device. Audio highlights may also
be generated as a result and sent as voice mails to home or mobile
phone voice mailboxes. To return to the main display screen, such
as display screen 500 (FIG. 5), the user may select back option
606.
[0102] As shown in display screen 700 of FIG. 7, a user may access
a sports watcher quick menu, such as Quick Menu 702, when the
sports watcher application is active. In some embodiments, the user
may press a "Menu" button on an input device, such as input device
108 (FIG. 1) in order to display Quick Menu 702. Quick Menu 702 may
be displayed as an overlay while video content is being watched in
the background. Quick Menu 702 may include a number of
sports-specific functions and features. These features and
functions may include the most commonly accessed features and
functions of the sports watcher application.
[0103] For example, the user may select "TV Guide" option 712,
which displays the interactive media guidance application main
menu, allowing the viewer access to non-sports functions. The user
may select Search option 704 to access a set of search screens that
can be used to find sports programming. For example, after
selecting search option 704, display screen 900 (FIG. 9) may be
displayed to the user. The user may select favorites option 706 to
set specific sports, leagues, teams, and tournaments as favorites.
After selecting favorites option 706, display screen 1000 (FIG. 10)
or 1100 (FIG. 11) may be displayed to the user. The user may select
wagering option 708 to access a wagering interface. For example,
display screen 1500 (FIG. 15) may be displayed after a user selects
wagering option 708.
[0104] To access fantasy league functions, the user may select
fantasy option 710. After selecting fantasy option 710, display
screen 1600 (FIG. 16) or 1700 (FIG. 17) may be displayed to the
user. Through these screens, a user may create or join a private or
public fantasy sports league, as described in more detail with
regard to FIGS. 16 and 17. The user may customize many of the
sports watcher features via setup option 714. For example, after
selecting setup option 714, display screen 2600 (FIG. 26) may be
displayed to the user. To exit sports watcher mode or terminate the
sports watcher application, the user may select exit sports watcher
option 716. After selecting exit sports watcher option 716, the
user may be presented with a traditional media guidance application
display screen.
[0105] Although, in the example of FIG. 7, Quick Menu 702 is
arranged vertically in display screen 700, the quick menu may be
displayed in other layout arrangements in other embodiments of the
invention. For example, FIG. 8 shows display screen 800 with Quick
Menu 802. Quick Menu 802 is arranged horizontally in the flip bar
region at the bottom of display screen 800. Option buttons 810 may
include all the options shown in display screen 700 of FIG. 7. In
some embodiments, Quick Menu 802 may also be an undocked overlay
window that the user may reposition and/or resize using an input
device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1). For example, the user
may select and drag Quick Menu 802 up from the bottom of display
screen 800 to convert the menu into an undocked overlay window. The
user may then move the overlay window about the screen so as to
obstruct less of the video being presented in the main window.
[0106] Display screen 800 includes interactive scoreboard 804,
which may include all the features of interactive scoreboard 302
(FIG. 7). For example, any of the aforementioned scoreboard icons,
alerts, and related information may be displayed in or near
interactive scoreboard 804. Tuner icons 806 and 808 may indicate
that the games associated with these scores are currently tuned by
tuners in the user equipment device. As shown in the example of
FIG. 8, tuner icons 806 and 808 may be visually distinguishable
from one another. For example, icon 806 may include the number 1 as
part of the icon to indicate that this game is tuned on the primary
tuner. Similarly, icon 808 may include the number 2 as part of the
icon to indicate that this game is tuned on a secondary tuner. The
user may swap the priority of the tuners (or the content tuned by
the tuners) at any time. In this way, a user may reprioritize
sporting events (and designate primary and/or secondary games)
directly from scoreboard 804. If more than two tuners are present
in the user equipment device, scoreboard 804 may be expanded
accordingly, if desired, to include more rows and more tuned games
with tuner icons.
[0107] FIG. 9 shows display screen 900 used to search for
sports-related media content. Media content searching may be
facilitated by sports search menu 902. Search menu 902 may provide
access to listings of only sporting events and sports-related
programming (e.g., sports news, highlights, and commentary). The
search and listing screens may be designed to be identical or very
close to the traditional interactive media guidance application
search screens. A user may select any game from a search results
listing to view detailed game information in a game information
display screen, such as display screen 600 (FIG. 6). The user may
also perform any media guidance function on a game listed in a
search results display screen.
[0108] Illustrative search options may include all sports option
904. This option may search for all sports-related programming on
any channel at any time, sorted by time. Favorites option 906 may
only search games in the user's favorites list or games with
positive ratings (as described in more detail below), sorted by
ranking. Search by sport option 908 may allow the user to drill
down by category and see a listing of games and other
sports-related programming by category (e.g., sport, team, or
league). Search by title/keyword option 910 may allow the user to
enter a text string and see all games with matching media guidance
application data (e.g., title, description, summary, or genre
information). Local games option 912 allows the user to access a
list of all games including at least one team from a local market
(professional, college, high school, etc.). An option may be
provided to select alternate locations, if desired. By selecting
popular option 914, a list of the most popular games or game
recommendations may be presented to the user. The recommendations
may be selected by an expert or editor. Non-games option 916 allows
the user to search all sports-related content other than games
(e.g., highlights, commentary, news updates, interviews, and
sport-themed movies). Finally, sports packages option 918 allows
the user to search sports packages offered by the cable operator.
After selecting sports packages option 918, all packages may be
listed, or only those including games matching the user's
preferences may be listed. A user may view a list of currently
scheduled games in a package, purchase the package, automatically
set all package contents as favorites, and/or automatically set an
automatic reminder for all package contents.
[0109] FIG. 10 shows display screen 1000 with a user's favorites
search results. In the example of FIG. 10, the user performed a
search of category 1003 within the user's favorites. The category
matches are listed in display screen 1000 with the relevant number
of matches in each category. In this way, the user may focus the
search by selecting any displayed category. After selecting a
displayed category, a list of matches within that category may be
displayed. For example, category 1002, MLB, includes two matches in
the user's favorites. Number indicator 1004 indicates the number of
content matches. Selecting category 1002 may either drill down one
level to a more detailed sub-category or display a list of the
matching games or content.
[0110] In some embodiments, selection of list favorites option 906
from sports search menu 900 (FIG. 9) may list all sports
programming matching the user's preferences, or those exceeding a
ranking threshold. Favorite sports programming may be sorted by
rank, by time, by sport, or any other suitable criteria. In some
embodiments, a screen similar to display screen 1000 may be
presented in response to the user selecting search by sport option
908 from sports search menu 900 (FIG. 9). In these embodiments,
number indicator 1004 may indicate the count of all sports programs
within category 1002 or it may indicate the number of subcategories
available within category 1002. Selecting a category may either
list all programming within that category or the subcategories of
that category.
