Video-on-demand content delivery method for providing video-on-demand services to tv service subscribers

A content delivery platform for providing video-on-demand services to a plurality of TV service subscribers via a closed system, the content delivery platform comprising:

• (a) a web-based content management system, comprising a first set of one or more computers and a first set of computer-readable memory operatively connected to the first set of one or more computers of the web-based content management system, wherein the web-based management system is configured to:
• (i) receive, via the Internet, first metadata from a first video content provider device associated with a first video content provider, where the first metadata is associated with first video content in a first digital video format, wherein the first metadata includes first title information associated with a first title, first category information associated with the first title and first subcategory information associated with the first title, to specify a respective hierarchical location of the first title of the first video content within a video-on-demand content menu using the respective hierarchically-arranged the first category information, the first subcategory information, and the first title information, and
• (ii) store the first metadata in a metadata database on a second set of computer-readable memory operatively connected to the web-based content management system;
• (b) a video-on-demand application server operatively connected to the web-based content management system, comprising a second set of one or more computers and a third set of computer-readable memory, that obtains, from the metadata database of the web-based content management system, the first metadata;
• wherein the video-on-demand application server is programmed to perform the steps of:
• (i) in response to a request from a first set top box of a respective first TV subscriber, generating first video-on-demand content menu data comprising the first category information, the first subcategory information, and the first title information;
• (ii) providing, to the first set top box operatively connected to first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber, the first video-on-demand content menu data to generate in real time, a first video-on-demand content menu for navigating in a drill down manner from a first template associated with the first category using the first category information and the first subcategory information, to a second template associated with the first subcategory using the first subcategory information and the first title information, to a third template associated with the first title information using the first title information;
• wherein the first category information, the first subcategory information and the first title information are the same as designated by the content provider in order to locate the first title among a plurality of titles whose associated video content is desired for viewing on the respective TV equipment,
• wherein the video-on-demand content menu is generated in real time in a plurality of layers comprising:
• 1. a first layer comprising a background screen to provide at least one of a basic color, logo, or graphical theme to display;
• 2. a second layer layered on the first layer wherein the second layer comprises a particular display template selected from a plurality of different display templates including the first template, the second template and the third template, wherein each template comprises one or more reserved areas that are reserved for displaying video-on-demand content data provided by a third layer;
• and
• 3. the third layer comprising reserved area content generated using the video-on-demand menu data, to be displayed in the one or more reserved areas of the second layer, wherein the reserved area content comprises at least one of text, an image, a navigation link, and a button,
• (iii) in response to the respective first TV service subscriber selecting, via a first control unit in communication with the first set top box, the first title associated with the first video content from the hierarchically-arranged video-on-demand content menu, sending instructions to the first set top box to obtain the first video content associated with the first title from a video server for display on the first TV equipment of the respective first TV service subscriber.