MXPA00008585A - Program guide system with monitoring of advertisement usage and user activities - Google Patents

Abstract

A program guide system is provided in which interactive television program guide advertisement usage is monitored. Advertisement usage may be monitored by monitoring when advertisements are transmitted from a television distribution facility to user television equipment. Advertisement usage information may also be monitored by monitoring when advertisements are received by the user television equipment. Advertisement usage information may also be monitored at the time at which advertisements are displayed by a program guide. Less important data may be filtered from the collected advertisement usage data. Other activities that may be monitored include the viewing activities of the user, which program guide screens are displayed, and which non-program-guide applications are used. Real-time ratings information (e.g., real-time ratings of the popularity of certain television programs, video games, or other applications) may be provided to users in real time.

Description

SYSTEM OF GUIDES OF PROGRAMMING WITH MONITORING THE USE OF THE PUBLIC WARNINGS AND THE ACTIVITIES OF THE USER Background of the Invention This invention relates to interactive television programming guides, and more particularly to techniques for monitoring advertising that is provided with interactive television programming guidelines, and for monitoring user activities such as user activities in terms of watching television. In some passive television programming guides, such as the system shown in Davis and others in U.S. Patent 5,559,548, the video provides a television channel that includes a billboard of programs and advertisements that are displayed together. Interactive television programming guides allow television users to watch billboards with television program advertisements on their television sets. Other functions that are supplied by such programming guides include the ability to present advertisements with program data in various formats, run searches based on the genre for programs of interest, support paid orders (pay-per-view), etc. Interactive programming guides may include systems such as the system shown in Hendricks et al., U.S. Patent 6,600,364. The interactive programming guides are typically implemented in boxes that are placed on the television (set-top boxes) based on a microprocessor. The data contained in the program announcements are transmitted to the boxes that are placed on the television from a centralized data distribution facility through the terminal of the user's cable system. The data contained in the program announcements are typically stored in a memory in the box that is placed on the television, where the interactive programming guide can access them. Interactive programming guides may be used to display advertisements, as described in Knudson et al., US Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 034,939, filed March 4, 1998, Knudson et al., US Patent Application N No. 09 / 070,604, filed April 30, 1998, Knudson et al., US Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 070,555, filed April 30, 1998, and Boylan, III et al., US Patent Application Serial No. 09 / 070,700, filed on April 30, 1998, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The advertisements of the programming guides provide the user with useful information about various products and services. For example, advertisements for programming guides may be used to promote upcoming television programs. The advertisements of the programming guides can also be used to promote products and services that do not refer to programming. For example, the user may be presented with an opportunity to purchase a product or service by selecting an interactive advertisement. In order to determine the effectiveness of the advertisements, it would be convenient to monitor how often the advertisements are displayed and selected by the user. It would also be convenient to be able to monitor in which screens of the programming guide advertisements are displayed, and which are the screens of the programming guide that the user activates in general. It would also be convenient to monitor the user's activities with regard to watching television, and the use by the user of the applications that are not part of the programming guide. Monitor these types of information with a programming guide to allow ads to be used in the most effective way. The information could also be used to provide programming guide services that would not otherwise be possible. In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system of interactive television programming guides in which the use of advertisements and user activities are monitored by the guide. Summary of the Invention This and other objects of the invention are achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention, by providing a system of interactive television programming guides in which the use of advertisements by users of the programming guide can be monitored. interactive television The use of advertisements can be monitored by determining which advertisements are transmitted from a television distribution facility to the user's television equipment (for example, to the boxes that are placed on the television of various users). The use of advertisements can also be monitored by determining which notices are received on the user's television equipment. Another way in which the use of advertisements can be monitored is by determining which advertisements are displayed during the use of the programming guide. The system can monitor which screens of the programming guide users access more frequently. Information - such as which advertisements are used and which screens are displayed can be analyzed to determine the relative value of various advertising and programming guide screens. If desired, information on user activities can be collected in terms of watching television. Such information may include information about whether a user has blocked the audio of a program by using a "no sound" function (mute) or has blocked all or part of the video of a program by displaying a graphic overlay of some kind on a program (for example, example, the presentation of a programming guide, etc.) The information collected about the activities regarding television viewing may also include information about when the user's last interaction with the programming guide (which is indicative of if the user is still watching the program or has left the room.) The user's use of applications that are not part of the programming guide can also be monitored, for example, the programming guide can monitor which videogames the user plays on. The information about the programs that are viewed by the user and the applications that are not of the programming guide that are managed by the user, can be collected by the system in real time. This information can then be analyzed to determine audience ratings (ratings) in real time. For example, audience rates can be generated in real time for the nation's most popular television programs. Real-time ratings can also be generated for applications that are not from the programming guide. Other features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a diagram of an illustrative system of interactive television programming guides, in which the use of advertisements can be monitored in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating how an advertisement for a program can be displayed, as part of a screen of the programming guide, and how various programming guide options referred to the advertised program can be presented to the user, when the user selects such advertisement, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating how an advertisement for a product or service may be displayed as part of a screen of the programming guide, and how