Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has filed a patent for a video program guide that would list options for on-demand content alongside the usual linear TV program grid.
The U.S. Patent Office application describes "a media program guide user interface that includes a grid go cells representing scheduled-type media content and on-demand-type mea content, and a selector window positioned relative to the grid of cells to elect a sell included in the grid of cells."
Verizon's patent filing shows how on-demand content would sit next to linear content.
Verizon did not immediately respond to FierceCable's inquiry for comment.
Conventional pay-TV user interfaces typically offer secular menus for linear and on-demand programming.
"Such an inconvenient user interface navigation flow may make it difficult for users to access all of the information about media content options available to them and/or to make optimal choices regarding media programs they access and experience," the Verizon patent application reads.
Like most pay-TV operators, Verizon is looking to integrate more interactivity, and greater search and discovery features, into its user interface. The model everyone is chasing, analysts say, is Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), which mixes a broad array of TV episodic and feature-film content in thumbnail mesh that is algorithmically customized to the unique taste of the user.
For more:
- read this U.S. Patent Office application
Related links:
It's time for cable to move beyond the UI
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