[0111] In some embodiments, a screen similar to display screen 1000
may be presented in response to the user selecting favorites option
706 from sports watcher menu screen 700 (FIG. 7). In these
embodiments, the number of stars next to category 1002 may indicate
the level of preference for the category. Any other suitable
preference system, such as thumbs up and thumbs down system, may be
used. The user may highlight any category and press a key such as a
favorites key on input device 108 (FIG. 1) to modify the preference
level. Number indicator 1004 may indicate the number of
subcategories within category 1002. Selecting category 1002 with a
non-zero number indicator may display a screen similar to screen
1000 which lists the selected category and its subcategories.
[0112] FIG. 11 shows display screen 1100 for customizing a user's
favorites. Display screen 1100 may include a variety of sports
categories or classification options, such as MLB option 1102. A
user may view more options by selecting more option 1104. After
selecting a category in display screen 1100, display screen 1200 of
FIG. 12 may be displayed to the user. This display screen may allow
the user to set a rating for a number of subcategories of the
selected category. For example, if the user selects MLB option 1102
in display screen 1100, display screen 1200 may include a listing
of all the teams in the MLB, leagues within the MLB, types of
games, or any other suitable subclassification or
subcategorization. A user may scroll through the listings and
associate either thumbs up rating 1204, thumbs down rating 1206,
multiple thumbs up, multiple thumbs down, or no rating 1202 with
each subcategory. To view more subcategories, the user may select
more option 1208.
[0113] Although a thumbs up/thumbs down system is used in some
embodiments, any suitable rating system may be used in other
embodiments. For example, FIG. 13 shows display screen 1300 with a
star rating system. The user may select any entry in the favorites
listings, such as entries 1302, 1304, or 1306, to change the rating
associated with the entry. For example, in display screen 1300,
entry 1302 is associated with one-star rating 1308. In some
embodiments, star ratings may range from zero stars (unrated) to
five stars (the highest rating). A description of the selected
entry, or of any content associated with the selected listing, may
be displayed in text area 1310.
[0114] The user may also setup favorites from the game information
screen, such as display screen 600 (FIG. 6). Display screen 1300 of
FIG. 13 is an example of a favorites setup screen that may be
accessed from the game information screen. The favorites screen may
list all categories in which the selected game appears. Categories
may include the sport (e.g., iThemes or full media guidance
application list), level (professional, college, high school,
Olympics, etc.), men's, women's, or mixed, the league, the team,
the event/tournament (e.g., Super Bowl or Tour de France), and/or
the channel. The user may individually rate each category. As
described above, illustrative rating schemes may include one to
three thumbs down, neutral, one to three thumbs up, or a star
rating system. Other rating systems (e.g., numeric) may also be
used. Every game may receive a ranking based on the user ratings of
each of its associated categories. Preferences specified for
multiple categories may be given extra weight. The largest number
of thumbs (up or down) or stars may be given highest precedence.
Games with net negative or neutral rankings may not be included
within the user's favorites in some embodiments. Games with net
positive rankings may be listed in rank order.
[0115] FIG. 14 shows display screen 1400 for setting parental
control locks for sports-related content. Parental controls may be
defined for sporting events or other sports-related content (e.g.,
sports news, highlights, commentaries, and sports-themed movies).
Parental control display screen 1400 may be accessed from the game
information screen, such as display screen 600 (FIG. 6), or by
pressing an appropriate button or key (e.g., a "Lock" key) on an
input device, such as input device 108 (FIG. 1). The parental
controls may be linked to the main interactive media guidance
application parental controls and may be enforced regardless of
which application (the sports watcher application, the interactive
media guidance application, or neither application) is active.
Illustrative parental control locks may include lock by channel, by
title, or by sport. For example, parental control overlay 1402
presents several lock options to the user. The user may select to
lock or unlock each option by selecting lock status indicator 1404.
To save the parental control settings displayed in parental control
overlay 1402, the user may select save button 1406. If the user
selects any individual attribute for locking, then all current and
future programs and games with matching attributes may be
locked.
[0116] FIG. 15 shows illustrative wagering display screen 1500. As
previously mentioned, the sports watcher application supports a
comprehensive interactive sports wagering interface. The wagering
interface may support both parimutuel and fixed odds betting.
Through the interactive wagering interface, the user may build
wagers and place these wagers with a network transaction processing
system (not shown). The transaction processing system may maintain
a database of user account information, including available balance
information, on behalf of the users of the wagering system. Wagers
on sporting events, such as football and baseball games, may all be
created and placed from the user equipment device using a series of
interactive overlays and prompts. To wager on a game, the user may
select the game the user would like to wager on using game info
screen 600 (FIG. 6), select wager option 616 (FIG. 6), and view a
game wager screen (not shown). On the game wager screen, the user
may select the wager amount, the wager type, the wager team, and
any other wager information. Wager types may include final score,
half-time score, over/under, or any other sport-specific wager
type. The sports watcher application may display the bank balance,
the odds, spread or money line, the anticipated payout based on the
selected options, and any other wager information. In some
embodiments, a $1 minimum balance may be required to access the
game wager screen. After the game has been completed, the user may
reselect the game wager screen to see the final results and payout,
if any.
[0117] The user may select wager option 708 from sports watcher
menu 700 (FIG. 7) to view information about all pending and recent
wagers, and to access other wagering features. When the user
selects wager option 708 (FIG. 7), the sports watcher application
may display wagering menu 1502. Wagering menu 1502 may display
multiple wagering options. For example, wagering menu 1502 may
include summary information about previously placed wagers. The
user may be allowed to select a previous wager using option 1506.
When the user selects a specific wager, the sports watcher
application may display the date of the game being wagered upon,
the teams involved in the contest, the type of wager, the amount of
the wager and the possible or actual payout 1508, the team selected
for the wager, the odds, money line or spread 1510, the status of
the wager (e.g., wager confirmed, wager lost, wager won, or no
action), and any other suitable information concerning the selected
wager. The wagering feature may be based on "play money" redeemable
for gifts, prizes, and sports-related merchandise, or the wagering
interface may link to user bank account or credit information for
real money wagering (if permitted by local laws). The user's
current balance (which may be stored locally on the user equipment
or on a network location) may be displayed to the user in balance
area 1504.
[0118] Once the wager is confirmed, the wager amount is deducted
from the user's account balance. The wager information may then be
transmitted to the network transaction processing system for
processing, if desired. Generally, fixed odds wagers (e.g., wagers
on football, baseball, or basketball games) are not transmitted to
the network transaction processing system, but these wagers may be
transmitted to the network transaction processing system if
desired. Parimutuel pool wager information (e.g., wagers on horse
races) may be transmitted to the network transaction processing
system so that the parimutuel pools associated with the wager may
be updated centrally. Real-time wagering information, including
current odds and payout information, may be provided to all user
equipment devices in the media system. When results of the wager
are known (e.g., by reading the real-time score data feed), the
user's balance may be automatically updated, and the next time the
wagering screen is displayed, the status of the wager may be shown
(e.g., amount won, lost, or no action).