the user may be presented with an opportunity to lose the advertised product or service when the user selects a product. advertisement such, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram showing some of the monitoring functions that can be provided by the interactive television program guide system in accordance with the present invention. Figure 5 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data that can be collected in relation to the use of advertisements, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 6 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data that can be collected in relation to the use of different screens of the programming guide t, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 7 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data that can be collected in relation to the viewing of programs by the user, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 8 is a diagram of an illustrative data structure showing various types of data that can be collected in relation to the use by the user of applications that are not of the programming guide, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 9 is a 'diagram showing the intervening steps in the execution of the data collection and the analysis functions of the interactive programming guide system, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 10a is an illustrative display screen of the programming guide containing real-time audience index information, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 10b is a flowchart illustrative of the intervening steps to allow a user to select a programming advertisement from the real-time audience index screen of Figure 10a, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 11 is a flow diagram of illustrative steps intervening in the provision of real-time ratings in accordance with the present invention. Figure 12 is a flow chart showing the intervening steps for gathering information on a number of separate user profiles and for processing this information, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 13 is a flowchart of the intervening steps for filtering and removing the less important data, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 14 is a diagram showing how the data filters may be located in the user's television equipment or in a data processing facility, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 15 is a diagram that shows how a data filter can include filtering and outputting less important data based on advertising or specific actions, or it can include filtering and extracting less important data based on demographic aspects of the viewer, according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments An illustrative system 20 of interactive television programming guides according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1. The main facility 22 contains a database 24 of the programming guide for storing program guide information such as billboard information of the television schedule guide, paid program order information, promotional information of television program television, etc. The main installation 22 also contains an advertising database 26 for storing advertising information. The information of the databases 24 and 26 can be transmitted to multiple television distribution facilities, such as the television distribution facility 28, through communication links such as the communication link 30. The link 30 can be a satellite link, a link by telephone network, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or any other suitable means of communication. If, in addition to data signals, it is desired to transmit video signals via the link (for example, for advertising and promotional videos), a relatively high bandwidth link, such as a satellite link, is generally preferable to a link of relatively low bandwidth, such as a telephone line. The television distribution facility 28 is an installation for distributing television signals to users, such as a cable system terminal, a broadcast television distribution facility, or a satellite television distribution facility. The programming guide information transmitted by the main installation 22 to the television distribution facility, 28, includes data contained in the advertisements of the television programs such as program schedules, their channels, titles, descriptions, etc. The transmitted program information also includes data from paid programs such as price information for individual programs and channels with subscription, time windows to request programs and channels, telephone numbers for ordering that can not be made by pulses, etc. The advertising information transmitted by the main facility 22 to the television distribution facility 28 includes advertisements with text, graphics and video for various products and services. The advertisements can be distributed from the main installation 22 to multiple television distribution installations 28, although in Figure 1 only one television distribution installation 28 is shown, to avoid complicating the drawing too much. Each television distribution facility 28 distributes advertisements to users on the associated television equipment, of the user, 32, through the communication links 34. If desired, some advertising information can be provided using the database advertising, 36, in the television distribution facility 28. The user's television equipment 32 may be any suitable equipment to supply the user with television that contains sufficient processing capabilities to implement an interactive television programming guide. The tracks 34 may be cable links, fiber optic links, satellite links, broadcast links, or other suitable link or combinations of such links. Any communications system can be used to transmit data on tracks 34, including in-band transmissions, transmissions with vertical blanking interval, out-of-band transmissions, digital transmissions, analog transmissions, cable transmissions, satellite transmissions, air transmissions, transmissions for multi-point and multi-channel distribution services (MMDS). The data distribution technique that is used to distribute data on tracks 34 depends on the type of information that is being distributed. For example, text and graphics can be distributed by an out-of-band channel using an out-of-band modulator. Video information can also be distributed in this way, although large amounts of video information can be distributed more efficiently using one or more digital channels on tracks 56. Such digital channels can also be used to distribute text and graphics. Each user has a receiver, which typically consists of a box that is placed on the television such as the box that is placed on the television, 34, but which can be another suitable television equipment, such as an advanced television receiver in which circuits have been integrated similar to the circuits of the box that is placed on the television, or a television with personal computer (PC / TV). The data such as data of programming guides can be periodically distributed to the boxes that are placed on the television, 34. The television distribution facility 28 can also periodically interrogate the boxes that are placed on the television, 34, to request certain information (for example information about the paid program account or information regarding programs that have been purchased and viewed using locally generated authorization techniques). The main installation 22 preferably contains a processor to handle information distribution tasks. Each box that is placed on the television, 34, preferably contains a processor to handle tasks associated with the implementation of the interactive television programming guide. The television distribution facility 28 may contain a processor to handle tasks associated with the data distribution. Each box that is placed on the