INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROGRAM GUIDE SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING USER VALUES FOR DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES

• US 20020095676A1
• Filed: 08/25/1998
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: KNEE, ROBERT A., HASSELL, JOEL G., REYNOLDS, STEVEN J., ELLIS, MICHAEL D.
• Application Number:
  US09/139,777
• Publication Number:
  US 20020095676A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• 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 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/4662 characterized by learning algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An interactive television program guide system for determining user input values for demographic categories is provided. The system includes user television equipment having a receiver for receiving program guide information for the interactive television program guide, a user input receiver for receiving user input from user interface, such as a remote control, a microprocessor which utilizes the user input received to determine user values for demographic categories, and memory for storing the user values determined. In one illustrative use of the system for targeting advertisements to a user of the interactive television program guide, the receiver also receives advertisements, where the advertisements have preselected values for specified demographic categories. The user television equipment, preferably using microprocessor, compares the preselected values for the specified demographic categories associated with the advertisements with values of corresponding demographic categories stored in memory to determine which advertisements should be displayed. Those advertisements determined to be displayable based upon the comparison are then displayed.

Claims

1. A system for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide, which comprises:

user television equipment, including;

a receiver for receiving television program guide information and advertisements for said interactive television program guide, said advertisements having preselected values for specified demographic categories;

a user input receiver for receiving user input;

a microprocessor which utilizes said user input received to determine user values for demographic categories; and

memory for storing said user values for the demographic categories; and

said user television equipment comparing said preselected values for specified demographic categories associated with said advertisements with values of corresponding demographic categories stored in said memory to determine which advertisements should be displayed by said interactive television program guide.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said memory is non-volatile memory.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said user television equipment further comprises a remote control for transmitting user input for reception by said user input receiver.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the comparison of said preselected values with said values stored in memory is performed by said microprocessor.

5. A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide, which comprises:

receiving advertisements for said interactive television program guide, said advertisements having preselected values for specified demographic categories;

receiving user input from user interface;

determining user values for demographic categories utilizing said user input;

storing said user values determined for the demographic categories;

comparing said preselected values for specified demographic categories associated with said advertisements with stored values of corresponding demographic categories to determine which advertisements should be displayed by said interactive television program guide; and

displaying the advertisements determined to be displayable based upon the comparison.

6. The method of claim 5, which further comprises storing information concerning television channels and programs necessary for determining values for demographic categories.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein determining user values for demographic categories further comprises providing to each television channel and program having a bearing on at least one demographic category a predetermined value indicative of said channel or program'"'"'s indication of how well the user fits said demographic category.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein determining user values for demographic categories further comprises providing to said user input a weight value indicative of the effect said user input has on the user values for the demographic categories.

9. The method of claim 5, which further comprises providing default values for the demographic categories.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein determining user values for demographic categories further comprises providing a period for each demographic category.

11. The method of claim 5, which further comprises a decay procedure to refresh user values for the demographic categories.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said memory is non-volatile memory.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said user television equipment further comprises a remote control for transmitting user input for reception by said user input receiver.

12. A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide, which comprises:

providing user television equipment for receiving television program guide information and advertisements for said interactive television program guide, said advertisements having preselected values for specified demographic categories;

receiving user input;

calculating user values for demographic categories utilizing said user input;

storing said user values calculated; and

comparing said preselected values for specified demographic categories associated with said advertisements with stored user values of corresponding demographic categories to determine which advertisements should be displayed.

13. A system for selectively displaying advertisements to users of user television equipment on which an interactive television program guide is implemented, comprising:

means for determining demographic category data for each user individually;

means for storing said demographic category data for each user in said user television equipment of that user;

means for receiving advertisements and associated demographic category data with said user television equipment; and

means for displaying certain ones of the advertisements for each user with said interactive television program guide based on a comparison between said demographic category data for the user and said demographic category data associated with said advertisements.

14. A method for selectively displaying advertisements to users of user television equipment on which an interactive television program guide is implemented, comprising:

determining demographic category data for each user individually;

storing said demographic category data for each user in said user television equipment of that user;

receiving advertisements and associated demographic category data with said user television equipment;

comparing between said demographic category data for the user and said demographic category data associated with said advertisements; and

displaying certain ones of the advertisements for each user with said interactive television program guide based on the comparison.

15. An interactive television program guide system for determining user values for demographic categories, which comprises:

user television equipment, including;

a receiver for receiving television program guide information for said interactive television program guide;

a user input receiver for receiving user input;

a microprocessor which utilizes said user input received to determine user values for demographic categories; and

memory for storing said user values for the demographic categories.