[0119] The wagering system may enhance marketing and advertising
efforts. For example, new users could be credited $100 when they
sign up for a wagering account. In some embodiments, if a user's
balance is less than $1 with no active bets, the use may "declare
bankruptcy" and get, for example, another $50. With every wager,
the user may be entered in a daily drawing for a $100 balance
credit to the user's wagering account. A bonus may be given for
subscribing to a premium sports package. Bonuses may also be given
for correct trivia answers, completing surveys, etc. The user's
wagering account balance may be used for VOD purchases,
pay-per-view movies, merchandise, etc. Interest may also be earned
on game balances.
[0120] In some embodiments, a leader board is maintained on the
network. The user may set up his or her username, screen name, or
handle by selecting user name option 1512. After selecting leader
board option 1514, the current leader board may be displayed to the
user. This leader board may list the top wager bank balances and
the corresponding usernames associated with the top wagering
account balances. The position on the leader board may be
displayed, the time in position, the position on the leader board
last week, etc. In some embodiments, a PIN may also be specified
via PIN option 1516 to access all wagering features. In this way,
unauthorized users are prevented from creating or submitting any
wagers or accessing any wagering-related functionality.
[0121] The user may also select a fantasy sports option from the
sports watcher menu screen, such as display screen 700 (FIG. 7), to
access the fantasy sports feature. Display screen 1600 of FIG. 16
shows an illustrative fantasy league display screen. Fantasy league
menu 1602 may display the user's active fantasy teams, such as
teams 1604 and 1606. The user may select any one of teams 1604 and
1606 to access a number of options relating to the selected team.
For example, after selecting team 1606, display screen 1800 of FIG.
18 may be displayed.
[0122] Fantasy league menu 1602 may also list the sports with
active fantasy league play or for which new fantasy teams may be
formed. In the example of FIG. 16, only professional hockey option
1608 is displayed, indicating to the user that only the
professional hockey season currently has fantasy league play
available for new teams/players. After selecting a sport from
fantasy league menu 1602, the user may be presented with display
screen 1700 of FIG. 17.
[0123] A variety of fantasy sports league options may be available.
Leagues for alternate sports (e.g., Olympics or marathon--where a
team is a country) may also be supported. Leagues may open X days
before a season starts, where X is any positive number. Each league
may have a minimum and maximum number of teams. Multiple leagues
may be created for each sport based on demand. For example, public
leagues created as needed, and users may be assigned as they join.
Users may create and/or join a private league by entering the
league name and an optional password. Typically, leagues will close
at or before the start of season. In some embodiments, leagues may
be designated "A," "B," or "C" leagues depending on the level of
competitiveness and expertise of users within the league. Users may
self-select a level. Leagues may also include "keeper leagues" that
include the same players from year to year, or leagues may start
anew each season.
[0124] FIG. 17 shows fantasy league display screen 1700. The
deadline to join a league and/or create a new league may be
displayed in deadline area 1702. To join a public league, the user
may select join public league option 1704. To join a private
league, the user may select join private league option 1706. To
create a new private league, the user may select create private
league option 1708. Public leagues may be created by the system
operator, while private leagues may be created by individual users
of the fantasy league feature.
[0125] After selecting a fantasy team, the options presented to the
user may depend on the type of sport and on whether it is
pre-season, during season, or post-season. In the pre-season, a
user may name his or her team when it is created. Player selection
may proceed using an auction or draft system. In an auction
selection system, each team may be given X dollars each season, and
the players may bid for players. In a draft selection process, a
round robin draft approach may be used, with the order determined
randomly or based on last season's results. A user must participate
in draft/auction in timely manner or may lose the franchise or
draft selection. The auction method may be preferred in some
embodiments, as the auction can proceed even if some players do not
participate fully. From the pre-season fantasy league screen, users
may see available players, statistics from previous seasons, other
teams' selections, and abandoned franchises.
[0126] FIG. 18 shows fantasy league team screen 1800. During the
season, statistics and standings may be updated automatically. In
some embodiments, statistics and standings are updated daily (e.g.,
baseball leagues) or weekly (e.g., football leagues). A user may
view individual player and overall team statistics from a fantasy
league team menu. In the example of FIG. 18, the team menu may
include an indication of the team name in name area 1802 and an
indication of the sport in sport area 1804. The user may select
yesterday's statistics option 1806 to view statistics for the
previous day. A user may view the user's own team statistics by
selecting my team option 1808. The standings of all teams in the
league may be displayed after selecting league standings option
1810. Trades may be supported with other teams, with messaging
between teams to facilitate the trade. To create and send a message
(e.g., instant message or email message), the user may select send
message option 1812. Single and/or multi-player trades may be
supported by selecting propose trade option 1814. Off-season trades
may be made with other teams (for keeper leagues), and users can
choose to abandon their team. In some embodiments, a user must
actively rejoin the league before the start of the next season or
their franchise will be lost. The top players in each league may
get bumped from "C" to "B" leagues or from "B" to "A" leagues. Each
team may also be given a limited number of free agent drafts to
replace injured players. To view a list of available free agents,
the user may select free agent option 1816.
[0127] After selecting yesterday's stats option 1806, display
screen 1900 of FIG. 19 may be displayed. Display screen 1900 may
include statistics menu 1902 with the team's current standing in
area 1904. The points may be broken down on a player basis. The
players and their accumulated points may be displayed in players
area 1906. To view more information about an individual player, a
user may select any player in players area 1906 to receive detailed
point break-down information. For example, as shown in display
screen 2000 of FIG. 20, individual player menu 2002 may be
displayed after the user selects a specific player from players
area 1906. A break-down of the player's total number of points may
be listed in points details area 2004. After the user is finished
looking at the points details, the user may select done option 2006
to return to the previous screen.
[0128] In the post-season, users may view the final player and team
statistics and standings of all teams in league. For example,
display screen 2100 of FIG. 21 shows illustrative league standings.
League standings menu 2102 may include a listing of all the teams
in the league or the teams with the greatest number of total points
in the league. This listing of teams in rank order may be displayed
in area 2104. The user may select any team in area 2104 to receive
more detailed information about the selected team.
[0129] As previously mentioned, the sports watcher application also
supports enhanced reminder and recording options for sports-related
content. Reminders may be set for any game or any category
associated with a game. For example, FIG. 22 shows display screen
2200 for setting reminders. This screen may be displayed after
selecting remind option 610 (FIG. 6) from game information screen
600 (FIG. 6). In the example of FIG. 22, the user selected a
reminder option from an ASU at USC game information screen. The
user may move highlight 2202 to any of the available categories
associated with the ASU at USC game, such as the football category,
college football category, ASU category, or USC category. More or
fewer categories may be defined in other embodiments. The user may
toggle a reminder indication, such as checkmark 2204, to turn the
reminder on or off. Reminders on categories (e.g., "college
football") may remind the user whenever an event matching the
category is available or about to be broadcast. For example, other
college football games would match the "college football" category.
