System for audio broadcast channel remapping and rebranding using content insertion

• US 20090053991A1
• Filed: 08/23/2007
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: XM Satellite Radio Incorporated (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Marko, Paul D., Mantel, G. David
• Granted Patent: US 7,822,381 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0209 Incentive being awarded or redeemed in connection with the playing of a video game
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/375 Commercial

Abstract

A system is provided for generating a remapped audio stream at digital audio broadcast radios from a first audio stream using content insertion to allow tiered subscription services. A remapped audio stream is rebranded by extracting segments from the first audio stream relating to channel identification segments and disk jockey talking segments and replacing them with stored audio items (e.g., commercials, different channel identification segments and different disk jockey talking segments). Stored audio items for insertion are broadcast to the radios with messages for controlling the scheduling of insertion at the radios, and the storage and deletion of these audio segments at the radios. Stored audio items and messages can be sent using a different, localized broadcast system from that used to transmit the source audio stream to permit market-specific commercial insertion. Group file format for delivery permits intermittently used radios to receive the stored audio items and messages.

Claims

1. A method of generating an audio stream with commercial insertion to provide tiered subscription services for a digital audio broadcast radio comprising:

locating selected segments in a first audio stream, the first audio stream having a plurality of different types of segments comprising audio program segments, audio transmission channel identification segments, and audio disk jockey segments from at least a first disk jockey, the selected segments comprising at least one of the audio transmission channel identification segments and the audio disk jockey segments;

extracting at least some of the selected segments to create corresponding insertion points;

generating a second audio stream from the first audio stream by inserting selected ones of a plurality of stored audio items at the insertion points, the stored audio items comprising audio commercial segments; and

providing tiered subscription services by providing said second audio stream to users at a lower cost than said first audio stream.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inserted items are not same duration as the extracted segments.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

storing the plurality of stored audio items in a first buffer;

discarding the extracted ones of the selected segments;

buffering the remainder of the first audio stream in a second buffer; and

generating the second audio stream by selectively multiplexing the outputs of the first buffer and the second buffer depending on the insertion points.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising purging at least part of the second buffer when the inserted items are longer than the extracted segments and the second buffer has reached a selected capacity.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stored audio items further comprise audio transmission channel identification segments indicating a second channel for the second audio stream that is different from a first channel indicated for the first audio stream, and audio disk jockey segments from a second disk jockey who is different from a first disk jockey used to create the first audio stream, and further comprising rebranding the second audio stream by inserting at least one of audio transmission channel identification segments indicating the second channel, and audio disk jockey segments from the second disk jockey into selected ones of the insertion points.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second audio stream comprises substantially the same audio program segments provided in the first audio stream.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the audio program segments in the first audio stream and the second audio stream are directly mapped relative to each other within their respective streams.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the first audio stream;

storing the audio program segments to a broadcast audio buffer;

storing the audio commercial segments to a segment insert buffer; and

controlling a multiplexer to selectively output segments from the broadcast audio buffer and the segment insert buffer to generate the second audio stream, the broadcast audio buffer being operable to retain a program audio segment following an insertion point for a period of time to allow insertion of at least one of the plurality of audio commercial segments at the insertion point when its duration is greater than the corresponding extracted segment.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first audio stream is a commercial free radio broadcast channel and the second audio stream is a radio broadcast channel comprising commercials.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of segments comprises metadata associated therewith, further comprising:

generating at a segment source the metadata corresponding to respective ones of the selected segments to mark them for extraction to facilitate locating them in the first audio stream; and

receiving the metadata from the segment source at the digital audio broadcast radio.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of segments comprises metadata associated therewith, further comprising:

generating at a segment source the metadata corresponding to respective ones of the audio program segments to mark them for retention to avoid their extraction from the first audio stream; and

receiving the metadata from the segment source at the digital audio broadcast radio.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of segments comprises metadata associated therewith, further comprising:

generating at a segment source the metadata corresponding to at least one of the audio program segments to indicate that no insertion of selected ones of the plurality of stored audio items is desired after this audio program segment and before the next audio segment; and

receiving the metadata from the segment source at the digital audio broadcast radio.

13. A processor-readable storage medium having processor-readable code for programming a processing device in a digital audio broadcast radio to generate an audio stream with commercial insertion comprising:

receiving a first audio stream live;

locating selected segments in the first audio stream, the first audio stream having a plurality of different types of segments comprising audio program segments, audio transmission channel identification segments, and audio disk jockey segments from at least a first disk jockey, the selected segments comprising at least one of the audio transmission channel identification segments and the audio disk jockey segments; and

extracting at least some of the selected segments to generate corresponding insertion points and storing the remainder of the first audio stream in a buffer; and

inserting selected ones of a plurality of audio commercial items at the insertion points to generate a second audio stream for playback by the radio.

14. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to perform a plurality of operations comprising:

determining the extent to which the capacity of the buffer is used; and

deleting some of the buffered portion of the first audio stream when a selected buffer capacity condition is detected.

15. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to insert at least one of audio transmission channel identification segments indicating a different channel than a channel indicated for first audio stream, and audio disk jockey segments from a different disk jockey than a disk jockey who was used for creating the first audio stream into selected ones of the insertion periods to generate a rebranded second audio stream.

16. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to receive and process group files via over-the-air messaging comprising audio insertion items for storage at the radio, the audio insertion items being selected from the group consisting of the audio commercial items, different disk jockey segments, and audio transmission channel identification segments and selectively inserted into the second audio stream.

17. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein at least one of the group files comprises a group of audio insertion items and their corresponding metadata that describes them and provides item identifiers, and a group identifier, and wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to decode the group file and store therein at least one of the group file and the audio insertion items individually in a persistent storage location at the radio for access and insertion into the second audio stream in accordance with received audio insertion item schedule messages that have been broadcast to the radios, the processing device being operable to access the audio insertion items individually as needed if the group file is in the persistent storage location.

18. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the radios receive a digital audio broadcast service providing various channels of audio programming, the first audio stream corresponds to one the channels, and the received audio insertion item schedule messages comprise instructions regarding which of the channels to insert selected ones of the audio insertion items and at which times, and wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to insert the audio insertion items into the second audio stream as instructed by the received audio insertion item schedule messages.

19. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to acquire and retain the audio insertion items in the persistent storage location in accordance with file delivery messages and retention messages broadcast to the radios, the sizes of the group files being selected by a server device according to memory constraints of the radios and the delivery durations of the group files relative to a typical radio availability time corresponding to when on average the radios are powered on and operable to receive the file delivery messages.

20. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein

the processor-readable code programs the processing device in the radio to receive and process inserted item delivery messages comprising audio insertion items for storage at the radio, the audio insertion items being selected from the group consisting of the audio commercial items, different disk jockey segments, and audio transmission channel identification segments, the processor-readable code controlling the processing device in the radio to selectively insert the audio insertion items into the second audio stream in accordance with received audio insertion item schedule messages that have been broadcast to the radios,

wherein the radios receive a radio entitlement word and digital audio broadcast service providing various channels of audio programming, the radio entitlement word indicating to which of a plurality of classifications the radio belongs, the classifications comprising at least one of radio tier levels, regions, time zones, radio types and manufacturers of vehicles in which the radios are installed, and

the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to respond to messages indicating an entitlement classification to which the radio belongs and to ignore messages indicating an entitlement classification to which the radio does not belong, the messages comprising at least one of the received audio insertion item schedule messages, received retention messages indicating which of the audio insertion items to purge from the radio, and messages indicating when a selected one of the audio insertion items requires acquisition and storage by the radio.

21. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the inserting further comprises:

decreasing the volume of a segment occurring prior to an insertion point; and

increasing the volume of the inserted item provided in the second audio stream at that insertion point.

22. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the inserting further comprises:

decreasing the volume of an inserted item provided in the second audio stream at an insertion point; and

increasing the volume of a segment occurring after that insertion point.

23. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 13, wherein the inserting further comprises increasing the volume of a segment occurring after an inserted item provided in the second audio stream at an insertion point.

24. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 21, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to adjust the volume of the inserted item in accordance with a level agreed upon by a vendor for that inserted item.

25. A processor-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 24, wherein the processor-readable code further programs the processing device in the radio to receive the level from at least one of a received item delivery message comprising the inserted item and data indicating the level, and a item insertion scheduling message indicating when and the level at which to insert the inserted item into the second audio stream.

