Sharing TV content with friends

A system comprising:

• a memory storage;
• and
• one or more processors coupled to the memory storage operable to:
• aggregate a list of users associated with a subscribing user of a subscriber television system to generate an aggregated list of users from:
• one or more social networking accounts;
• a service provider contacts list;
• and
• other contacts lists;
• store the aggregated list of users;
• provide a programming guide for the subscribing user of the subscriber television system by a service provider of the subscribing user that includes selectable options including an option to watch a video content item, an option to record the video content item, an option to view additional information about the video content item, and an option to share the video content item;
• dynamically populate a user interface associated with the programming guide with the aggregated list of users from the one or more social networking accounts, the service provider contacts list, and other contacts lists to enable selection of one or more users from the one or more social networking accounts, the service provider contacts list, and other contacts lists for sharing the video content item;
• receive an indication of a selection of the option to share the video content item via the programming guide with selected users from the aggregated list of users;
• create an invitation after receiving the indication of the selection of the option to share the video content item via the programming guide, the invitation comprising a link to the video content item, a link to a video player to play the video content item, and a token, wherein the token is used to:
• track the sender and the selected users from the aggregated list of users;
• provide authorization information to allow watching of protected content;
• and authenticate the video player associated with the link to the video player, wherein when a friends or contacts list is aggregated from the one or more social networking accounts or other type of account, a source from where a specific contact is aggregated is saved with the specific contact such that when the video content item is shared with the specific contact, the invitation is automatically sent to the specific contact via the source from where the specific contact was aggregated;
• send the invitation via the programming guide to each of the selected users;
• receive a request from a client device to stream the video content item;
• validate the token;
• apply a rule of a number of rules associated with the token to allow the selected users to watch the video content item at the same time and allow the link to expire if the video content item is not watched at that time;
• and
• authorize streaming of the video content item on the requesting client device via the video player according to the number of rules associated with the token.

A method comprising the acts of:

• providing a programming guide for a subscribing user of a subscriber television system by a service provider of the subscribing user that includes selectable options including an option to watch a video content item, an option to record the video content item, an option to view additional information about the video content item, and an option to share the video content item;
• receiving an indication of a selection of the video content item via a programming guide provided by a service provider of the subscribing user;
• receiving an indication of a selection of the option to share the video content item via the programming guide;
• providing an aggregated list of users associated with a subscribing user to generate an aggregated list of users from:
• one or more social networking accounts;
• a service provider contacts list;
• and
• other contacts lists;
• dynamically populating a user interface associated with the programming guide with the aggregated list of users from the one or more social networking accounts, the service provider contacts list, and other contacts lists to enable selection of one or more users from the one or more social networking accounts, the service provider contacts list, and other contacts lists for sharing the video content item;
• receiving a selection of at least one user from the aggregated list of users with whom the subscribing user would like to share the video content item;
• requesting an invitation to be sent via the programming guide to each selected user after receiving the indication of the selection of the option to share the video content item via the programming guide, the invitation comprising a link to the video content item, a link to a video player to play the video content item, and a token, wherein the token is used for:
• tracking the sender and the selected users from the aggregated list of users;
• providing authorization information to allow watching of protected content;
• and authenticating the video player associated with the link to the video player, wherein when a friends or contacts list is aggregated from the one or more social networking accounts or other type of account, a source from where a specific contact is aggregated is saved with the specific contact such that when the video content item is shared with the specific contact, the invitation is automatically sent to the specific contact via the source from where the specific contact was aggregated;
• applying a rule of a number of rules associated with the token to allow the selected users to watch the video content item at the same time and allowing the link to expire if the video content item is not watched at that time;
• and
• authorizing streaming of the video content item via the video player according to the number of rules associated with the token.