As another example, the user may select a team (e.g., ASU) to be
reminded whenever that team is playing and/or the game is available
within the media system. Display screen 2200 may also include
detailed information 2206 about the selected game or category. A
checkmark or similar icon may be displayed on the game info screen
if any matching category has a reminder set.
[0130] Similar to the process for setting reminders, a user may
also schedule custom recordings of sports-related content. FIG. 23
shows display screen 2300 for scheduling sports-related recordings.
A user may select to schedule recordings of a particular match-up
(e.g., all ASU at USC or USC at ASU games) or a particular
category. For example, any sports-related content matching the
college football category may be scheduled for recording with a
single user selection of the college football category in display
screen 2300. A user may also schedule all games featuring a
particular team for recording. As shown in FIG. 23, team option
2302 may be selected to toggle the recording option on and off.
Scheduled icon 2204 may be displayed within the selected option to
indicate that the option is scheduled for recording. A matching
scheduled recording icon may be displayed within the game
information screen if any matching category has been scheduled for
recording.
[0131] Another illustrative recording display screen is shown in
FIG. 24. Display screen 2400 includes overlay 2402, which includes
several recording options 2404, 2406, 2408, 2410, and 2412. The
user may access overlay 2402 by selecting record option 2414 in the
menu at the bottom of the display screen. To record (or schedule
for recording) the current game, the user may select record option
2404. To record all games matching an appropriate category (e.g.,
all Super Bowl games), the user may select one or more of the
desired category recording options 2404, 2406, 2408, 2410, or
2412.
[0132] As previously mentioned, game commentary from a variety of
sources may also be displayed to the user. Game commentary may
include text, graphics, video, and interactive elements (e.g.,
interactive playbooks, polls, and discussion forums). FIG. 25 shows
display screen 2500 for accessing commentary content. The user may
be presented with a number of commentary options, such as option
2502. The user may select any commentary option to be presented
with the associated commentary. For example, in some embodiments,
the user is automatically linked to a website or interactive
application containing the commentary. The commentary may also be
displayed directly in display screen 2500, if desired. In some
cases, commentary may be displayed automatically when option 2502
is highlighted. Title 2504 may be associated with the commentary as
well as commentary text 2506. In some embodiments, the user may
also leave feedback regarding the commentary that other users in
the media system may view when they access the same commentary. The
commentary may include text, graphics, audio clips, and video.
[0133] To setup any of the sports watcher screens, the user may
select a setup option from the sports watcher menu, such as setup
option 714 from menu 702 (FIG. 7). After selecting the setup
option, display screen 2600 of FIG. 26 may be displayed. Under
sports watcher setup menu 2602, the user may adjust sports
watcher-specific options by selecting, for example, HD/SD option
2604, widescreen/standard aspect ratio option 2606, single
video/PIP/side-by-side windows option 2608, scoreboard position
option 2610, scoreboard size option 2612, scoreboard timeout option
2614, and instant replay configuration 2616. Options to setup the
wagering configuration and fantasy league configuration may also be
included under screen layout setup menu 2602.
[0134] From single video/PIP/side-by-side windows option 2608, the
user selects the user's preference for either single video mode,
PIP mode, or side-by-side window mode. Whatever mode is selected
will be the default mode for the sports watcher application. If the
video layout setup option from quick menu 802 of FIG. 8 is
selected, the user may be presented with video layout selection
display screen 2700 of FIG. 27. Different video layout options may
be provided for widescreen and standard aspect ratios. Area 2702
identifies selection 2704 as a widescreen split screen video
layout. The user may move cursor 2704 to any video layout format
option (or select more option 2706 or press a down arrow or page
down key to see additional video layout format options).
[0135] FIG. 28 shows display screen 2800 with scoreboard adjust
overlay 2802. Scoreboard adjust overlay 2802 allows the user to
customize the size, position, and/or timeout of the scoreboard,
such as scoreboard 302 (FIG. 5). The user may select size option
2804 to change the default scoreboard size from small to medium or
large. The user may select scoreboard vertical position option 2806
to change the scoreboard from the top to the bottom of the screen.
Using scoreboard horizontal position option 2808, the user may
select to change the side of the screen on which the scoreboard is
displayed (e.g., left, right, or center). In addition to options
2804, 2806, and 2808, additional scoreboard options may be defined.
For example, the user may select a banner or box scoreboard format
in some embodiments. The user may also select how much game
information (in addition to the score) should be displayed in the
scoreboard. For example, the user might select to always display
the current clock time or time remaining inside the scoreboard, if
available. The user may also wish to see quarter, half, inning, or
game summary information within the scoreboard.
[0136] As with traditional media guidance applications, the sports
watcher application may include full listings of sports events and
other programs on broadcast television, as well sports events
available on-demand. The sports watcher application may sort the
listings by time, by sport, by type of program (e.g., game,
classic, highlights, commentary, interview, news update), etc. The
listings may be displayed in table or grid form. Sports listings
may include the current score if the game is in progress or has
recently ended. Listings may also include extended information
(teams and location, odds, etc.), and commentary from one or more
sports personalities.
[0137] In some embodiments, the sports watcher application may
include a program guide interface called the Game Guide. The Game
Guide may be used to provide search results for a sports related
search. Different results may be displayed in the Game Guide, which
the user may select to quickly tune from game to game. The results
on the Game Guide may include the teams and the status of the game
in progress (e.g., who has the ball, the current score, time and
quarter). The Game Guide may modify the display for a game when the
game reaches a given moment (e.g., display the box in red when a
team reaches the red zone, or has a runner in scoring position).
The Game Guide may be displayed as an overlay over the video of one
or more games, if desired.
[0138] The sports watcher application may also include an interface
into the operator's sports packages and other offerings. The
interface may include a list of available sports packages
(purchased and unpurchased), the title and description of each
package. The user may perform a number of actions with each
package. For example, the user may view a list of games that are
part of the package (to the extent that data is available),
purchase a package upgrade, add package contents to the user's
favorites, or set automatic reminders for package contents.
[0139] A user may also access sports content on-demand via a sports
on-demand feature. For example, recent games, classic games,
commentary videos, help videos on Sports Watcher features,
fundamental video lessons (e.g., Wagering 101, Fantasy Sports 101),
a "for Spouses" series (e.g., football for spouses), and various
"How To" videos (e.g., pro tips on sports activities) may all be
accessed on-demand (and for an additional fee, if desired).
[0140] The sports watcher application also provides a number of
opportunities for targeted advertising. In addition to generally
targeting advertisements based on the sports demographic,
advertisements may be further targeted based on user preferences
and user profile information. For example, if the user has selected
the NY Yankees as the user's favorite team, advertisements to
purchase Yankees tickets, memorabilia, or other products may be
displayed to the user in any of the display screens shown
herein.
