US 2,004,117,831 · Filed 2003-06-06

The Patent That Turned Your TV Guide Into a Personalized Entertainment Hub

Imagine if your TV remote could show you everything about movies—listings, rentals, merchandise, interviews, reviews—all organized in one place instead of scattered across channels and menus. That's what this patent describes: a "niche hub" system that bundles all the content and services related to what you're interested in so you never have to hunt around.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a system architecture where a television guide organizes programming features and content around specific user interests or categories (like movies, sports, or documentaries) into dedicated "niche hubs." What's protected here is the method of bundling together program listings, video-on-demand options, merchandise links, news groups, chat rooms, reviews, and other related services all accessible from a single interface tied to that interest. The system also covers the two-way communication paths that let user equipment send requests back to servers managing those hubs.

Why it matters

Filed in 2003, this patent anticipated how modern streaming and content platforms would organize entertainment around user interests rather than just broadcast schedules. At the time, TV guides were linear and channel-based; this invention proposed dynamic, interest-centered hubs that could bundle disparate services. The concept influenced how platforms like Roku, Netflix, and others would eventually design their interfaces—collapsing siloed services (listings, rentals, merchandise, community) into curated experiences around what users actually cared about.

Real-world use

When you open a streaming app and see a "Horror" or "True Crime" category that bundles movies, recommendations, behind-the-scenes content, and reviews all together, you're seeing a direct descendant of this niche hub concept.

Original USPTO abstract

A system for providing interactive television program guide features and other features and information related to a specific user interest or programming category in niche hubs is provided. All of the television programming features provided by user television equipment that relate to a specific user interest or programming category may be accessed from the niche hub. For example, a movie lovers niche hub may provide programming features such as television program listings for movies, video-on-demand listings for movies, pay-per-view listings for movies, web site links related to movies, movie-related merchandise, movie news groups, movie chat groups, movie e-mail clubs, movie contests, movie trivia questions, movie actor interviews, movie reviews, movie channel package ordering, etc. The programming features of the niche hubs may be transmitted from a server, database, or other storage facility via a television distribution facility. User television equipment may be connected via two-way communications paths to transmit messages to each other.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,004,117,831
Filing date: 2003-06-06
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: United Video Properties, Inc.
Inventor(s): ELLIS MICHAEL D., KNUDSON EDWARD B.
CPC class: H04N7/165

View original record on Google Patents →

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