television, 34, is typically connected to an optional VCR 36 so that those selected television programs can be recorded. Each video recorder 36 is connected to a television 38. To record a program, the interactive programming guide implemented in the box that is placed on the television, 34, tunes to a particular channel and sends control signals to the VCR 36, using example the infrared transmitter 40, which drive the VCR 36 to start and stop at the appropriate times. During the use of the programming guide, advertisements with television program data, advertisements and other information can be displayed visually on TV 38. Each box that is placed on the television, 34, VCR 36, and TV 38 , can be controlled by means of one or more remote controls 42 or any other suitable interface for entry of data by the user, such as a wireless keyboard, mouse (mouse), trackball, specialized keypad, etc. A typical remote control 42 has directional keys to position a highlight region on the screen of the programming guide, and an "OK" button or select button to select a highlighted item on the screen. Other buttons typical of the remote control include buttons such as a button to record, buttons to scroll up and down channels, volume control buttons, numeric keys, etc. The communication paths 34 preferably have sufficient bandwidth to allow the television distribution facility 28 to distribute the television programming of the user, 32 television programming, billboard information with program announcements, advertisements, and other information. . Multiple television and audio channels (analogue, digital, or both, analogue and digital) can be provided to the user's television equipment, 32, through the communication channels 34. If desired, certain data such as the data contained in the advertisements of the programs can be distributed by means of one or more distribution facilities that are separated from the television distribution installation 28, using communication channels that are at least partially separated from the communication channels 28. Certain functions, such as the purchase of paid programs, the purchase of products and services, and the data collection functions, may require the user's television equipment, 32, to transmit data to the television distribution facility 28 via the communication channels 34. If desired, such data may be transmitted by telephone lines or other separate communication channels. If functions such as these are provided using separate facilities of the television distribution facility 28, some of the communications involving the user's television equipment, 32, can be made directly with the separate facilities. Users of the interactive television programming guide can interactively request information, products, or additional services. For example, a user can place an order by selecting an advertisement displayed in the programming guide. Such orders can be satisfied by the execution facilities 44 and 46. If desired, the orders can be transmitted directly to the execution facilities, such as the execution installation 44, through the links 48, which can be telephone links , Internet or other appropriate communication links. The orders can also be transmitted to the television distribution facility 28 through the links 34, where the billing system of the television distribution facility can be used. After the television distribution facility 28 has processed the user's order, the television distribution facility 28 can transmit the order to the execution facility 46 via the link 50. In Figure 2, an upper screen is shown as an upper screen. illustrative screen 52 of the programming guide, containing an advertisement 54. Screen 52 contains an announcement region 56 with program data, which includes a number of advertisements 58 for various television programs. The advertisements of programs 58 of the advertisement region with program data, 56, may be displayed in any of a number of suitable formats such as ads sorted by time or channel, ads grouped by gender, etc. The advertisement 54 may be selected by the user by placing the highlight 60 on the advertisement 54 using the direction keys of the remote control, and by pressing an "OK" button or button to select. The advertisement 54 may be, for example, a notice for a future television program. As shown in the lower screen of Figure 2, by selecting the advertisement 54, the programming guide may be instructed to display a screen 62 which contains a more detailed notice 64 for that program. The advertisement 64 and other advertisements in the programming guide may contain video 66, text 68, and graphics 70. Screen 62 may contain options 72 that allow the user to request the advertising program (if the program is a paid program), Set a reminder for the program, or cancel the advertisement. Advertisements can also be used to promote products and services. As shown in Figure 3, the programming guide screen 74 contains an advertisement region with program data, 76, which contains a number of program advertisements 78. The screen 74 also contains an advertisement 80 for a product or service. service. The user can select the advertisement 80 by positioning the highlight 82 on the advertisement 80 using the direction keys of the remote control, and by pressing a button to select or "OK" button. By selecting the advertisement 80 the programming guide is indicated to display the programming guide screen 84, which is shown as the lower screen in Figure 3. The display 84 typically contains more detailed advertising information 86 about the product or service that is being promoted. Screen 84 also contains an order option 88 for ordering the product or service (using, for example, execution facility 44 or 46) and a cancel 90 option for canceling screen 84. Programming guide screens 52 and 62 of Figure 2, and the programming guide screens 74 and 84 are illustrative only. If desired, any other interactive television programming guide screen can be provided in the programming guide. Such programming guide screens may or may not include advertisements and advertisements with program data. In order to measure the effectiveness of certain advertisements, the system 20 can monitor how the advertisements are distributed to the user's television equipment, 32. The system 20 can also monitor the location, in the programming guide, in which the advertisements are displayed, and can monitor with what Frequently advertisements are displayed. System 20 can also monitor the use of various programming guide screens (even if no advertisement is present). If desired, information about the user's activities in terms of watching television can be monitored. The programming guide can also gather information about which applications that are not from the programming guide the user handles. If desired, any other suitable type of information about the user's activities or the use of the programming guide can be monitored. The data that is collected about the activities of the user can be analyzed in any suitable data processing facility, such as a data processor located in the main facility 22 of Figure 1, the television distribution facility 28 of the Figure 1, or any other suitable installation or facilities. As shown in Figure 4, the television distribution facility 28, the main facility 22, or both, may be provided with the advertising broadcasting monitoring devices 92 and 93 to monitor each warning when it is transmitted from the facility. main 22 to the television distribution facility 28 and when it is transmitted from the television distribution facility 28 to the user's television set 32. This arrangement is advantageous in situations in which, for example, the main facility 22 or the television distribution facility 28 perform tasks associated with the analysis of the collected data. The distribution of advertisements can also be monitored using an advertising reception