[0141] The sports watcher application may use additional data as
part of the interactive media guidance application, beyond the data
provided by the program listings source. The data may include
improved sports genres (e.g., sport, professional, college, high
school, amateur, international, Olympics, men's, women's, mixed,
league, team, and tournament information for each game),
availability in different formats (e.g., HD and SD), odds and point
spreads, commentary from one or more sources, and data for fantasy
sports leagues. As described above, some or all of this data may be
provided as part of a plurality of real-time data feeds or streams.
These data feeds or streams may be received by the user equipment
device from one or more data or content sources (e.g., content
source 130, supplemental content source 120, or data sources 140
(FIG. 1)). Such data may include program run time updates (game is
going long, in overtime, etc.), scores, other real-time status
updates, data for games being broadcast, as well as games that are
not available on air, real-time commentary, other sports news items
that may not be game related, data for fantasy sports leagues, and
any other suitable data. The sports watcher application may also
permit two-way data exchanges, for example for exchanging data with
other members of fantasy sports leagues. Extended sports program
metadata may be defined, including television program listings, VOD
metadata, data for games not broadcast on television, universal
game/program IDs, live score and status information (e.g., game
delayed, running long), and ticker data. Any of the foregoing data
may be delivered in an on-demand or carousel fashion.
[0142] In addition to the various data feeds, various types of
messages may be sent between users in sports watcher mode. The
message may include real-time Instant Messages (IMs) or email
messages that are delivered to users in real-time, as well as
custom sports watcher messages. A sports-specific message center
(not shown) may be accessed to manage, view, delete, and send all
user messages. In some embodiments, the message center is web-based
and accessible over the Internet.
[0143] FIG. 29 shows sports watcher options display screen 2900.
Display screen 2900 allows the user to customize some of the more
common sports watcher options. To view and customize other options,
the user may select more option 2914. Default replay time option
2902 allows the user to set default replay increments (in seconds)
for various types of sports. For example, when the user presses a
"Replay" button on an input device, such as input device 108 (FIG.
1), and a football game is currently in the active window, the last
10 seconds of play time may be replayed. The user may customize
this replay time. Faster-paced sports, such as basketball and
hockey, may have shorter replay times to better match the amount of
play time the user is likely interested in replaying. The user may
define more or fewer sports than those shown in default replay time
option 2902.
[0144] The user may also associate default replay speeds with
particular sports using default replay speed option 2904. For
example, the user may set football replays to run at normal (i.e.,
1.times.) speed. A variety of slow motion replay speeds (e.g.,
1/2.times. and 1/4.times. normal speed) and accelerated replay
speeds (e.g., 2.times. and 4.times. normal speed) may also be
defined. The user may associate any one of these speeds with a
sport so that the sport will be automatically replayed in the
desired speed. The user may override the default speed and time
settings during the actual replay, if desired.
[0145] The user may also customize the all-sports channel flipping
feature using option 2906. The user may limit channel flipping to
only sporting events, only sports-related content (including, e.g.,
sporting events, sports news, sports commentary, and sports-themed
movies), or only sports content of a particular sport or group of
sports. System-defined or user-defined categories may also be
selected. For example, a "popular sports" option may be selected
where only channels currently showing baseball, basketball, hockey,
golf, and football games are included in the channel flipping
sequence. Channels displaying content that do not match the user's
preferences in option 2906 may be automatically skipped in the
channel flipping sequence as if the channels were not present in
the channel line-up.
[0146] The user may also customize which icons (e.g., game status
icons) the user would like to appear on the scoreboard, such as
scoreboard 302 (FIG. 5), using scoreboard icons option 2908. For
example, as described above with regard to FIG. 5, several
different types of scoreboard icons may appear within the
scoreboard. These icons generally provide more information about
the game to the user, even if the game is not in the active window
or tuned by a tuner in the user equipment device. In the example of
FIG. 29, the user has selected commercial status icons, action
icons, score icons, and milestone icons to appear in the scoreboard
at the appropriate times. Commercial status icons may be displayed
in the scoreboard when the game has gone to commercial and/or when
the game is back from commercial. In this way, the user knows when
the game has resumed from a commercial break. In some embodiments,
in addition to the commercial status icon appearing in the
scoreboard, the user's primary game may be automatically displayed
in the active window (or made active) and/or brought into
foreground view when the user's primary game resumes from a
commercial break. For example, the user may switch to another game
when the primary game breaks for commercial. So that the user does
not miss any live action of the primary game, the primary game may
be automatically displayed in full-screen mode (and first tuned, if
needed) when the primary game returns from a commercial break.
[0147] Action icons may be displayed when a drive, rally, or
scoring opportunity occurs in a game listed on the scoreboard. For
example, an editor may monitor popular sporting events and
associate an action flag with the event in a real-time data feed
transmitted to the user equipment device. The sports watcher
application may parse these action flags and display the
appropriate action icon in the scoreboard next to the appropriate
score. Action icons may also be displayed automatically when some
predefined event occurs in the game. For example, when the clock
time reaches a certain time, a predetermined number of points are
scored within a predetermined amount of time, or any other suitable
event occurs, the appropriate game status or action icon may be
displayed in the scoreboard. In some embodiments, in addition to
the action icons appearing in the scoreboard, the user's primary
game may be automatically displayed in the active window (or made
active) and/or brought into foreground view after an action flag is
received for the user's primary game. In some embodiments, the
user's secondary game may be brought into foreground view or
displayed in the active window when an action flag is received for
that game.
[0148] Score icons may indicate that the score difference between
the two teams is less than a predetermined number of points (i.e.,
it is a close game). For example a yellow exclamation point may be
displayed in the scoreboard next to scores within a certain number
of points (e.g., 10 points). A red exclamation point may be
displayed in the scoreboard next to scores within some fewer number
of points (e.g., 5 points). The score icons may attract the user's
attention to the game so that the user does not miss an opportunity
to view an exciting portion of the game. In some embodiments, in
addition to the score icons appearing in the scoreboard, the user's
primary (or secondary) game may be automatically displayed in the
active window (or made active) and/or brought into foreground view
after a score icon is displayed next to the user's primary (or
secondary) game in the scoreboard.
[0149] Milestone icons include icons indicating to the user that
some milestone is about to be reached or surpassed. For example,
when a quarterback is about to reach 400 yards passing or a rusher
is about to reach 1,000 yards rushing, a milestone icon may be
displayed in the scoreboard next to the score associated with the
game with the milestone opportunity. In some embodiments, in
addition to the milestone icon appearing in the scoreboard, the
user's primary (or secondary) game may be automatically displayed
in the active window (or made active) and/or brought into
foreground view after a milestone icon is displayed next to the
user's primary (or secondary) game in the scoreboard.
[0150] Flip banner detail option 2910 allows the user to select how
much information should be displayed in the flip banner, such as
flip banner 402 (FIG. 4). In the example of FIG. 29, the user has
selected to display detailed game summary information as well as
commentary in the flip banner. Other options might include score
and clock time only, brief game summary information, detailed game
information, detailed game information with injury report, or any
other suitable information. In some embodiments, the user may be
allowed to prioritize the types of information that may be
displayed on the flip banner in priority order as space allows.
