METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE AUDIENCE VIEWING OF VIDEO-ON-DEMAND PROGRAMS

• US 20110088052A1
• Filed: 12/16/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Feininger, William A., Wright, David Howell
• Application Number:
  US12/970,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20110088052A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/90 characterised by the use of signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/40 for identifying broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/44 for identifying broadcast stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/59 of video recognising characters or patterns in general G06F18/00, G06V20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/64 for providing detail information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42201 biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to determine audience viewing of video-on-demand programs are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to monitor presentation of video-on-demand content comprises obtaining server metering data determined using a server metering device in communication with a video-on-demand server, the video-on-demand server to provide the video-on-demand content specifically to a first subscriber site among a plurality of subscriber sites, obtaining subscriber metering data corresponding to media content presented at the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data determined using a site metering device different from the server metering device, and combining the subscriber metering data and the server metering data to monitor the video-on-demand content provided specifically to the first subscriber site.

Claims

1. A method to monitor presentation of video-on-demand (VOD) content, the method comprising:

obtaining server metering data determined using a server metering device in communication with a VOD server, the VOD server to provide the VOD content specifically to a first subscriber site among a plurality of subscriber sites;

obtaining subscriber metering data corresponding to media content presented at the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data determined using a site metering device different from the server metering device; and

electronically combining the subscriber metering data and the server metering data to monitor the VOD content provided specifically to the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data indicating whether the VOD content was selected for presentation at the first subscriber site and including a first identifier to uniquely identify the first subscriber site, the server metering data determined independently of the subscriber metering data and including a second identifier to uniquely identify the first subscriber site and to identify a first portion of the server metering data associated with the first subscriber site, the first portion of the server metering data identifying the VOD content provided by the VOD server specifically to the first subscriber site, the first portion of the server metering data to be combined with the subscriber metering data based on the first and second identifiers.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising:

comparing the first identifier and the second identifier; and

selecting the first portion of the server metering data to combine with the subscriber metering data when the first and second identifiers are determined to correspond to the first subscriber site.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein a database stores the server metering data, and further comprising receiving the first portion of the server metering data to combine with the subscriber metering data in response to querying the database based on the first identifier.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the second identifier comprises a set-top box identifier associated with the first subscriber site.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the VOD content comprises a plurality of VOD content streams, and the first portion of the server metering data includes:

session information describing a VOD session established with the first subscriber site to provide the VOD content; and

different stream information describing different VOD content streams provided to the first subscriber site during the VOD session.

6. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein the server metering data further includes a data rate and a number of errors associated with at least one of the VOD session or at least one of the different VOD content streams.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein combining the subscriber metering data and the server metering data comprises replacing a generic VOD indicator in the subscriber metering data with VOD content identification information included in the first portion of the server metering data, the generic VOD indicator to indicate that unidentified VOD content was presented at the subscriber site.

8. A tangible article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

obtain server metering data determined using a server metering device in communication with a video-on-demand (VOD) server, the VOD server to provide VOD content specifically to a first subscriber site among a plurality of subscriber sites, the VOD content comprising a plurality of VOD content streams, the server metering data including session information describing a VOD session established with the first subscriber site to provide the VOD content and different stream information describing different VOD content streams provided to the first subscriber site during the VOD session;

obtain subscriber metering data corresponding to media content presented at the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data determined using a site metering device different from the server metering device; and

combine the subscriber metering data and the server metering data to monitor the VOD content provided specifically to the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data indicating whether VOD content was selected for presentation at the first subscriber site and including a first identifier to uniquely identify the first subscriber site, the server metering data determined independently of the subscriber metering data and including a second identifier to identify the first subscriber site and to identify a first portion of the server metering data associated with the first subscriber site, the first portion of the server metering data to be combined with the subscriber metering data based on the first identifier.

9. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to:

compare the first identifier and the second identifier; and

select the first portion of the server metering data to combine with the subscriber metering data when the first and second identifiers are determined to correspond to the first subscriber site.

10. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein a database is to store the server metering data, and the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to receive the first portion of the server metering data to combine with the subscriber metering data in response to a query of the database based on the first identifier.

11. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein the second identifier comprises a set-top box identifier associated with the first subscriber site.

12. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein the server metering data further includes a data rate and a number of errors associated with at least one of the VOD session or at least one of the different VOD content streams.

13. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to replace a generic VOD indicator in the subscriber metering data with VOD content identification information included in the first portion of the server metering data to combine the subscriber metering data and the server metering data, the generic VOD indicator to indicate that unidentified VOD content was presented at the subscriber site.

14. A tangible article of manufacture as defined in claim 8 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to verify the subscriber metering data using the first portion of the server metering data.

15. A system to monitor presentation of video-on-demand (VOD) content, the system comprising:

a server metering device in communication with a VOD server to determine server metering data corresponding to the VOD server, the VOD server to provide the VOD content specifically to a first subscriber site among a plurality of subscriber sites;

a site metering device to determine subscriber metering data corresponding to media content presented at the first subscriber site, the server metering device different from the site metering device; and

a facility to replace a portion of the subscriber metering data with a portion of the server metering data to combine the subscriber metering data and the server metering data to monitor the VOD content provided specifically to the first subscriber site, the subscriber metering data including a site metering device identifier to uniquely identify the first subscriber site, the portion of the subscriber metering data determined independently of the subscriber metering data and indicating that VOD content was selected for presentation at the first subscriber site, the portion of the server metering data including a set-top box identifier to identify the first subscriber site and to indicate that the portion of the server metering data is associated with the first subscriber site, the site metering device identifier being different from the set-top box identifier, the portion of the server metering data to be selected for replacing the portion of the subscriber metering data based on the set-top box identifier and the site metering device identifier.

16. A system as defined in claim 15 wherein a database is to store the server metering data, and the facility is to receive the portion of the server metering data in response to a query of the database based on at least one of the set-top box identifier or the site metering device identifier.

17. A system as defined in claim 15 wherein the VOD content comprises a plurality of VOD content streams, and the portion of the server metering data includes:

session information describing a VOD session established with the first subscriber site to provide the VOD content; and

different stream information describing different VOD content streams provided to the first subscriber site during the VOD session.

18. A system as defined in claim 17 wherein the server metering data further includes a data rate and a number of errors associated with at least one of the VOD session or at least one of the different VOD content streams.

19. A system as defined in claim 17 wherein the facility is to replace a generic VOD indicator in the portion of the subscriber metering data with VOD content identification information included in the portion of the server metering data, the generic VOD indicator to indicate that unidentified VOD content was presented at the subscriber site.

20. A system as defined in claim 15 wherein the server metering data includes a plurality of portions associated with a respective plurality of subscriber sites, each portion of the server metering data associated with a respective subscriber site in the plurality of subscriber sites and including a respective set-top box identifier to identify the respective subscriber site.