26. A method of providing broadcast content for insertion by radios into a received digital audio broadcast stream comprising:

dividing content items for broadcast to radios among group files, respective ones of the group files having between one and many content items therein and corresponding item identifiers to allow radios to store and access individual content item data and metadata of the content items for insertion, the sizes of the group files being selected by a server device according to memory constraints of the radios and the delivery durations of the group files relative to a typical radio availability time to enable reception of the content items by intermittently used radios; and

delivering the group files and messages to the radios, the messages controlling when the radios are to insert the content items into a stream for playback selected from the group consisting of a live broadcast stream received at the radios, a buffered broadcast stream, and a remapped stream

27. A method of generating audio streams with commercial insertion to provide tiered subscription services for digital audio broadcast radios comprising:

receiving and storing audio insertion items from customers;

receiving schedule requests indicating channels and frequency with which the customers want their audio insertion items inserted at radios into a received digital audio broadcast stream comprising various channels of audio programming;

transmitting the audio insertion items to radios for storage and access by the radios to perform insertions during playback; and

generating and transmitting messages to radios comprising instructions for controlling which radios store which ones of the audio insertion items, which of the channels to insert selected ones of the audio insertion items during playback at the radios based on the schedule requests, the times at which to insert the audio insertion items during playback at the radios based on the schedule requests, and which audio insertion items are to be retained at the radios.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein transmitting the audio insertion items to the radios further comprises:

dividing the audio insertion items among group files, respective ones of the group files having between one and many audio insertion items therein;

providing the group files with item identifiers corresponding to the audio insertion items therein to allow radios to store and access individual audio insertion item data and metadata of the audio insertion items for insertion; and

selecting the sizes of the group files via a server according to memory constraints of the radios and the delivery durations of the group files relative to a typical radio availability time to enable reception of the content items by intermittently used radios.

29. A method as claimed in claim 28, further comprising operating a test radio that receives the messages and the audio insertion items, performs insertions in accordance with the messages and provides a feedback link with radio log for monitoring compliance with the schedule requests.

30. A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the generating and transmitting of messages comprises transmitting a radio entitlement word to each radio indicating to which of a plurality of classifications the radio belongs, the classifications comprising at least one of radio tier levels, regions, time zones, radio types and manufacturers of vehicles in which the radios are installed, the radio responding to the messages that indicate an entitlement classification to which the radio belongs and ignoring messages indicating an entitlement classification to which the radio does not belong.

31. A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the transmitting of the audio insertion items to the radios and the transmitting of the messages to the radios is performed using a first broadcast transmission system covering a large geographic area, and further comprising:

receiving and storing localized audio insertion items from customers for broadcast to a smaller geographic area using a second broadcast transmission system;

receiving schedule requests indicating the channels and the frequency for where and when the customers want their localized audio insertion items inserted at the radios into the a digital audio broadcast stream received at the radios from the first broadcast transmission system;

transmitting the localized audio insertion items to the radios for storage and access by the radios to perform insertions during playback; and

generating and transmitting messages to radios comprising instructions for controlling which radios store which ones of the localized audio insertion items, which of the channels to insert selected ones of the localized audio insertion items during playback at the radios based on the schedule requests, the times at which to insert the localized audio insertion items during playback at the radios based on the schedule requests, and which localized audio insertion items are to be retained at the radios, the radios being configured to store the localized audio insertion items, to extract selected audio segments from the digital audio broadcast stream to create insertion points, and to generate a second audio stream from the digital audio broadcast stream by inserting selected ones of the localized audio insertion items at the insertion points.

32. A method as claimed in claim 31, further comprising:

configuring radios to receive an audio stream, audio insertion items and schedule requests from each of the first broadcast transmission system, the localized second broadcast transmission system and a third broadcast transmission system localized to a different geographic adjacent to the geographic area served by the second broadcast transmission system and to a smaller geographic area than that served by the first broadcast transmission system depending from according which transmission system the radio can be tuned to receive;

configuring radios to store the audio insertion items in a first memory, a second memory and a third memory corresponding to whether they were received, respectively, via the first broadcast transmission system, the second broadcast transmission system and the third broadcast transmission system; and

switching from inserting the localized audio insertion items from the second memory to inserting the localized audio insertion items from the third memory when the radio roams into the geographic area served by the third broadcast transmission system.

33. A method as claimed in claim 32, further comprising:

replacing the contents of either one of the second memory and the third memory of the radio with the audio insertion items from a fourth broadcast transmission system and operating the radio to insert these audio insertion items in accordance with schedule requests specific to a market serviced by the fourth broadcast transmission system, the market being a targeted audience characterized by at least one of radios in a selected location, radio listeners in a selected market, and other demographic characteristic.

34. A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the first broadcast transmission system is a satellite digital audio broadcasting service.

35. A method as claimed in claim 27, further comprising transmitting a message indicating song labels and identifying a disk jockey chatter segment for audio programs in the received digital audio broadcast stream to facilitate extracting segments therefrom for replacement using insertion.