monitoring device, 94, on the television equipment 32 of each user. The advertising reception monitoring device 94 keeps abreast of which notices are received by the user's television equipment 32. Another way in which the use of the advertisements can be monitored is with the use monitoring device. of advertisements, 96. The device for monitoring the use of advertisements 96 gathers information about which notices are displayed by the programming guide. The advertisement monitoring device 96 is shown as being part of the application 98 of the programming guide. Other usage monitoring devices that are suitable, and which may be provided as part of the program guide application 98, include the screen usage monitoring device, 100 (to gather information about which screens are visited by the user), the display activity monitoring device 102 (to gather information about which programs the user views), and the device for monitoring the use of applications that are not of the programming guide 104 (to gather information about which applications they are used by the user, apart from those of the programming guide). If desired, one or more of the monitoring devices 96, 100, 102 and 104 can be implemented in the user's television equipment, 32, totally or partially separated from the application of the programming guide, 98. The device of Notification reception monitoring may also be totally or partially incorporated into application 98 of the programming guide, if desired. The arrangement of Figure 4 is illustrative only. If desired, any other suitable arrangement of monitoring devices may be used. For example, it may not usually be necessary to provide three advertising monitoring devices (i.e. monitoring devices)., 94 and 96); the use of only one or two such monitoring devices may be satisfactory. When the use of an advertisement is monitored, the system 20 may collect a number of different items of data. In Figure 5 there is shown an illustrative structure 106 of data about the use of advertisements, which can be used by the system 20 to collect data on the use of advertisements. The data structure 106 preferably contains a unique advertisement identifier 108 to identify the advertisement to which the data that is in the data structure 106 refers. If transmission monitoring devices such as transmission monitoring devices are used. of advertisements 92 and 93 of Figure 4, the data structure 106 may contain information 110 about whether the advertisement was correctly transmitted from the main facility 22 (Figures 1 and 4) to the television distribution facility 28 (FIGS. 1 and 4) and if the advertisement was correctly transmitted from the television distribution facility 28 (Figures 1 and 4) to the user's television equipment, 32 (Figures 1 and 4). If a reception monitoring device such as the advertising reception monitoring device 94 of Figure 4 is used, the data structure 106 may contain information 112 about whether the advertisement that was transmitted from the distribution facility of television 28 (Figures 1 and 2) to the user's television equipment, 32 (Figures 1 and 2) was correctly received- by the user's television crew 32. If a device is used to monitor the use of advertisements such as the advertisement monitoring device 96 of Figure 4, the data structure 106 may contain various information about when and where the advertisement was displayed in the programming guide. For example, the data structure 106 may contain information 114 about the number of times the notice was displayed. The data structure 106 may also contain information 116 about which screens of the programming guide the notice was displayed on. The data structure 106 may contain information 118 about which screens of the programming guide were active each time the advertisement was selected by the user. Another type of information from which the data structure 106 may be provided is information 120 about the user's actions that were a direct consequence of the selection of the advertisement by the user. The information 120 may also include information on actions automatically executed by the programming guide. The actions included in the information 120 may include watching a program, recording a program, buying a program, etc. If desired, the date and time at which the notice or action was executed in the programming guide can be monitored, and the appropriate information 122 can be stored in the data structure 106. If the system 20 contains a monitoring device for the Using a screen such as the screen usage monitoring device 100 of Figure 4, the system can maintain data structures such as the screen usage data structure, 124, of Figure 6. The data structure 124 can include information 126 that uniquely identifies the interactive television programming guide screen displayed by the user. The data structure 124 may also contain information 128 about the frequency with which the programming guide screen is displayed. In the data structure 124 information 130 can be provided about the span during which the screen is displayed. If desired, information 132 may be provided in the data structure 124 about how the user arrived at the screen (for example, which menu options were selected to allow the user to navigate through the programming guide to the screen). The data structure 124 may also include information 134 about which actions the user executes from the screen. If the system 20 contains a display activity monitoring device, such as the display activity monitoring device 102 of Figure 4, the system can maintain data structures such as the display activity data structure, 136 , of Figure 7, to be aware of the programs that each user looks at. The data structure 136 preferably contains a program identifier 138 to uniquely identify the program viewed by the user. The data structure 136 may also contain information 140 about whether the user interacts with the programming guide while the program is displayed. If the user is not interacting with the programming guide, it is then possible that the user has left the room and is no longer watching the program. The time elapsed since the last user interaction can be used by the programming guide to evaluate audience ratings for various programs. Another type of information that may be included in the data structure 136 relates to information about whether the user has blocked the audio or video of the program that is being displayed. This also indicates that the user is not actively looking at the program. Information about the blocked audio or video may include information 142 about whether the user has used an audio function without sound, or information 144 about whether overlays are present on the screen while the program is displayed. If the system 20 contains a monitoring device not related to the programming guide, such as the monitoring device not related to the programming guide, 104, of Figure 4, the system can maintain data structures such as the structure of the system. data from applications that are not from the programming guide, 146, of Figure 8, to be aware of which applications that are not from the programming guide are used. Examples of such applications that are not from the programming guide include video games, home shopping applications, Web viewer applications, home banking applications, etc. The data structure 146 preferably contains an identifier of applications that are not from the programming guide, 148, which identifies only which application that is not from the programming guide being used. Data structure 146 may also include information 150 about how the user resorts to the application (for example, whether or not the user resorts to the application that is not of the programming guide from the programming guide, from which screen of the programming guide the user uses the application, etc). Data structure 146 may also include information 152 about the amount of use