Delivering targeted advertisements to the set-top-box

• US 20020083445A1
• Filed: 12/27/2000
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles A., Flickinger, Gregory C.
• Application Number:
  US09/748,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20020083445A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/33 by plural channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/26233 involving content or additional data duration or size, e.g. length of a movie, size of an executable file
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17363 : at or near the user terminal

Abstract

A system and a method for delivering targeted advertisements to the set-top box (STB). The targeted advertisements may be delivered to the STB in a low bandwidth channel or in a high bandwidth channel as an ad channel. The ad channel may be an analog channel wherein the advertisements are transmitted as analog video. Alternatively, the advertisement channel may be a digital channel, and the advertisements may be encoded and transported in the same way as conventional programming. In digital cases, a 6 MHz digital channel may carry several digital advertisement channels. Moreover, other services (e.g., data may be carried within the 6 MHz digital channel). Alternatively, the ad channel may share a 6 MHz bandwidth with one or more other programming channels.

Claims

1. In a television network environment, a method for delivering targeted advertisements to one or more subscribers, the method comprising:

selecting one or more targeted advertisements to be transmitted to a group of subscribers;

organizing the selected advertisements in an advertisement (ad) channel; and

transmitting the ad channel to subscriber equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is a high-speed channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is a 6 MHz analog channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the targeted advertisements are transmitted as analog video.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is a 6 MHz digital channel.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the targeted advertisements are encoded and transmitted as conventional programming.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of ad channels are transmitted within a single 6 MHz digital channel.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel shares bandwidth with other channels within a single 6 MHz digital channel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of digital ad channels are transmitted along with a plurality of digital video signals within one 6 MHz channel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is a constant bit rate dedicated channel.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is a variable bit dedicated channel.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel fluctuates responsive to a system channel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the system channel is a programming channel.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein bandwidth supplied to the ad channel is inversely proportional to bandwidth used by the programming channel.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the ad channel is an off-peak download channel.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the off-peak download channel is a high bandwidth channel.