An interactive entertainment system has a program provider which
distributes video content programs to multiple subscribers over a
distribution network. Each subscriber has a user interface unit which
receives the digital video program and converts it for display on a
television, monitor, or other display unit. The user interface unit has a
processor and memory. An electronic programming guide (EPG) resides in the
memory and is executable on the processor to organize programming
information that is descriptive of the programs supplied over the
interactive entertainment system. The EPG supports a user interface (UI)
which visually correlates programs titles to scheduled viewing times. A
hyperlink browser also resides in memory and is executable on the
processor. One or more hyperlinks, which reference target resources
containing interactive content related to the video programs, are
integrated as part of the EPG UI. The hyperlinks can be placed in the
program tiles, channel tiles, or description area, and can be situated
alone or embedded within other text. When a viewer activates a hyperlink
within the EPG, the user interface unit launches the browser to activate
the target resource specified by the hyperlink. The data retrieved from
the target resource is then displayed on the display unit. The viewer can
also drag a particular program or channel label from its location within
the EPG UI and drop the label at another location on the display unit.
This drag-and-drop operation associates an instruction with the label that
will execute in response to activation of the label. The instruction might
cause the visual display unit to tune to the program or channel
represented by the particular label, or to initiate procedures to record
the program when it begins playing, or to jump to a related target
resource, such as a Web site.