Method and system for tracking network use

• US 20050235318A1
• Filed: 06/16/2005
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1997
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Edward Rowland Grauch, Fred T. Danner III, John Christopher Batten, John R. Stefanik, Scott R. Swix
• Original Assignee: Edward Rowland Grauch, Fred T. Danner III, John Christopher Batten, John R. Stefanik, Scott R. Swix
• Inventors: Danner, Fred Thomas III, Swix, Scott R., Stefanik, John R., Batten, John Christopher, Grauch, Edward Rowland
• Application Number:
  US11/154,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20050235318A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/64 for providing detail information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• 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 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• 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 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64723 Monitoring of network processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of network load traffic related reporting in data switching networks H04L43/062
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

An interactive media delivery system enables interactive media programming to a multimedia device and also tracks a subscriber'"'"'s use of the multimedia device. For example, the device tracks events, such as a change in programming, a change in channel selection, and/or the subscriber'"'"'s interaction with a particular interactive services application. Each event may be stored as an event record in a database, and one or more of the event records may be merged with content data to form event timelines of programming or other activity to the multimedia device over a selected time period. Further, timelines may be analyzed to generate ratings and other information about programming and may also be correlated with demographics data for marketing analysis.

Claims

1. A method for collecting information about viewing habits of subscribers to a media delivery network for delivering programming to numerous set top boxes, each capable of supporting different applications invoked and controlled by subscriber commands, the method comprising the steps of:

a) programming each application to identify selected subscriber commands of interest;

b) determining an application identifier corresponding to a particular application to which a selected command is addressed; and

c) creating an event record comprising;

1) the application identifier;

2) an identification code corresponding to the selected command; and

3) a time stamp.

2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of accessing a table in order to determine the identification code for the selected command.

3. A method according to claim 2 further comprising the step of accessing a table in order to determine the application identifier.

4. A method according to claim 2 further comprising the steps of repeating a through c to collect a plurality of event records and buffering the plurality of event records.

5. A method according to claim 4 further comprising the step of forwarding the plurality of event records to a merge processor.

6. A method according to claim 5 further comprising the step of coupling to the merge processor a data source, the data source comprising broadcast identification information, interactive application use information, national advertising information and local advertising information.

7. The method according to claim 1 in which the selected commands of interest comprise at least one of a channel change command, a volume change command, a VCR command, an application invocation command and an application control commands.

8. A storage medium on which is encoded instructions for performing the following:

a) programming an application to identify a selected subscriber command of interest, the application selected from a plurality of applications operating on a multimedia device;

b) determining an application identifier corresponding to the application to which the selected command of interest is addressed; and

c) creating an event record comprising;

1) the application identifier;

2) an identification code corresponding to the selected command of interest; and

3) a time stamp,

wherein the multimedia device communicates with a media delivery network, the media delivery network communicating at least one of programming content and the application to a plurality of multimedia devices.