System and method for audience measurement

• US 20020188746A1
• Filed: 01/07/2002
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Susquehanna Radio Corporation (Cumulus Media Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: RadioWave.com, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Drosset, Joseph, Hanrahan, Jeffrey A., Keeble, Louis J., Price, Edwin C., Mackintosh, Gregory B.
• Granted Patent: US 6,748,427 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/02 Arrangements for relaying broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/18 Arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/82 using signals not modulated onto a carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/40 characterised in that additional data relating to the broadcast data are available via a different channel than the broadcast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/39 for identifying broadcast space-time use of Electronic Programme Guides H04H60/72

Abstract

A broadcast material delivery architecture provides coordinated inclusion of supplemental materials with delivered broadcast material. A broadcaster broadcasts the broadcast materials to a plurality of users, the broadcast material being divided into a plurality of segments. Also broadcast is program data associated with the plurality of segments. A user terminal receives the broadcast material from the broadcaster and retrieving supplemental materials related to said plurality of segments of said broadcast material. To retrieve the supplemental materials, the program data are provided to a data server, which provides parameters for the supplemental materials to the user terminal. The user terminal uses the parameters to retrieve supplemental materials from one or more databases. The user terminal plays the supplemental materials in conjunction with the broadcast material.

Claims

1. A radio broadcast system for providing measurement of a listening audience of a radio program broadcast via the Internet, the radio broadcast system comprising:

a radio broadcast system configured to generate and broadcast radio broadcast materials to a plurality of listeners, the radio broadcast material being divided into a plurality of segments;

a streaming server configured to receive the broadcast radio broadcast materials from the radio broadcast system and to rebroadcast the radio broadcast material segments to a user via the Internet for playback to the user on a user terminal;

a user terminal, configured to log onto said streaming server and to receive the rebroadcast signal from said streaming server; and

a measurement server configured to receive a tracking event indicating that the user has logged onto said streaming server and is receiving said rebroadcast signal and to provide an indication to the radio broadcast system that the user is receiving the broadcast material.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising proxy software configured to provide said tracking event to said measurement server.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising proxy software configured to store said tracking event in a database, such that said tracking event can be retrieved by said measurement server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said measurement server is further configured to receive program data with said tracking event, said program data indicating which of a plurality of segments is being broadcast at the time of the tracking event.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said measurement server is further configured to receive a time stamp with said tracking event.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said broadcast system is further configured to use said tracking event to track listenership of the broadcast materials.

7. The system of claim 8, wherein said listenership tracking is performed in real-time as users log-onto said streaming server to receive the broadcast materials.

9. An audience measurement system, comprising:

a collection engine configured to collect tracking events indicative of user activities associated with receipt of broadcast materials;

a database configured to store said collected tracking events; and

a user interface configured to provide reports of said user activities to a provider of said broadcast materials.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a data engine configured to process said collected tracking events.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said collection engine is further configured to collect program data associated with said tracking events.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein said database is further configured to store a time stamp with said tracking events.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said report comprises a real-time report of users accessing said broadcast materials.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said report comprises a historical report of users accessing said broadcast materials.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein said report comprises a report of listenership of the broadcast materials.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing reports of listenership data for the broadcaster.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving additional tracking events indicating user activities, wherein said tracking events include at least one of a user log-on, a user log-off, the ordering of supplemental materials, and a product purchase.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said additional tracking events are received from the broadcast materials provider.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said additional tracking events are received from a user terminal.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising collecting and storing tracking events from a plurality of users.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising generating a real-time report of user activities and providing said report to said broadcaster.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising filtering the report based on additional data.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said additional data comprises demographic data.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising collecting demographic information from one or more users.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising generating reports of user listenership to broadcast materials based on demographic information.

27. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving tracking information with said additional tracking events, to enable correlation of said tracking events with segments of the broadcast material.

28. The method of claim 16, further comprising receiving time stamps with said additional tracking events, to enable correlation of said tracking events with segments of the broadcast material.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein said data server is further configured to receive demographic information for said at least one user.

32. The system of claim 9, further comprising a means for processing said collected tracking events.

16. A method of measuring a broadcast materials audience, comprising:

receiving at least one tracking event for a user, the user receiving broadcast materials from a broadcast materials provider;

storing said at least one tracking event in a database; and

providing to a broadcaster an indication that said user is receiving said broadcast materials from said broadcast materials provider.

29. An audience measurement system for broadcast materials, comprising:

at least one user terminal configured to receive the broadcast materials from a service provider; and

a data server configured to receive event data indicating that a user is receiving the broadcast materials and to provide said event data to a broadcaster.

31. An audience measurement system, comprising:

means for collecting tracking events indicative of user activities associated with receipt of broadcast materials;

means for storing said collected tracking events; and

means for providing reports of said user activities to a provider of said broadcast materials.

33. A computer program product for use with a computer system, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing the computer system collect listenership information, said computer readable program code means comprising;

computer readable program code means for collecting tracking events indicative of user activities associated with receipt of broadcast materials;

computer readable program code means for storing said collected tracking events; and

computer readable program code means for providing reports of said user activities to a provider of said broadcast materials.

34. A program storage device, readable by one or more machines, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machines to perform method steps for audience measurement of broadcast materials, said method steps comprising the steps of:

collecting tracking events indicative of user activities associated with receipt of broadcast materials;

storing said collected tracking events; and

providing reports of said user activities to a provider of said broadcast materials.

35. A real-time audience measurement display for indicating listenership of broadcast materials, comprising a first graphical display component illustrating real-time listenership for at least one of a plurality of groups of users.

36. A real-time audience measurement display for indicating listenership of broadcast materials, comprising:

a graphical display component illustrating listenership for at least one of a plurality of groups of users;

at least one user selection input allowing a program director to select parameters by which said graphical display is to be illustrated.