System and Method for Substituting Broadband Delivered Advertisements for Expired Advertisements

• US 20110072456A1
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Published: 03/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2009
• 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: Schmehl, Ian C., Cansler, James L., White, Scott
• Application Number:
  US12/566,285
• Publication Number:
  US 20110072456A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4335 Housekeeping operations, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; unloading stored programs G06F9/445; storage management in file systems G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

An Internet Protocol television (IPTV) system includes an advertising module adapted to read metadata information associated with an advertising item included within a content item recorded on a set-top box, determine that the advertising item is expired, and send another advertising item to the set-top box to be played on the set-top box in the place of the first advertising item when the content item is played on the set-top box. A method includes determining that an advertising item that is included within a content item that is recorded on a set-top box is expired, deleting the advertising item from the set-top box, recording a second advertising item on the set-top box, and playing the second advertising item in the place of the first advertising item when the content item is played on the set-top box.

Claims

1. An Internet Protocol television (IPTV) system comprising an advertising module adapted to:

read metadata information associated with a first advertising item included within a content item that is recorded on a set-top box;

determine that the first advertising item is expired;

send a second advertising item to the set-top box to be played on the set-top box in the place of the first advertising item when the content item is played on the set-top box; and

delete the first advertising item.

2. The IPTV system of claim 1, wherein the metadata information includes a run period.

3. The IPTV system of claim 2, wherein further, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the advertising module is adapted to determine that the first advertising content has been recorded on the set-top box for a time duration that is longer than the run period.

4. The IPTV system of claim 1, wherein the metadata information includes an expiration date.

5. The IPTV system of claim 4, wherein further, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the advertising module is adapted to determine that the current date is after the expiration date.

6. The IPTV system of claim 1, wherein the advertising module is further adapted to:

create the metadata information associated with the first advertising item; and

send the first advertising item and the content item to the set-top box.

7. The IPTV system of claim 1, wherein the advertising module determines that the first advertising item is expired when the content item is played on the set-top box.

8. A set-top box comprising:

a network interface adapted to receive a content item from an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) network, wherein the content item includes a first advertising item;

a recording device adapted to record the content item; and

a metadata module adapted to;

determine that the first advertising item is expired;

notify an advertising module in the IPTV network that the first advertising item is expired;

receive a second advertising item from the advertising module;

delete the first advertising item;

record the second advertising item; and

display the second advertising item in the place of the first advertising item when the content item is replayed from the recording device.

9. The set-top box of claim 8, wherein, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the set-top box is further adapted to read metadata information associated with the first advertising item.

10. The set-top box of claim 9, wherein the metadata information includes run period information.

11. The set-top box of claim 10, wherein further, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the set-top box is adapted to determine that the first advertising content has been recorded on the recording device for a time duration that is longer than the run period.

12. The set-top box of claim 8, wherein the metadata information includes an expiration date.

13. The set-top box of claim 12, wherein further, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the set-top box is adapted to determine that the current date is after the expiration date.

14. The set-top box of claim 8, wherein the metadata module periodically determines that the first advertising item is expired.

15. The set-top box of claim 8, wherein the metadata module determines that the first advertising item is expired when the content item is played on the set-top box.

16. A method comprising:

determining at an advertising module in an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) system that a first advertising item is expired, wherein the first advertising item is included within a content item that is recorded on a set-top box;

in response to determining that the first advertising item is expired, sending a second advertising item to the set-top box;

deleting the first advertising item from the set-top box;

recording the second advertising item on the set-top box; and

playing the second advertising item in the place of the first advertising item when the content item is played on the set-top box.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the method further comprises reading metadata information associated with the first advertising item.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the metadata information includes run period information; and

in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the method further comprises determining that the first advertising content has been recorded on the set-top box for a time duration that is longer than the run period.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the metadata information includes an expiration date; and

in determining that the first advertising item is expired, the method further comprises determining that the current date is after the expiration date.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

creating the metadata information associated with the first advertising item; and

sending the first advertising item and the content item to the set-top box.