Delivering targeted advertisements to the set-top-box

• US 20050278743A1
• Filed: 07/27/2005
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E., Inc.
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles A., Flickinger, Gregory C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,152,237 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/54
• 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. A method of delivering advertisements to subscribers in a television or video network environment having a transmission medium, a display device and a storage medium, the method comprising:

(a) transmitting program content to the subscribers over the transmission medium at a program content transmission bit rate;

(b) displaying the program content to the subscribers on the display device;

(c) transmitting advertisements to the subscribers over the transmission medium at an advertisement transmission bit rate, wherein the advertisements are transmitted in advance of being presented to the subscribers and are transmitted simultaneous with the transmission and display of the program content;

(d) storing the advertisements in the storage medium; and

(e) varying the advertisement transmission bit rate such that the transmission of the advertisements does not substantially reduce the program content transmission bit rate.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step (e) includes determining an available bandwidth of the transmission medium prior to varying the advertisement transmission bit rate.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein step (e) includes monitoring the program content transmission bit rate to determine an available bandwidth of the transmission medium.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein step (e) includes predicting the program content transmission bit rate to determine an available bandwidth of the transmission medium.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the program content transmission bit rate is statistically predicted.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein varying the advertisement transmission bit rate occurs in real time.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the advertisement transmission bit rate is varied in accordance with the program content transmission bit rate.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the program content is displayed on the display device in real-time.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmitted advertisements are targeted to the subscribers.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) selecting advertisements to be transmitted to the subscribers.

11. A method of delivering advertisements to subscribers in a television or video network environment having a transmission medium, a display device and a storage medium, the method comprising:

(a) transmitting program content to the subscribers over the transmission medium at a program content transmission bit rate;

(b) displaying the program content to the subscribers on the display device;

(c) transmitting advertisements to the subscribers over the transmission medium at an advertisement transmission bit rate, wherein the advertisements are transmitted in advance of being presented to the subscribers and are transmitted simultaneous with the transmission and display of the program content;

(d) storing the advertisements in the storage medium; and

(e) varying the advertisement transmission bit rate such that the transmission of the advertisements does not exceed the maximum bandwidth of the transmission medium.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein step (e) includes determining an available bandwidth of the transmission medium prior to varying the advertisement transmission bit rate.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein step (e) includes monitoring the program content transmission bit rate to determine an available bandwidth of the transmission medium.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein step (e) includes predicting the program content transmission bit rate to determine an available bandwidth of the transmission medium.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the program content transmission bit rate is statistically predicted.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein varying the advertisement transmission bit rate occurs in real time.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the advertisement transmission bit rate is varied in accordance with the program content transmission bit rate.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the program content is displayed on the display device in real-time.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein the transmitted advertisements are targeted to the subscribers.

20. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

(f) selecting advertisements to be transmitted to the subscribers.