of the application that is not from the programming guide. Data structures such as data structure 106, data structure 124, data structure 136, and data structure 146 can be accumulated in various locations within the system 20 and can be distributed and maintained in various locations within the system 20 For example, such data structures may be accumulated in whole or in part in the user's television equipment, 32 (Figures 1 and 2) and transferred to the television distribution facility 28 or other suitable data processing facility, for your analysis. After the collected data is processed, the results can be used at any suitable location within the system 20, such as the main facility 22, the television distribution facility 28, or the user's television equipment, 32. Figure 9 shows the steps involved in monitoring various activities with the system 20. Steps 154 involve the collection of information. The steps 156 involve the analysis of the data. The steps 158 involve the use of the results of the data analysis. Although in Figure 9 they are shown as steps that can be executed successively, steps 154, 156 and 158 and their substeps can be executed (in whole or in part) in any suitable order or concurrently, if desired. Moreover, these steps are only illustrative; if desired, all other steps of information gathering, data analysis, and use of data analysis, can be executed by the system 20. In step 160, the information on the use of advertisements is collected (e.g. , by means of one or more advertising monitoring device such as advertisement monitoring devices 92, 94 and 96 of Figure 4). In step 162, information is collected on the use by the user of various screens of the programming guide. In step 164, information is collected on the user's viewing activities (eg, which programs the user watches and which audio and video blocking functions are used). In step 166 information is collected about the applications that are not from the programming guide that the user handles. In step 168, the information collected is used to determine the relative value of various advertisements and various screens of the programming guide. For example, if it is determined that users very frequently see a particular programming guide screen, and often select advertisements that appear on that particular screen, it can be concluded that that particular programming guide screen is a valuable location for Place advertising within the programming guide. If it is determined that a certain advertisement is selected frequently, regardless of its location within the scheduling guide, it can be concluded that that type of advertisement is effective ^ In step 170, the information collected in step 154 is used to generate audience rates in real time, such as real-time ratings about how popular (or unpopular) certain television programs are, or real-time ratings that indicate which applications are not in the programming guide, such like video games, they are used more (or less) frequently. In step 172, information on the relative value of different advertisement locations, which has been determined in step 168, can be used to modify various advertising promotions. Information about the relative values of advertising locations can also be used to generate advertising rates to be used by sales people to sell advertising. If desired, information on the value of different locations in the programming guide may be used to charge advertisers fees that are in some way proportional to the value received when advertisements are placed in various locations. Information about the value of advertising locations within the guide can also be used to redesign guides to maximize the effectiveness of advertising. Information about the effectiveness of a particular advertisement can be used to design other ads of the same type. In step 174, the real-time audience index information generated in step 170 may be distributed to the user's television equipment, 32, and displayed (for example, on each user's TV 38). Information on real-time ratings can include information about which programs are being watched or which video games or other applications are being used. Real-time ratings can be provided to users on television equipment 32 for visual presentation on television 38 in real time. In Figure 10a an illustrative programming guide screen 176 is shown for real-time ratings. The user can instruct the programming guide to display the screen 176 by pressing an appropriate button on the remote control, or by selecting an appropriate menu option. The programming guide can also automatically provide the user with information about audience rates in real time. Screen 176 contains title 178, information on real-time audience ratings 180, options button 182, and cancel button 183 (to cancel screen 176). In the example of Figure 10a, screen 176 is displayed displaying information regarding the five most currently viewed programs in the nation. By selecting the option button 182, the user can be provided with adequate opportunities to instruct the programming guide to display other types of audience index information in real time. If desired, the scheduling guide can provide a mobile highlighting region, such as the highlighting region 185. The user can use the highlighting region to select a program of interest from the programs inscribed in a list on the screen of audience rates in real time, 176. The programming guide can provide the user with an opportunity to execute various actions with respect to the selected program. For example, the programming guide may allow the user to set a reminder for the selected program. The programming guide can also allow the user to buy the selected program if the selected program is a paid program. If desired, the programming guide can provide the user with an opportunity to establish a recording of the selected program. Figure 10b shows the steps involved in this process. In step 187, the programming guide gives the user an opportunity to select a desired registered advertisement from the list (eg, a program). In step 189, after the user has selected an advertisement inscribed in the list, the programming guide gives the user an opportunity to execute an action in the programming guide, for example to set a reminder for a program, to buy a program payment, or record a program. The real-time audience index screen can be presented as a total or partial overlay on the screen (for example, on a television program that the user is watching). Figure 11 shows the intervening steps in the management of information on audience rates in real time. In step 184, the system 20 gathers information of audience rates in real time (for example, by monitoring the user's viewing activities with the monitoring device of the viewing activities 102). The collection of the audience index information typically involves the use of a data processor, which may be located in the main facility 22, the television distribution facility 28, or other suitable processing facility. In step 186, the real-time audience index information may be displayed (by the programming guide or other suitable application, or passively on a special television channel) on the user's television equipment, 32, using a screen such as the real-time audience index screen, 176, of Figure 10a, or other suitable presentation format. When the user selects option button 182, opportunities for selecting the type of information on real-time audience rates that the user wishes to see are provided. For example, in step 188, the user is provided an opportunity to select the geographic area for which the audience index information is desired in real time. The user may direct the programming guide to display real-time ratings information for the nation, for a state, for a metropolitan area, a city or locality, or any other suitable geographical area. In step 190, the user is provided with an opportunity to select a genre or genres of programming of interest (eg, sports, movies, comedy, etc.). If the user selects the sports genre, the real-time audience ratings for programs relating to sports can be displayed on screen 176 of Figure 10a. If the user selects the genres movies and comedy, the five most viewed comedy films can be displayed on screen 176 of real-time ratings of Figure 10a. In step 192, the user is provided with an opportunity to define a time interval for the real-time ratings. For example, the user may choose to see displayed ratings in real time for programs in the last hour, programs for the current night, programs for the current week, or programs that are being put on the air at that moment, etc. These time slots are illustrative, and if desired, any other time slot or combination of time slots can be used. In step 194, the user is provided with an opportunity to select the type of audience ratings that the user wishes to see. For example, the user may choose to see displayed information of audience ratings in real time for television programs (for example, the five most watched movies on television tonight in the nation). The user can also choose to see displayed information of audience ratings in real time for applications such as video games (for example the five most played games in the metropolitan area at this moment). These are only illustrative examples of the types of audience index information that may be displayed. If desired, any other information of adequate ratings can be displayed. After the user has made a selection from the options presented in steps 188, 190, 192 and 194, the real-time audience index information is displayed again in step 186. Although the opportunities provided in the steps 188, 190, 192 and 194 are preferably opportunities that are provided by the interactive programming guide implemented in the user's television equipment, 32, these steps can be provided using any other suitable application implemented in the user's television equipment, 32 , or system 20, if desired. Moreover, steps 188, 190, 192 and 194 are merely illustrative examples of the type of configuration options that may be provided to the user. If desired, any other appropriate configuration option can be supplied for the real-time audience index feature. The programming guide can support multiple user profiles. For example, each user can establish a profile with a different set of favorite channels. The programming guide can find out which users are watching a given program, determining which profiles are active at that moment. Figure 12 shows the intervening steps in the monitoring of user viewing activities in a system with multiple user profiles. In step 196, the programming guide allows users to establish multiple user profiles. In step 198, the programming guide collects information for each of the active profiles. The information gathering processes that are used during step 198 may be executed concurrently. In step 200, the information collected for the monitored profiles is processed. If multiple profiles are active, the system can use this information to determine the likely number of viewers for a television program. For example, if three profiles were active during a given program, the system may conclude that there were at least three viewers for the program. The system can also individually process the information collected for each monitored profile, thus providing a more detailed picture of the program's audience. If it is necessary to reduce the amount of data collected in the system, the information can be collected from a subset of users. The information can also be collected from the user's television equipment, 32, of substantially all users in the system 20, if it is desired to provide use data as accurate as possible. The data collected by the television set 32 of each user can be sent periodically to a central place of data processing. For example, the data transmission can be executed by a cable return path, such as link 34, or a telephone modem line, or other suitable communication channel. The data collection can be based on a cycle of surveys in which each user's television equipment is periodically interrogated to obtain the data to be collected- The data can also be transmitted from the user's television equipment, 32, unsolicited by the survey, at regular intervals. If desired, the information confirming the successful transmission of the data that is being collected can be gathered from the television set 32 of each user at regular intervals. The amount of data handled by the system can be reduced by filtering less important data at appropriate stages during data collection and data analysis processes. Figure 13 shows the steps involved in filtering data. In step 202, the data of interest is collected on the user's television equipment, 32. In step 204, less important data is filtered from the data collected in step 202. Step 204 can be executed on the equipment of the user prior to the transmission of data. In step 206, the data is transmitted to a data processing facility, which may be, for example, one of the television distribution facility 28, the main facility 22 or another suitable installation. In step 208, in the data processing facility additional data is filtered from the collected data. The filtering can be executed on the user's television equipment, 32 (as in step 204) using a filter such as filter 210 on the user's television equipment, 32, of Figure 14. Filtering can also be performed. using a filter 212 in a data processing facility 214, as shown in Figure 14 (as in step 208). If desired, the filtering can be executed in any other suitable location, or in a combination of such locations. As shown in Figure 15, a suitable data collection filter, 216, may involve the use of a filter 218 that is based on advertisements or specific actions to be collected. This provision allows only information about a particular advertisement or set of advertisements to be collected by the system. It also allows only information about a particular action (for example, the purchase of a product or the order of a paid program) to be collected by the system. The data collection filter 216 may be further based, or alternatively, on a filter 220 that is based on the demographic information of the user. This provision allows information to be gathered only for certain demographic attributes, such as users with a certain level of income, etc. The demographic attributes on which the operation of the filter 220 is based can be calculated automatically by the programming guide. A programming guide with the ability to handle advertisements based on automatic demographic information is disclosed in Knee et al., US Patent Application Serial No. 09/189777 (Proxy Registrar No. UV-58), filed concurrently with this , and which is incorporated here as a reference. The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention, and various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (118)

1. CLAIMS Having described and determined the nature and scope of the present invention and the manner in which it is to be carried out, it is declared that what is claimed as an invention and exclusive property is: 1. A system in which advertisements for users are displayed by means of an interactive television programming guide implemented in the User's television equipment, characterized by understanding: a means to display advertisements on the user's television equipment with the guide of interactive television programming; and a means to collect information on the use of advertisements in the interactive television programming guide.
2. 2 . The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the amount in which advertisements are displayed.
3. 3. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the location, in the programming guide, in which the advertisements are displayed.
