Interactive television program guide system for determining user values for demographic categories

• US 20050155056A1
• Filed: 08/20/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: United Video Properties Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Ellis, Michael D., Hassell, Joel G., Reynolds, Steven J., Knee, Robert A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,634,786 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/35
• 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, 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, the receiver also receives advertisements, where the advertisements have preselected values for specified demographic categories. The user television equipment, preferably using a 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.

Claims

1-17. -17. (canceled)

18. A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide implemented on a user television equipment, the method comprising:

receiving advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receiving at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determining at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

storing the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

comparing the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user; and

displaying at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide,

wherein the step of determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category comprises;

modifying the effect of the at least one user input on the at least one user value with a predetermined weight value, wherein the predetermined weight value is based on the type of the at least one user input, and

determining the at least one user value with the at least one modified user input.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

storing information concerning television channels necessary for determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category; and

storing information concerning programs necessary for determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category further comprises:

providing, for each television channel and program having a bearing on the at least one demographic category, a predetermined value indicative of how closely the given user viewing the television channel or the program fits the demographic category.

21. The method of claim 18 further comprising providing default values for at least one of the demographic categories.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category further comprises providing a period for the at least one demographic category.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category further comprises applying a decay function to reset at least one of the user values for at least one of the demographic categories.

24. A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide implemented on a user television equipment, the method comprising:

receiving advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receiving at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determining at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

storing the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

comparing the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user; and

displaying at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide,

wherein the step of determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category comprises;

accumulating the at least one received user input,

determining whether the amount of accumulated user inputs equals or exceeds a predetermined period for the at least one demographic category, and

determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category using the accumulated user inputs if the amount of accumulated user inputs equals or exceeds the predetermined period.

25. A method for targeting advertisements to a user of an interactive television program guide implemented on a user television equipment, the method comprising:

receiving advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receiving at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determining at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

storing the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

comparing the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user;

displaying at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide; and

applying a decay function to at least one of the stored user values, wherein the decay function resets the user value to a predetermined default value.

26. A system in which an interactive television program guide is implemented, the system comprising:

a display; and

a user television equipment, wherein the user television equipment is configured to;

receive advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receive at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determine at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

store the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

compare the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user; and

display, on the display, at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide,

wherein the user television equipment, when configured to determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category, is further configured to;

modify the effect of the at least one user input on the at least one user input with a predetermined weight value, wherein the predetermined weight value is based on the type of the at least one user input, and

determine the at least one user value with the at least one modified user input.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the user television equipment is further configured to:

store information concerning television channels necessary for determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category; and

store information concerning programs necessary for determining the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the user television equipment, when configured to determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category, is further configured to:

provide, for each television channel and program having a bearing on the at least one demographic category, a predetermined value indicative of how closely the given user viewing the television channel or the program fits the demographic category.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the user television equipment is further configured to provide default values for at least one of the demographic categories.

30. The system of claim 26, wherein the user television equipment, when configured to determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category, is further configured to provide a period for the at least one demographic category.

31. The system of claim 26, wherein the user television equipment, when configured to determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category, is further configured to apply a decay function to reset at least one of the user values for at least one of the demographic categories.

32. A system in which an interactive television program guide is implemented, the system comprising:

a display; and

a user television equipment, wherein the user television equipment is configured to;

receive advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receive at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determine at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

store the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

compare the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user; and

display, on the display, at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide,

wherein the user television equipment, when configured to determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category, is further configured to;

accumulate the at least one received user input,

determine whether the amount of accumulated user inputs equals or exceeds a predetermined period for the at least one demographic category, and

determine the at least one user value for the at least one demographic category using the accumulated user inputs if the amount of accumulated user inputs equals or exceeds the predetermined period.

33. A system in which an interactive television program guide is implemented, the system comprising:

a display; and

a user television equipment, wherein the user television equipment is configured to;

receive advertisements suitable for display by the interactive television program guide, wherein each advertisement is associated with at least one preselected value for at least one demographic category;

receive at least one user input, wherein the at least one user input is received by a user interface of the interactive television program guide;

determine at least one user value for at least one demographic category using at least one of the received user inputs;

store the at least one user value determined for the at least one demographic category;

compare the stored user value for at least one of the demographic categories with the corresponding preselected value associated with at least one of the advertisements, whereby the comparison selects advertisements for display to the user;

display, on the display, at least one of the selected advertisements in the interactive television program guide; and

apply a decay function to at least one of the stored user values, wherein the decay function resets the user value to a predetermined default value.