DIGITAL BROADCAST PROGRAM ORDERING

• US 20090031335A1
• Filed: 10/01/2008
• Published: 01/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1992
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alfred E. Bonner, John S. Hendricks, John S. Mccoskey, Michael L. Asmussen
• Original Assignee: Alfred E. Bonner, John S. Hendricks, John S. Mccoskey, Michael L. Asmussen
• Inventors: McCoskey, John S., Bonner, Alfred E., Hendricks, John S., Asmussen, Michael L.
• Application Number:
  US12/243,228
• Publication Number:
  US 20090031335A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• 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

A method and a system for selecting and ordering broadcast programs uses an electronic program guide that may be broadcast to subscribers or posted on an Internet web site. The system allows national broadcasters to provide one or more channels of pay-per-view or subscription programming and to establish a mechanism for billing subscribers who access the programs. Subscribers may access the Internet and send a program request to a web site. An authorization is then forwarded to a billing center and to a local broadcaster. The billing center debits the subscriber'"'"'s account, or prepares a bill. The local broadcaster sends the authorization to the subscriber. The authorization includes a program code and a terminal identifier that permit the subscriber'"'"'s television or set top terminal to decrypt and display the program.

Claims

1. A billing system in a television program delivery network, comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU) that receives program access data from subscribers to the television program delivery network;

an accounting routine operating on the CPU, comprising;

a program access routine that reads the program access data;

an update routine that updates a subscriber access history file using the read program access data;

a pricing routine that determines an amount to bill a subscriber based of data in a price category file and the read program access file; and

a billing report generation routine that produces a billing report for the subscriber based on the output of the pricing routine; and

a transmission system that transmits the billing report to the subscriber.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the billing report is provided to the subscriber using a monthly account review menu.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the monthly account review menu format is stored in the subscriber'"'"'s terminal, and wherein the terminal receives the billing report and generates the monthly account review menu.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the monthly account review menu is generated at an operations center.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the monthly account review menu is provided in a polling signal.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the monthly account review menu is provided with a television program signal.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU is contained in a terminal in the television program delivery system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein periodic billing reports are sent to a location remote from the terminal.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the location is an operations center.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU is included in an operations center and wherein the accounting routine further comprises a terminal identifier routine that identifies individual terminals based on receipt of a terminal identification.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU is included in a remote statistical and billing site, the remote statistical and billing site computing regional and national statistical and billing information.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the remote statistical and billing site generates individual subscriber bills and wherein the transmission system comprises a system for mailing the individual subscriber bills to individual subscribers.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the CPU maintains an individual subscriber account for each of the subscribers and wherein the accounting routine further identifies delinquent individual subscriber accounts.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein if an individual subscriber account is contingent, the CPU generates a deauthorization signal.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the deauthorizations signal blocks transmission of programming to respective terminals of the delinquent individual subscriber accounts.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the CPU generates a delinquency message for transmission to respective terminals of the delinquent individual subscriber accounts.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein if an individual subscriber'"'"'s account is delinquent, the CPU generates a delinquency message for transmission to a respective terminal of the delinquent individual subscriber account.

18. A method for billing in a television program delivery network, comprising:

receiving at a central processing unit (CPU) program access data sent from subscribers to the television program delivery network;

executing an accounting routine operating on the CPU, comprising;

reading the program access data;

updating a subscriber access history file using the read program access data;

determining an amount to bill a subscriber based of data in a price category file and the read program access file; and

producing a billing report for the subscriber based on the output of the pricing routine; and

transmitting the billing report to the subscriber.