BLACKOUTS OF VIDEO ON DEMAND MULTIMEDIA CONTENT

• US 20110041147A1
• Filed: 08/13/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chow, Lee M., Piepenbrink, David J., Sofos, James T.
• Application Number:
  US12/540,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20110041147A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

Blackout event data is received that includes data regarding a geographic area affected by a blackout event. Based on a user location code such as a ZIP code, a determination is made whether a user or user account is subject to the blackout event. If the user is subject to the blackout event, access to a video-on-demand multimedia event is restricted.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving blackout event data including data representing a geographic area affected by a blackout event;

determining whether a user account is based within the geographic area; and

if the user account is based within the geographic area, restricting access to a video-on-demand multimedia program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining is at least partially according to a location code for the user account.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the location code includes a physical address.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the physical address includes a postal code.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the physical address includes ZIP+4 information.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

restricting access to an indication of the video-on-demand multimedia program in an electronic programming guide if the user account is based within the geographic area.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing an indication of said restricting access to the user.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing VOD programming via an Internet protocol television network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said restricting access comprises restricting access if the current time is within a predetermined blackout period.

10. A system comprising:

service delivery resources operable to receive data representing a geographic area within which to enforce a blackout event;

acquisition resources operable to receive multimedia content;

delivery resources operable to present the multimedia content as a video-on-demand event;

a conditional access module operable to determine, according to a user location code, whether a user account is based within the geographic area; and

a video-on-demand server operable for restricting user access to the video-on-demand event responsive to the conditional access module determining that the user is based within the geographic area and for providing user access to the video-on-demand event responsive to determining that the user account is not based with the geographic area.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the user location code includes a physical address.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the user location code includes a postal code.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the user location code includes ZIP+4 information.

14. A tangible computer readable medium embedded with computer executable instructions including instructions for:

receiving blackout event data including data representing a geographic area affected by a blackout event;

determining whether a user account is based within the geographic area; and

if the user account is based within the geographic area, restricting a user of the user account from accessing a video-on-demand multimedia program.

15. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said determining is at least partially responsive to a user location code for the user.

16. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the user location code includes a physical address.

17. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the user location code includes a postal code.

18. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the user location code includes ZIP+4 information.

19. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein said receiving blackout event data occurs at a pre-scheduled time by a customer premises equipment device.

20. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein receiving blackout event data is in response to scheduling the blackout event.