4. 4. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information on which advertisements are displayed. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information from the advertisement identifier, which identifies which advertisements are displayed. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the number of times each advertisement is displayed. 7. The system defined in the. claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which screens of the programming guide advertisements are displayed. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which screens are active when a certain one of the advertisements is selected by one of the users The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which user actions are a direct consequence of the selection, by one of the users, of a certain one of the advertisements. 10, The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the times that advertisements are displayed. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the times that the actions are executed automatically by the programming guide. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information on which screens are displayed by the programming guide. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting screen identifier information, which uniquely identifies which screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. 14. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about the frequency with which certain screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. 15. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about the span during which the screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information on how users arrive at the screens of the programming guide in the programming guide. 17. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information on which television programs are displayed on the user's television equipment. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about whether a user interacts with the programming guide during the presentation of a given program on the user's television equipment. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about whether the user's television equipment is left without sound during the presentation of a given program on the user's television equipment. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about whether a screen overlay is present on the user's television equipment during the presentation of a given program on the television set of the television. user. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 22. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information, with the programming guide, about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 23. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a mediQ. to gather information about how users turn to applications that are not from the programming guide on the user's television equipment. 24. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a means for collecting information about the amount in which the applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 25. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that advertisements are transmitted to the user's television equipment from a television distribution facility, the system also comprising a means to monitor when the advertisements are transmitted from the distribution facility. television to the user's television team. 26. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the advertisements are transmitted to the user's television equipment from a television distribution facility, the system also comprising a means to monitor when the advertisements that are transmitted from the installation of the television. TV distribution are received on the user's television equipment. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the advertisements are transmitted to a television distribution facility from a main installation, the system also comprising a means to monitor when the advertisements are transmitted from the main installation to the installation of television distribution. 28. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the information that is collected on the use of advertisements in the programming guide is transmitted from the user's television equipment to a data processing facility., the system also comprising a means to filter the less important information from the information collected, prior to the transmission of the information collected from the user's television equipment. 29. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the information that is collected on the use of the advertisements in the programming guide is transmitted from the user's television equipment to a data processing facility, further comprising the system a means to filter the least important information from the information collected, in the data processing facility. 30. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising a filter means for filtering the less important information from the information collected on the use of the advertisements, the filter means being based on specific advertisements. 31. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information for multiple user profiles. 32. The system defined in claim 1, characterized by further comprising; a means to gather information about audience rates in real time; and a means to display the information on audience rates in real time, on the user's television equipment. 33. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the use of advertisements in the interactive television programming guide, by substantially all system users. 34. The system defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the use of advertisements in the interactive television program guide, by a subset of system users. 35. A method for monitoring the use of advertisements in a system in which advertisements are displayed to users by an interactive television programming guide implemented on the user's television equipment, characterized by understanding the steps of: exhibiting the advertisements on the user's television equipment, with the interactive television programming guide; and collect information about the use of advertisements in the interactive television programming guide. 36. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the amount in which advertisements are displayed. 37. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of the advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information on the location, in the programming guide, in which advertisements are displayed . 38. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information on which advertisements are displayed. 39. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information from the advertisement identifier, which identifies which advertisements are displayed. 40. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the number of times each advertisement is displayed. 41. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which screens of the programming guide advertisements are displayed. 42. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which screens are active when a certain one of the advertisements is selected by one of the users 43. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means for collecting information about which user actions are a direct consequence of the selection, by one of the users, of a certain one of the advertisements. 44. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the times the advertisements are displayed. 45. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of, collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises a means to collect information on the times that the actions are executed automatically by the programming guide. 46. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information on which screens are displayed by the programming guide. 47. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting screen identifier information, which uniquely identifies which screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. 48. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in further comprising the step of collecting information on the frequency with which certain screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. 49. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information about the span during which the screens of the programming guide are displayed by the programming guide. 50. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information on how users arrive at the screens of the programming guide in the programming guide. 51. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information on which television programs are displayed on the user's television equipment. 52. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information about whether a user interacts with the programming guide during the presentation of a given program on the user's television equipment. 53. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information about whether the user's television equipment is left without sound during the presentation of a given program on the user's television equipment, 54. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further understanding the step of collecting information about whether a screen overlay is present on the user's television equipment, during the presentation of a given program on the user's television equipment. 55. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 56. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information, with the programming guide, about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 57. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by ^ further comprising the step of collecting information about how users resort to applications that are not from the programming guide on the user's television equipment. 58. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by further comprising the step of collecting information about the amount in which the applications that are not from the programming guide are used in the user's television equipment. 59. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the advertisements are transmitted to the user's television equipment from a television distribution facility, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when the advertisements are transmitted from the distribution facility. television to the user's television team. 60. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the advertisements are transmitted to the user's television equipment from a television distribution facility, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when the advertisements that are transmitted from the installation of the television. TV distribution are received on the user's television equipment. 61. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the advertisements are transmitted to a television distribution facility from a main installation, the method further comprising the step of monitoring when the advertisements are transmitted from the main installation to the installation of television distribution. 62. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the information that is collected on the use of the advertisements in the programming guide is transmitted from the user's television equipment to a data processing facility, further comprising the method the step of filtering the least important information from the information collected, prior to the transmission of the information collected from the user's television equipment. 63. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the information that is collected on the use of advertisements in the programming guide is transmitted from the user's television equipment to a data processing facility, further comprising the method the step of filtering the least important information from the information collected, in the data processing facility. 64. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by comprising the step of filtering the least important information from the information collected on the use of advertisements, with a filter based on specific advertisements. 65. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises the step of collecting infoxmation for multiple user profiles. 66. The method defined in claim 35, characterized by comprising the steps of: collecting information on audience rates in real time; and display information about audience rates in real time, on the user's television equipment. 67. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements in the interactive television programming guide, by substantially all system users. 68. The method defined in claim 35, characterized in that the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements also comprises the step of collecting information on the use of advertisements in the interactive television programming guide, by a subset of system users. 69. A system to provide users with real-time ratings, characterized by understanding; means to collect information on audience rates in real time, based on user activities on the user's television equipment; and means to display the information of audience rates in real time on the user's television equipment, in real time. 70. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising a means for providing an opportunity to define a time interval for the audience rates in real time. 71. The system defined in claim 70, characterized in that the means for providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates comprises a means to provide an opportunity to define a time interval of "this hour". for the audience rates in real time. 72. The system defined in claim 70, characterized in that the means for providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time ratings comprises a means to provide an opportunity to define a "tonight" time slot. for the audience rates in real time. 73. The system defined in claim 70, characterized in that the means for providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates comprises a means to provide an opportunity to define a time interval of "today" for the audience rates in real time. 74. The system defined in claim 70, characterized in that the means for providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates further comprises a means to provide an opportunity to define a time interval of "this week. "for the audience rates in real time. 75. The system defined in claim 70, characterized in that the means for providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates further comprises a means to provide an opportunity to define a time interval of "this instant "for the audience rates in real time. 76. The system defined in claim 69, further characterized by providing a means to provide an opportunity to select a geographic area for the audience rates in real time. 77. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising a means for providing an opportunity to select a genre for audience rates in real time. 78. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising means for providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time ratings are for television programs. 79. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising means for providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time ratings are for applications. 80. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising a means to provide an opportunity to select whether the real-time audience rates are for applications that are not from the programming guide. 81. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising a means for providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time ratings are for video games. 82. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the real-time audience index information comprises a means for displaying real-time ratings of television programs. 83. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the information of audience rates in real time comprises a means for displaying real-time ratings of video games. 84. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the real-time audience index information comprises a means for displaying real-time ratings for a "tonight" period of time. 85. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the real-time audience index information comprises a means for displaying real-time audience rates for a time period of "this instant". 86. The system defined in claim 69, characterized by further comprising means for allowing each user to select which type of real-time ratings are displayed. 87. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the real-time audience index information comprises a means for collecting information about whether a function without sound is used when viewing certain programs. 88. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the means for displaying the real-time audience index information comprises a means for collecting information about whether any portion of the video of a program is blocked when that program is viewed. 89. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the system also comprising a means to select one of the programs to buy it. 90. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the system further comprising a means to select one of the programs to establish a reminder for that program. 91. The system defined in claim 69, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the system further comprising a means to select one of the programs to record it. 92. a method for providing users with audience rates in real time, characterized by understanding the steps of: collecting real-time index information, based on the user's activities on the user's television equipment; and exh-Read the audience index information in real time on the user's television equipment, in real time. 93. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to define a time interval for the audience rates in real time. 94. The method defined in claim 93, characterized in that the step of providing an opportunity to define a time interval for the real-time audience rates comprises the step of defining a time interval of "this time" for the indexes of Real-time audience 95. The method defined in claim 93, characterized in that the step of providing the opportunity to define- the time interval for the real-time audience rates comprises the step of providing an opportunity to define a time slot of "tonight. "for the audience rates in real time. 96. The method defined in claim 93, characterized in that the step of providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates comprises the step of providing an opportunity to define a time interval of "today" for the audience rates in real time. 97. The method defined in claim 93, characterized in that the step of providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates further comprises the step of providing an opportunity to define a time interval of "this week. "for the audience rates in real time. 98. The method defined in claim 93, characterized in that the step of providing the opportunity to define the time interval for the real-time audience rates further comprises the step of providing an opportunity to define a time interval of "this instant "for the audience rates in real time. 99. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select a geographic area for the indexes of 'real-time audience. 100. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select a genre for audience rates in real time. 101. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time audience ratings are for television programs. 102. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time audience rates are for applications. 103. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time audience rates are for applications that are not from the programming guide. 104. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of providing an opportunity to select whether the real-time ratings are for video games. 105. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the real-time audience index information comprises the step of displaying real-time ratings of television programs. 106. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the audience index information in real time comprises the step of displaying real-time video game audience ratings. 107. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the real-time audience index information comprises the step of displaying real-time audience rates for a "tonight" time period. 108. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the information of audience rates in real time comprises the step of displaying audience rates in real time for a time period of "this instant". 109. The method defined in claim 92, characterized by further comprising the step of allowing each user to select which type of real-time audience rates are displayed. 110. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the real-time audience index information comprises the step of collecting information about whether a function without sound is used when viewing certain programs. 111. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the step of displaying the real-time audience index information comprises the step of collecting information about whether any portion of the video of a program is blocked when viewing that program. 112. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the method further comprising the step of selecting one of the programs to buy it. 113. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the method further comprising the step of selecting one of the programs to establish a reminder for that program. 114. The method defined in claim 92, characterized in that the real-time audience index information comprises a list of programs, the method further comprising the step of selecting one of the programs to record it. 115. A system in which an interactive television programming guide is implemented in the user's television equipment, characterized by comprising: a means to display visual presentation screens of the programming guide, with the interactive television programming guide; and a means to gather information about which screens of the programming guide are displayed in the interactive television programming guide. 116. A method for using a system in which an interactive television programming guide is implemented in the user's television equipment, characterized by understanding the steps of: displaying display screens of the programming guide in the television equipment of the user. user, with the interactive television programming guide; and collect information about which visual presentation screens of the programming guide are displayed in the interactive television programming guide. 117. A system in which an interactive television programming guide is implemented in the user's television equipment, characterized by understanding: a means to provide a user with an opportunity to use applications that are not of the programming guide, in the the user's television equipment; and a means to gather information, with the interactive television programming guide, about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used. 118. A method for using a system in which an interactive television programming guide is implemented in the user's television equipment, characterized by understanding the steps of: providing a user with an opportunity to use applications that are not from the user guide. programming, on the user's television equipment; and collect information, with the interactive television programming guide, about which applications that are not from the programming guide are used. 10 15 20 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A system of programming guides is provided in which the use of the advertisements of the interactive television programming guide is monitored. The use of advertisements can be monitored by monitoring when advertisements are transmitted from a television distribution facility to the user's television equipment. Information on the use of advertisements can also be monitored, monitoring when the advertisements are received by the user's television equipment. Information on the use of advertisements can also be monitored at the time when the advertisements are displayed by a programming guide. From the collected data on the use of advertisements, less important data can be filtered. Other activities that can be monitored include the user's viewing activities, which screof the programming guide are displayed, and which applications that are not from the programming guide are used. Real-time audience information can be provided to users in real time (for example, real-time ratings of the popularity of certain television shows, video games, or other applications).