SYSTEM AND METHOD OF SELECTIVE ADVERTISING ON A TV CHANNEL
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of selecting advertising for display on a subscriber-selected television channel using a set top box comprising:
- detecting an occurrence of an event at the set top box, wherein the event is selected from the group consisting of a change of channel, a change of channel coupled with continuous viewing for a minimum time period, and a change of time, wherein the change of time is indicative of the commencement of a program on the subscriber-selected television channel;
sending a download trigger signal responsive to the event from the set top box via an out-of-band-channel to a headend;
receiving the download trigger signal at the headend;
selecting one or more advertisements for download to the set top box using demographic or common channel preference pattern information associated with the set top box;
sending the selected advertisements to the set top box in response to receipt of the download trigger signal, wherein the sending response occurs in real-time following the receiving of the download trigger signal;
storing the advertisements in a local storage of the set top box;
receiving at the set top box at a time determined at the headend an advertising trigger signal sent from the headend via the out-of-band channel; and
substituting at the set top box an advertisement retrieved from the local storage for a television broadcast feed in response to receipt of the advertising trigger signal.
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Abstract
A method and system for providing selective advertising on a television channel is accomplished by downloading appropriate advertisements from an advertising server to a subscriber'"'"'s set top box over an out-of-band channel. The set top box monitors for events. When an event occurs, the set top box signals the head-end to download ads to the set top box. The ads may be selected using demographic or common channel preference pattern information associated with the set top box.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of selecting advertising for display on a subscriber-selected television channel using a set top box comprising:
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detecting an occurrence of an event at the set top box, wherein the event is selected from the group consisting of a change of channel, a change of channel coupled with continuous viewing for a minimum time period, and a change of time, wherein the change of time is indicative of the commencement of a program on the subscriber-selected television channel; sending a download trigger signal responsive to the event from the set top box via an out-of-band-channel to a headend; receiving the download trigger signal at the headend; selecting one or more advertisements for download to the set top box using demographic or common channel preference pattern information associated with the set top box; sending the selected advertisements to the set top box in response to receipt of the download trigger signal, wherein the sending response occurs in real-time following the receiving of the download trigger signal; storing the advertisements in a local storage of the set top box; receiving at the set top box at a time determined at the headend an advertising trigger signal sent from the headend via the out-of-band channel; and substituting at the set top box an advertisement retrieved from the local storage for a television broadcast feed in response to receipt of the advertising trigger signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system for selecting advertising for display on a subscriber-selected television channel using a set top box comprising:
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a cable television network; a set top box connected to the cable television network, wherein the set top box is configured with software executable instructions to cause the set top box to perform operations comprising; detecting the occurrence of an event, wherein the event is selected from the group consisting of a change of channel, a change of channel coupled with continuous viewing for a minimum time period, and a change of time, wherein the change of time is indicative of the commencement of a program on the subscriber-selected television channel; and sending to the headend a download signal responsive to the event via an out-of-band-channel; a head end comprising an advertising server, wherein the head end is configured with software executable instructions to cause the head end to perform operations comprising; receiving the download trigger signal; selecting one or more advertisements for download to the set top box using demographic or common channel preference pattern information associated with the set top box; retrieving advertisements from the advertisement server; and sending the advertisements to the set top box in response to receipt of the download trigger signal, wherein the sending response occurs in real-time following the receiving of the download trigger signal; and sending an advertising trigger signal to the set top box at a time determined at the headend, wherein the set top box comprises local storage and is further configured with software executable instructions to cause the set top box to perform operations comprising; receiving from the advertising server at the headend the advertisements; storing the advertisements in the local storage; receiving at a time determined at the headend an advertising trigger signal sent from the headend via the out-of-band channel; and substituting at the set top box an advertisement retrieved from the local storage for a television broadcast feed in response to receipt of the advertising trigger signal. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of selecting advertising for display on a subscriber-selected television channel using a set top box comprising:
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detecting an occurrence of an event at the set top box, wherein the event is selected from the group consisting of a change of channel, a change of channel coupled with continuous viewing for a minimum time period, and a change of time, wherein the change of time is indicative of the commencement of a program on the subscriber-selected television channel; sending a download trigger signal responsive to the event from the set top box via an out-of-band-channel to a headend; receiving the download trigger signal at the headend; selecting one or more advertisements for download to the set top box using demographic or common channel preference pattern information associated with the set top box;
sending advertisements to the set top box in response to receipt of the download trigger signal, wherein the sending response occurs in real-time following the receiving of the download trigger signal;receiving at the set top box the advertisements from the headend; making a determination whether the set top box has sufficient local storage capacity to store the retrieved advertisements; when the set top box has sufficient local storage capacity to store the retrieved advertisements, then; storing the retrieved advertisements in the local storage capacity; receiving at the set top box at a time determined at the headend an advertising trigger signal sent from the headend via the out-of-band channel; and substituting at the set top box an advertisement retrieved from the memory for a television broadcast feed in response to receipt of the advertising trigger signal; and when the set top box has insufficient memory to store the retrieved advertisements then; selecting at the advertising server an advertisement; and serving the advertisement to the set top box via an in-band channel for display on a television connected to the set top box in real-time. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification