Apparatus, system, and method for correlating a cost of media service to advertising exposure

• US 20070113240A1
• Filed: 11/15/2005
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Winarski, Daniel, McLean, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,484,656 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/8
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/22 per use
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/375 Commercial

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for correlating a cost of receiving media to a user'"'"'s exposure to advertising. A media display system including a media recorder detects and reports that a media display system user has skipped over an advertising program without watching or listening to the advertising program. A fee is calculated and charged to the user in lieu of the user'"'"'s watching or listening to the advertising program. Alternatively, a user may subscribe to a service that allows the user to skip over some or all advertising programs displayed on the media display system.

Claims

1. An apparatus to display media, the apparatus comprising:

a media content provider;

a digital media recorder in communication with the media content provider;

a media display in communication with the digital media recorder; and

a reporting module in communication with the media content provider for determining that a skip event has occurred.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fee calculation module in communication with the media content provider for comparing the skip event to a schedule of programming to determine whether a fee should be charged to a media display system user.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the reporting module is further configured to determine that the skip event correlates to an advertisement program.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reporting module is further configured to report the skip event to the fee calculation module.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the fee calculation module is further configured to calculate the fee to be charged to the media display system user based on the skip event reported by the reporting module.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the fee calculation module is further configured to calculate the fee to be charged to the media display system user based on a rate field of the schedule of programming.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the media content provider includes a television-distribution company.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital media recorder includes a digital video recorder.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a fee calculation module in communication with the media content provider for comparing the skip event to a schedule of programming to determine whether a refund should be provided to an advertiser.

10. A system to display media, the system comprising:

a media content provider;

a digital media recorder;

a media transmission communication path to connect the media content provider to the digital media recorder;

a media display;

a display transmission communication path to connect the digital media recorder to the media display; and

a skip schedule creation module in communication with the media content provider for creating a skip schedule including a plurality of program events that may be skipped by a system user.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the skip schedule creation module is adapted to utilize the system user'"'"'s subscription level to determine which of the plurality of program events may be skipped by the system user.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising a skip allowance module for allowing the system user to skip a program event.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the skip allowance module is adapted to compare a skip request to the skip schedule before allowing the system user to skip a program event.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of program events includes an advertising program.

15. A method for charging a user a fee to skip a media program event, the method comprising:

detecting a skip request; and

calculating a fee based on the skip request.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises reporting the skip request to a fee calculation module prior to calculating the fee.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises comparing the skip request to a schedule of programming prior to calculating the fee.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises calculating the fee based on a rate field within the schedule of programming.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises detecting that an advertisement program has been watched by a system user.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises calculating a credit based on detecting that the advertisement program has been watched by the system user.