[0151] Viewing preferences option 2912 may include a list of sports
criteria set by the user that indicate the user's sports viewing
preferences. For example, a user may indicate a preference for a
particular sport or sports, team or teams, league or leagues,
athlete or athletes, or any other suitable criteria. In the example
of FIG. 29, the user has indicated that the user's sports viewing
preferences include all New York based teams (e.g., Yankees, Mets,
Rangers, Islanders, Nets, Knicks, Liberty, Giants, and Jets),
professional sporting events (e.g., MLB, NFL, and NHL), and
pre-season games. The user may also define any number of sports
(e.g., baseball and basketball), tournaments, or any other suitable
viewing preferences in viewing preferences option 2912. The entries
in viewing preferences option 2912 may be ranked or unranked. As
described above, the position and rank in viewing preferences
option 2912 may be used, in some embodiments, to calculate user
profile scores in accordance with EQ 1.
[0152] After the user is finished setting preferences in display
screen 2900, the user's profile may be created or updated as
appropriate. For example, in some embodiments, the user's profile
may be stored as a suitable data structure (e.g., table or array)
locally in memory on the user equipment device. In other
embodiments, the user's profile may be stored on a central server
or data source (e.g., data source 142 of FIG. 1) so as to permit
roaming access of the user's profile information and preferences
from a user equipment device other than the user equipment device
from which the user profile was created.
[0153] Regardless of how or where the user's profile is stored, the
profile may maintain the user's current preferences and related
sports watcher settings. The preferences and settings may be
manually selected by the user through an options display screen,
such as display screen 2900, or the sports watcher application may
automatically set and/or update user preferences in the user's
profile on behalf of the user. For example, the sports watcher
application may monitor all user interaction with the user
equipment device. From this monitoring, a user behavioral profile
may be created. For example, all user media content access requests
of sports programming may be logged and compared over time. As more
and more user access requests are logged, a pattern may be
discerned by the sports watcher application. For example, the user
may watch the NY Yankees on the YES network more often than other
types of sporting events (and more often than any other baseball
team). Using any combination of information from the behavioral
profile, active user monitoring, and/or the user preferences, the
sports watcher application may automatically determine, for
example, the user's frequently watched teams, sports, channels,
match-ups, leagues, etc. From this determination, the sports
watcher application may automatically select any of the options
shown in display screen 2900. These automatic selections may be
saved to the user's profile and used as default preferences, in
some embodiments.
[0154] FIG. 30 shows illustrative process 3000 for simultaneously
displaying an interactive scoreboard on a display screen with
sports content in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
At step 3002, a user request for media content may be received. For
example, the user may use input device 108 (FIG. 1) to request a
particular channel, on-demand video, or recorded content. At step
3004, media guidance application data may be read for genre or
subgenre information. For example, a professional football game may
be associated with the sports genre and the football subgenre. This
media guidance application data may be transmitted from a suitable
data source within media system 100 (FIG. 1). For example, data
source 142 may provide media guidance application data for all
types of media content accessible by user equipment 102 (FIG.
1).
[0155] At step 3006, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may
determine, at least partially from the media guidance application
data, if the user has requested sports content. In addition to
using genre information to make the determination at step 3006,
sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may also use other media
guidance application data to make the determination. For example,
the title or description of the content may be searched for sports
keywords (e.g., "football"). If, at step 3006, a determination is
made that the requested content is not sports-related, the
requested non-sports content may be displayed to the user at step
3012. If, at step 3006, a determination is made that the requested
content is sports-related, sports watcher mode may be automatically
entered. This may include automatically executing sports watcher
application 106 (FIG. 1), if the application is not already running
on the user equipment. One or more real-time score data feeds may
then be automatically accessed at step 3008. For example,
supplemental content source 120 (FIG. 1) may provide live data
feeds containing score, play, and up-to-date game summary
information to user equipment 102 (FIG. 1).
[0156] After accessing the real-time data feed at step 3008, the
user's profile may be read at step 3010. If the user has defined
preferences for what types of sports or games that should be
included in the scoreboard display, such as scoreboard 302 (FIG.
5), a custom scoreboard showing scores matching the user's
preferences may be simultaneously displayed with the requested
content in a display screen at step 3016. If the user has not
defined preferences for the types of sports or games the user would
like to appear in the scoreboard display, a generic scoreboard with
all available scores or a predetermined subset of scores may be
displayed simultaneously with the requested content at step
3014.
[0157] In practice, one or more steps shown in process 3000 may be
combined with other steps, performed in any suitable order,
performed in parallel (e.g., simultaneously or substantially
simultaneously), or removed.
[0158] FIGS. 31A and 31B show illustrative process 3100 for
designating primary sporting events and prioritizing tuners in
accordance with one embodiment of the invention. At step 3102, user
profile information may be accessed. At step 3104, sports watcher
application 106 (FIG. 1) may determine if the user has setup sports
viewing preferences. For example, the user's sports viewing
preferences created from sports watcher options display screen 2900
(FIG. 29) (or using other suitable screens such as those shown on
FIGS. 10-13) may be read at step 3104. If viewing preferences are
defined, media guidance application data associated with
sports-related content currently accessible by user equipment 102
(FIG. 1) may be accessed at step 3106. At step 3110, the media
guidance application data may be compared to the user's viewing
preferences. At step 3118, user profile scores may be calculated at
step 3118 based on the comparison. For example, user profile scores
may be calculated and stored in profile score column 236 of table
230 (FIG. 2B). In some embodiments, the profile scores may be
calculated in accordance with EQ 1. The content with the greatest
profile score may be automatically designated as the user's primary
sporting event at step 3120. For example, as shown in table 220
(FIG. 2B), the content with the top four user profile scores were
assigned as primary sporting events to tuners 1 through 4.
[0159] If the user's profile does not define viewing preferences at
step 3104, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may next
determine if editor sports picks are defined at step 3108. As
described above, in some embodiments, editors may select particular
sporting events as primary events and associate a special editor's
primary event flag with the media guidance application data for the
selected sporting event or events. If editor picks are defined in
the system, at step 3112 the editor flag may be read from the media
guidance application data. From these flags, one or more sporting
events may be designated as primary sporting events at step
3114.
[0160] If editor picks are not available at step 3108, the user may
manually designate a sporting event as the primary sporting event
at step 3116. In some embodiments, the user may not be aware of his
or her designation of primary sporting events. For example, the
first sporting event the user accesses or requests may be
automatically designated as the primary sporting event (absent
editor picks or user viewing preferences), the second sporting
event the user accesses or requests may be automatically designated
as the user's secondary sporting event, and so on. A user may
change the designation of primary and/or secondary sporting event
at any time by interacting with scoreboard 302 (FIG. 5) or pressing
an appropriate key on a user input device, such as input device 108
(FIG. 1). Although, in the example of process 3100, primary
sporting events may be designated using either user profile
information, editor flags, or user selections, a combination of
these three designation criteria may be used in other
embodiments.
