Method and apparatus for enticing a passive television viewer by automatically playing promotional presentations of selectable options in response to the viewer's inactivity

摘要

A method and apparatus for enticing a passive television viewer by automatically playing promotional presentations of selectable options in response to the viewer's inactivity. One embodiment of the invention presents the passive viewer with a set of selectable options. If the viewer does not select an option from the set of selectable options within a predetermined amount of time, the invention then displays a promotional presentation of a first option from the set of selectable options. A more specific embodiment of the invention displays the promotional presentation of the first option by (1) requesting promotional data concerning the first option from a service source through a communication network, and (2) receiving the promotional data from the service source through the communication network.