Sports bar mode automatic viewing determination

• US 10,021,448 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2016
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Gratton, Max Stephen, Tirpak, Christopher Boyd
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US15/359,359
• Publication Number:
  US 20180146240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score

Abstract

Described herein are methods and systems for automatically selecting television channels for display on one or more televisions based on the viewing preferences of the viewers. The viewers can enter their viewing preferences in a database through a user interface that a controller can access. The controller can receive, for a premises (e.g., a sports bar), a list of viewers. Based on the viewing preferences of the list of viewers, the controller can determine a single or a ranked list of television channels for display on the televisions. If there are multiple televisions, the controller can assign each of the televisions a television channel from the ranked list based on the ranking. The controller can send an instruction to the STB controlling the television(s) to set the assigned television channel to the assigned television.

Claims

1. A method for automatically selecting a television channel, the method comprising:

receiving, by a controller, an indication of a plurality of users being located at a premises having a plurality of televisions;

accessing, by the controller, a database containing viewing preferences for each of the plurality of users;

generating, by the controller, a ranked list of television channels to display based on the viewing preferences for each of the plurality of users;

assigning, by the controller, each television in the plurality of televisions a television channel from the ranked list of television channels in ranked order, the assigning comprising;

identifying, by the controller, a first subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions and a second subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions,

assigning, by the controller, a first television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the first television by determining the first television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the first subset of the plurality of users, and

assigning, by the controller, a second television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the second television by determining the second television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the second subset of the plurality of users; and

sending, by the controller, an instruction to a television receiver associated with the plurality of televisions to set the assigned television channel for display on each of the plurality of televisions.

2. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, that a program of the first television channel is ending;

requesting, by the controller, an updated plurality of users located at the premises;

identifying, by the controller, a new subset of the updated plurality of users having a line of sight to the first television of the plurality of televisions;

determining, by the controller, based on the viewing preferences of the new subset of the updated plurality of users, a different television channel to display on the first television; and

sending, by the controller, a second instruction to the television receiver to set the different television channel for display on the first television.

3. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, that a program of the first television channel being displayed on the first television is ending;

requesting, by the controller, an updated plurality of users located at the premises;

generating, by the controller, a second ranked list of television channels to display based on the viewing preferences for each of the updated plurality of users;

determining, by the controller, a highest ranked television channel from the second ranked list of television channels not being displayed on any of the other televisions from the plurality of televisions; and

sending, by the controller, a second instruction to the television receiver to set the determined highest ranked television channel for display on the first television.

4. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, that a program of the first television channel displayed on the first television of the plurality of televisions is beginning a commercial break;

sending, by the controller, a second instruction to the television receiver that instructs the television receiver to change the first television channel displayed on the first television to a different television channel selected based on excitement data; and

upon identifying a commercial break beginning on the different television channel, sending, by the controller, a third instruction to the television receiver that instructs the television receiver to change the different second television channel displayed on the first television back to the first television channel.

5. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, wherein the first television channel is selected based on viewing preferences including a favorite sports team of at least one user.

6. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, wherein the first television channel is selected based on viewing preferences including one or more favorite players of at least one user.

7. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 6, wherein, for one or more of the at least one user, the one or more favorite players are identified based on a fantasy sports team of the one or more of the at least one user.

8. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, wherein the first television channel is selected based on viewing preferences including one or more identified sporting games of at least one user, the one or more identified sporting games being identified based on a gambling pool or bet placed by the one or more of the at least one user.

9. The method for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 1, further comprising:

weighting the viewing preferences for each of the plurality of users based on payment of a subscription.

10. A system for automatically selecting a television channel, the system comprising:

a television receiver associated with a plurality of televisions within a sports bar;

a database having viewing preferences for a plurality of users; and

a controller, comprising;

a processor; and

a memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

receive a communication generated based on a device of each user of a subset of the plurality of users, each communication including a notification of the associated user being at the sports bar and an indication of a profile of the associated user stored in the database with the associated user'"'"'s viewing preferences;

access the database for the viewing preferences of the subset of the plurality of users;

determine, based on the viewing preferences of the subset of the plurality of users, a ranked list of television channels to display based on the viewing preferences for each of the subset of the plurality of users;

assign each television in the plurality of televisions a television channel from the ranked list of television channels in ranked order, the assigning comprising;

identifying a first group of the subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions and a second group of the subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions,

assigning a first television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the first television by determining the first television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the first group of the subset of the plurality of users, and

assigning, by the controller, a second television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the second television by determining the second television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the second group of the subset of the plurality of users; and

send an instruction to the television receiver to set the assigned television channel for display on each of the plurality of televisions.

11. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, wherein the memory of the controller has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the processor of the controller, cause the processor of the controller to:

identify that a program of a first television channel being displayed on a first television of the plurality of televisions is ending;

request an updated plurality of users located at the sports bar;

generate a second ranked list of television channels to display based on the viewing preferences for each of the updated plurality of users;

determine a highest ranked television channel from the second ranked list of television channels not being displayed on any of the other televisions from the plurality of televisions; and

send a second instruction to the television receiver to set the determined highest ranked television channel for display on the first television.

12. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, further comprising:

a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) reader, wherein the RFID reader is at the sports bar and configured to receive the communication from each device from the subset of the plurality of users, and transmit the received communication to the controller.

13. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, wherein the memory of the controller has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the processor of the controller, cause the processor of the controller to:

weight the viewing preferences for each of the plurality of users based on payment of a subscription.

14. A processor readable memory device having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive a communication generated based on a device of each user of a subset of a plurality of users, each communication including a notification of the associated user being at a sports bar and an indication of a profile of the associated user stored in a database of viewing preferences of the plurality of users;

determine, based on the viewing preferences of the subset of the plurality of users, a ranked list of television channels to display;

assign each television in a plurality of televisions at the sports bar a television channel from the ranked list of television channels in ranked order, the assign comprising;

identify a first group of the subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions and a second group of the subset of the plurality of users having a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions,

assign a first television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the first television by determining the first television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the first group of the subset of the plurality of users, and

assign a second television channel from the ranked list of television channels to the second television by determining the second television channel from the ranked list of television channels that ranks highest based on the viewing preferences for the second group of the subset of the plurality of users; and

send an instruction to a television receiver to set the assigned television channel to display on each of the plurality of televisions.

15. The processor readable memory device of claim 14, comprising further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

identify that a program of the first television channel being displayed on the first television of the plurality of televisions is ending;

request an updated plurality of users located at the sports bar;

generate a second ranked list of television channels to display based on the viewing preferences for each of the updated plurality of users;

determine a highest ranked television channel from the second ranked list of television channels not being displayed on any of the other televisions from the plurality of televisions; and

send a second instruction to the television receiver to set the determined highest ranked television channel for display on the first television.

16. The processor readable memory device of claim 14, comprising further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

weight the viewing preferences for each of the plurality of users based on payment of a subscription.