[0161] Illustrative process 3100 continues in FIG. 31B. If the user
equipment device, such as user equipment 102 (FIG. 1), contains
more than one tuner at step 3122, up to N-1 additional sporting
events may be designated as secondary sporting events at step 3124.
These secondary events may each be assigned to an available tuner
(other than the primary tuner, which has already been assigned to
the primary event). The secondary games may be selected in any
suitable manner. For example, they may include the sporting events
with the greatest remaining profile scores from table 230 (FIG.
2B). The secondary games may also be self-selected by the user or
selected by an editor.
[0162] At step 3126, each tuner may be associated with a primary or
secondary sporting event. For example, table 220 (FIG. 2B) includes
an indication of a primary source identifier for each tuner in the
user equipment device. As shown in table 220, the tuners are
assigned primary events in rank order according to the user profile
scores of the sporting events. Thus, tuner 1 is assigned the
sporting event with the greatest user profile score, tuner 2 is
assigned the sporting event with the next greatest user profile
score, and so on. In addition to associating each tuner with a
primary or secondary sporting event at step 3126, each tuner may
also be automatically pre-tuned to its associated sporting
event.
[0163] At step 3128, user equipment 102 (FIG. 1) determines if the
user has requested media content. For example, the user may select
a score displayed in scoreboard 302 (FIG. 5) or scoreboard 804
(FIG. 8) to automatically display the game associated with the
selected score. As another example, the user may input a channel
number or execute a channel flipping command from an input device,
such as input device 108 (FIG. 1). If the user has requested media
content at step 3128, at step 3130 sports watcher application 106
(FIG. 1) determines if the requested media content is already tuned
by one of the tuners in user equipment 102 (FIG. 1). Depending on
the type of tuner, this determination may be made in a number of
ways. For example, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may
determine if a particular packet identifier (PID) stream has been
demultiplexed from the transport stream (for digital television
systems), if a particular channel carrier frequency has been
acquired and/or locked (for analog television systems), or if a
particular network group (e.g., multicast group) has been joined.
Any other method for determining if content has already been tuned
by a tuner within the user equipment device may be used in other
embodiments.
[0164] If the requested content is already tuned by a tuner within
user equipment 102 (FIG. 1), the appropriate tuner output may be
displayed, brought into foreground view, and/or made the active
window at step 3136. If, however, the requested is not already
tuned by a tuner within user equipment 102 (FIG. 1), at step 3132
the tuners may be prioritized based on the content tuned by the
respective tuners in the user equipment device. For example, as
shown in table 220 (FIG. 2B) a simple prioritization scheme may
prioritize tuners in rank order according to user profile score of
the content currently tuned by each tuner. For example, the tuner
with the highest priority (tuner 1 in the example of FIG. 2B) may
be assigned to the primary sporting event. The tuner with the next
highest priority may be assigned to the sporting event with the
next highest user profile score, and so on. Tuners may be
prioritized based on the content currently tuned by each tuner, or
tuners may be prioritized based on the primary sporting event
assigned to each tuner (even if that event happens to not be
currently tuned by the associated tuner). Any other suitable tuner
prioritization schemes may also be used in other embodiments. As
previously mentioned, one goal of prioritizing tuners is that
sporting events that the user is interested in (or likely to be
interested in) are tuned whenever possible. In this way, sporting
events (and other non-sports content) that are less important to
the user may be tuned away before important sporting events. This
not only reduces the amount of tuning and decoding time required to
display important sporting events to the user, but also assures the
user that the standard and enhanced video controls described above
will be available to the user as often as possible because of, for
example, tuner output buffering.
[0165] At step 3134, the requested content may be tuned using the
tuner with the lowest priority. For example, the tuner currently
tuned to content with the lowest user profile score may be used to
tune the requested content. In this way, the sporting events of
greater interest to the user may remain tuned as long as possible.
At step 3138, the requested content tuned on the lowest priority
tuner is then displayed to the user, for example, in the main
window or in a PIP/POP window.
[0166] In practice, one or more steps shown in process 3100 may be
combined with other steps, performed in any suitable order,
performed in parallel (e.g., simultaneously or substantially
simultaneously), or removed.
[0167] FIG. 32 shows illustrative process 3200 for displaying and
updating game status icons within an interactive scoreboard, such
as scoreboard 302 (FIG. 5). At step 3202, an interactive scoreboard
is displayed simultaneously with a sporting event in a display
screen. For example, control circuitry 110 (FIG. 1) may cause one
of illustrative display screens 300 (FIG. 3), 400 (FIG. 4), 500
(FIG. 5), 700 (FIG. 7), or 800 (FIG. 8) to be displayed on display
device 104 (FIG. 1). As previously described, in some embodiments,
interactive scoreboard 302 may be automatically displayed when
sports content is accessed or displayed.
[0168] At step 3204, one or more real-time status data feeds are
received by user equipment 102 (FIG. 1). Sports watcher application
106 (FIG. 1) may parse the received status data feeds for status
flags and other related game status information. For example,
real-time scores, clock time, and any other suitable game
information may be included in the real-time status data feeds.
[0169] At step 3206, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may
determine if a commercial status change has occurred. For example,
in some embodiments, commercial status flags may be included in one
or more of the real-time status data feeds received at step 3204.
Sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may automatically monitor
the status data feeds for incoming commercial status change flags
for the games associated with the scores currently displayed in the
interactive scoreboard, such as scoreboard 302 (FIG. 3).
Additionally or alternatively, sports watcher application 106 (FIG.
1) may monitor the black frame interval, audio level, and/or any
other suitable audio or video characteristic of the content on all
the tuners in the user equipment device. From this information,
sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may determine when a
sporting event has resumed from a commercial break without the need
for commercial status change flags. In other embodiments, a hybrid
approach may be used, whereby commercial status change flags are
used in conjunction with audio and/or video characteristics of the
content stream.
[0170] If a commercial status change is detected at step 3206, a
commercial status icon may be displayed, removed, or updated within
the interactive scoreboard. For example, display screen 500 (FIG.
5) shows commercial status icon 502. In the example of FIG. 5, icon
502 is displayed when the game associated with the score displayed
in the scoreboard has returned from a commercial break. Thus, the
icon indicates that there is now live play in the game associated
with the score the icon is displayed adjacent to. In some
embodiments, the commercial status icon may flash for a
predetermined amount of time in the scoreboard after a commercial
break has ended in order to draw the immediate attention of the
user. The user might then select to switch the display to a game
that has returned from a commercial break. Any other graphical or
textual icons may be used in other embodiments.
