Portable multi-purpose audience measurement system

• US 20070011040A1
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Published: 01/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Nelson, Dan, Wright, David, Ramaswamy, Arun, Vilches, Glen
• Granted Patent: US 7,587,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• 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 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

As disclosed herein, media metering functionality may be imparted to a panelists device that was not previously capable of media metering. According to one example, a method of providing a communication device with media metering functionality includes asking a potential panelist to participate in a survey, receiving an affirmative response from the potential panelist, and providing metering functionality to a portable device of the potential panelist.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A method to provide media metering functionality to a portable device, the method comprising:

obtaining consent from a potential panelist to participate in an audience measurement panel;

initiating a data transfer between a server and the portable device to download the media metering functionality to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist; and

downloading the media metering functionality to the portable device to monitor exposure to media content presented external to the portable device.

18. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant or a pager.

19. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein obtaining the consent from the potential panelist comprises receiving the consent from the potential panelist through the portable device.

20. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein obtaining the consent from the potential panelist comprises at least one of processing an access of a website or receiving an affirmative response to a request to participate in the audience measurement panel.

21. A method as defined in claim 20 wherein the request comprises at least one of placing a voice call or sending a text message and wherein receiving the affirmative response comprises at least one of receiving a voice call or receiving a text message.

22. A method as defined in claim 20 wherein the request comprises contacting the potential panelist through the portable device.

23. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein initiating the data transfer between the server and the portable device comprises at least one of establishing a wireless connection between the server and the portable device, establishing an Internet connection between the server and the portable device or establishing a connection between the server and the portable device conforming to an extensible data transport protocol.

24. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein downloading the media metering functionality to the portable device comprises at least one of pushing or pulling metering software to the portable device.

25. A method as defined in claim 17 further comprising authorizing the server to download the media metering functionality to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist.

26. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein the media metering functionality configures the portable device to capture at least one of code information or signature information corresponding to the media content presented external to the portable device.

27. An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to:

obtain consent from a potential panelist to participate in an audience measurement panel;

initiate a data transfer between a server and a portable device to download media metering functionality to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist; and

download the media metering functionality to the portable device to monitor exposure to media content presented external to the portable device.

28. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 27 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to initiate the data transfer between the server and the portable device by at least one of establishing a wireless connection between the server and the portable device, establishing an Internet connection between the server and the portable device or establishing a connection between the server and the portable device conforming to an extensible data transport protocol.

29. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 27 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to download the media metering functionality to the portable device by at least one of pushing or pulling metering software to the portable device.

30. A system to monitor exposure to media content, the system comprising:

a portable device configured to receive media metering functionality to monitor exposure to media content presented external to the portable device; and

a meter provider configured to authorize a data transfer to send the media metering functionality to the portable device based on consent obtained from a user of the portable device.

31. A system as defined in claim 30 wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant or a pager.

32. A system as defined in claim 30 wherein the portable device is configured to receive the media metering functionality by using the data transfer to at least one of push or pull metering software to the portable device.

33. A system as defined in claim 30 wherein the meter provider is further configured to obtain the consent from the user through the portable device.

34. A system as defined in claim 30 wherein the meter provider is further configured to establish an Internet connection to send the media metering functionality to the portable device when the meter provider authorizes the data transfer.

35. A system as defined in claim 30 further comprising a network provider configured to establish a wireless connection to send the media metering functionality to the portable device when the meter provider authorizes the data transfer.

36. A system as defined in claim 30 wherein the media metering functionality configures the portable device to capture at least one of code information or signature information corresponding to the media content presented external to the portable device.