Method for managing subscriber credits in a paytv system

• US 20010027558A1
• Filed: 03/26/2001
• Published: 10/04/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nagravision SA (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: Nagravision SA (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Osen, Karl, Sasselli, Marco
• Application Number:
  US09/817,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20010027558A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/1
• 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 21/4181 for conditional access
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47211 for requesting pay-per-view content payment schemes payment architectures or payment protocols G06Q20/00, G07F
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A method for providing Pay TV services to subscribers offers to the services provider enhanced flexibility in billing procedures and the marketing advantage of granting an initial credit to each subscriber upon his subscription.

Claims

1. Method for providing Pay-TV services, comprising the steps of:

making available an offering to at least a subscriber location, the potential subscriber being enabled to select and purchase events among said offering made by a services provider,

attaching a price information to each of the events offered by the provider,

allocating a credit limit to the subscriber upon initial subscription,

storing information on services purchases made by the subscriber, such storing including the step of increasing a debit counter thus defining a remaining value,

initiating a communication for conveying said information to the service provider by an electronic return channel at a time defined by the remaining value or timing criteria,

issuing a bill to the subscriber at a time of billing, wherein the time of billing is made dependent on a plurality of conditions involving in particular the subscriber'"'"'s rate of consumption of TV services.

2. A method according to

claim 1

, wherein the communication is initiated when the remaining value is lower than a threshold value.

3. A method according to

claim 2

, wherein the threshold value is defined so as to allow the subscriber to purchase the most expensive event.

4. A method according to

claim 3

, wherein the debit counter is reset when a successful communication with the service provider has taken place.

5. A method according to

claim 3

, wherein at the initial subscription a credit counter is set to the credit limit and, when a successful communication with the service provider has taken place, the credit counter is incremented by the credit limit if the remaining value has reached the threshold value.

6. A method according to

claim 1

, wherein an electronic program guide displayed on his TV set helps the subscriber make his selections, and the service provider has the capacity of not billing the subscriber for the events he has selected but not watched, and of only billing partly the events that were not watched in full.

7. A method according to

claim 1

, wherein it further comprises a parental control on the events the children of the household may watch or not within the offering, said parental control featuring a credit limit per viewer.