[0171] After the commercial status icon is updated or displayed in
the scoreboard at step 3208, or if no commercial status change is
detected at step 3206, at step 3210 sports watcher application 106
(FIG. 1) may determine if there is an action status change in any
of the games associated with scores currently displayed in the
scoreboard. Action status flags may be included in one or more of
the real-time status data feeds received at step 3204. From the
action status flags, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may
determine, for example, if there is a scoring drive, rally, or any
other event of potential interest to the user currently occurring
in any of the games associated with scores currently displayed in
the scoreboard. As previously described, editors may actively
monitor popular sports games for action events and associate an
action status flag with games with exciting action. The action
status flags may be also be generated automatically, for example,
when less than a certain amount of clock time is remaining in a
game, a close score is detected, or any other suitable event in the
game occurs.
[0172] If sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) determines that
there is an action status change in any of the games associated
with scores currently displayed in the scoreboard, at step 3212 an
action status icon may be updated, removed, or displayed in the
scoreboard. For example, display screen 500 (FIG. 5) displays
action status icon 504. In the example of FIG. 5, the icon is
displayed when the game associated with the score has less than a
predetermined amount of clock time remaining. The amount of clock
time remaining may also be displayed in the scoreboard, as shown in
scoreboard 302 of FIG. 5.
[0173] After the action status icon is updated or displayed in the
scoreboard at step 3212, or if no action status change is detected
at step 3210, at step 3214 sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1)
may determine if there is a milestone status change in any of the
games associated with scores currently displayed in the scoreboard.
For example, milestone status flags may be included by an editor in
one or more of the real-time status data feeds received at step
3204. The editor may associate milestone status flags with, for
example, game that have one or more players approaching statistical
milestones (e.g., 400 yard passer or 1,000 yard rusher).
[0174] If sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) determines that
there is a milestone status change in any of the games associated
with scores currently displayed in the scoreboard, at step 3216 a
milestone status icon may be updated, removed, or displayed in the
scoreboard. For example, a graphical or textual icon may be
displayed in the scoreboard that optionally informs the user about
the type of milestone or the player associated with the statistical
milestone. The user may select the milestone icon using input
device 108 (FIG. 1) in some embodiments in order to be presented
with a screen of detailed milestone information.
[0175] After the milestone status icon is updated or displayed in
the scoreboard at step 3216, or if no milestone status change is
detected at step 3218, the score or summary information displayed
in the scoreboard may be updated at step 3218. In some embodiments,
scores and summary information are automatically updated as
real-time score information is received by the user equipment
device. In other embodiments, score and summary information
displayed in the scoreboard are updated periodically (e.g., every 5
seconds).
[0176] Although the scoreboard icons described above are
illustrated in terms of a specific sport (e.g., football), in some
embodiments, the icons may include custom icons for each type of
sport. For example, an action icon for tennis may resemble a
bouncing tennis ball, while an action for soccer resembles a
bouncing soccer ball. Using tennis as an example, these action
icons may be displayed when there is a tie set, at set point, at
match point, or at any other suitable time when the user might be
interested in quickly changing to the match. The icons and alerts
described herein may be expanded to support other sports, including
non-traditional sports and multi-sport tournaments, such as the
Olympics. For example, a user may designate a home country (e.g.,
the USA) in the user's profile. Suitable icons may be displayed in
the scoreboard when the user's home country is about to win a medal
(e.g., gold), go ahead in total medal count, or any other suitable
event occurs. The top finishers in each event may be displayed in
lieu of a score within the scoreboard.
[0177] In practice, one or more steps shown in process 3200 may be
combined with other steps, performed in any suitable order,
performed in parallel (e.g., simultaneously or substantially
simultaneously), or removed. Any suitable combination of icons and
alerts may be shown on the scoreboard, including icons and alerts
not described herein. The status of conditions affecting these
alerts and icons may be monitored or checked in any suitable order
or at any suitable interval.
[0178] FIG. 33 shows illustrative process 3300 for implementing an
all-sports channel flipping function. As previously described, the
all-sports channel flipping function may be useful for users who
wish to quickly surf through the available channels currently
showing sporting events or sports-related programming. At step
3302, media guidance application data is accessed about a plurality
of channels. For example, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1)
may read genre and/or subgenre information about the programming
currently being shown on all the channels in the user equipment
channel line-up or channel map.
[0179] At step 3304, the type of content currently showing on each
of the plurality of channels may be determined. For example, the
genre or subgenre information may be used to determine the type of
content in some embodiments. Additionally or alternatively, a
keyword search of the title or summary information of the content
currently showing on each channel may be executed. The content
matching certain keywords may be automatically designated as a
particular type of content. For example, content with the "NFL" or
"football" keyword appearing in the title or summary information
may be automatically designated as sports content.
[0180] At step 3306, sports watcher application 106 (FIG. 1) may
determine if the user profile defines channel flipping preferences.
For example, in some embodiments, the user may set channel flipping
preferences from sports watcher options display screen 2900 (FIG.
29). In other embodiments, as described above, preferences in the
user's profile may be selected automatically by sports watcher
application 106 (FIG. 1). If the user's profile does not define
channel flipping preferences, at step 3308 a channel line-up may be
built including only those channels currently showing sporting
events (or sports-related content). If the user's profile does
define channel flipping preferences, at step 3310 a channel line-up
may be built that includes only channels matching the user's
flipping preferences. For example, as shown in sports watcher
options display screen 2900 (FIG. 29), the user has selected
specific sports to be included in the all-sports channel flipping
function using channel flipping option 2906. Therefore, only
channels showing the sports enumerated in channel flipping option
2906 may be included in the channel line-up at step 3310. All other
channels may be omitted from the line-up for the purposes of the
all-sports flipping function.
[0181] At step 3312, a determination is made whether the user has
requested to change channels using the all-sports flipping
function. In some embodiments, the user defaults to the all-sports
flipping function for all channel up or channel down requests while
in sports watcher mode. In other embodiments, a separate button or
button are defined on an input derive, such as input device 108
(FIG. 1). The user may use the regular channel up and channel down
buttons to flip through the entire channel line-up (i.e., all
channels) and special all-sports channel up and channel down
buttons to flip through the channel line-up built in step 3308 or
3310. In some embodiments, the user may use the regular channel up
and down buttons to flip through all sports programs, and a
separate button (e.g., a favorites button) to limit flipping
further to only programs matching the user's preferences.
[0182] If a request is received to change channels using the
all-sports flipping function, at step 3314 the next channel in the
channel line-up is displayed to the user. For example, the next
channel showing sports content in the direction of channel flipping
may be displayed to the user at step 3314. This channel may be
displayed in the main window or PIP/POP window. If no request to
change channels is received at step 3312, illustrative process 3300
may begin again at step 3302. New channel line-ups may be built
during idle channel flipping time or at periodic intervals (e.g.,
every 15 minutes). In this way, the channel line-ups are refreshed
on a regular basis to ensure that the channel line-ups include only
sports-related content.
[0183] In practice, one or more steps shown in process 3300 may be
combined with other steps, performed in any suitable order,
performed in parallel (e.g., simultaneously or substantially
simultaneously), or removed.
[0184] The above described embodiments of the invention are
presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and
the present invention is limited only by the claims which
follow.
* * * * *