1. A method for encoding an interactive program guide, comprising: defining a series of pages of the interactive program guide, each page represented by a different graphics portion and by a video portion common among the pages during one time period; defining a set of slices for each graphics portion and each video portion of each page of the interactive program guide, each slice in the set of slices including one or more macroblocks; assigning an identifier to the slice of the video portion common among the pages during the one time period; assigning the same identifier to slices of different video portions during other different time periods wherein the slices of different video portions correspond with a graphics portion common among the slices of different video portions during the other different time periods; scanning each of the sets of slices and assembling a transport stream; transmitting the slices of the common video portion one time for the series of pages of the one time period; transmitting the slices of the different video portions and the common graphic portion of the other different time periods; and rendering the series of pages of the interactive program guide from the slices of the common video portion assigned the identifier and from the slices of the different video portions and the common graphics portion assigned the same identifier, for the one time period and for the other different time periods.