APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REPLACING A BROADCASTED ADVERTISEMENT BASED ON BOTH HEURISTIC INFORMATION AND ATTEMPTS IN ALTERING THE PLAYBACK OF THE ADVERTISEMENT

• US 20110219401A1
• Filed: 05/03/2010
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Candelore, Brant L., Zustak, Frederick J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,237,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4751 for defining user accounts, e.g. accounts for children
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/91 Television signal processing therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the invention, an apparatus comprises a data storage unit and a data processing unit. The data storage unit is adapted to store a plurality of advertisements. Coupled to the data storage unit, the data processing unit is adapted to detect an operation that alters playback of an advertisement being part of downloaded digital content, and in response to detecting the operation, to select one of the stored advertisements. The selection is based on heuristic information that is maintained for each of the plurality of stored advertisements.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a data storage unit that stores a plurality of advertisements; and

a data processing unit coupled to the display unit and the data storage unit, the data processing unit being adapted to detect an operation that alters playback of a broadcast advertisement being part of downloaded digital content, and in response to detecting the operation, to select one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit based on heuristic information maintained for each of the plurality of advertisements.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a display unit coupled to the data processing unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 being a portable cellular telephone with the data storage unit and the data processing unit encased within a casing and the display unit integrated as part of the casing.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 being a television including a detection unit to receive a command remotely and to send a signal associated with the command to the data processing unit located within a back cabinet of the television situated behind the display unit.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 being a set-top box that receives digital content including an audiovisual program and a plurality of broadcast advertisements interspersed between segments of the audiovisual program and substitutes one of the plurality of stored advertisements in response to the data processing unit detecting the operation that is a fast-forwarding operation being conducted on the one of the plurality of broadcast advertisements.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heuristic information, used by the data processing unit to select the one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit, includes a genre of advertisements preferred by a viewer.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the heuristic information, used by the data processing unit to select the one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit, further includes feedback from the viewer for the one of the advertisements.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heuristic information, used by the data processing unit to select the one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit, includes a rating for each genre of advertisement selected by a viewer.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heuristic information, used by the data processing unit to select the one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit, further includes a count value indicating the number of times that each of the plurality of advertisements stored in the data storage unit has been selected.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heuristic information, used by the data processing unit to select the one of the advertisements stored within the data storage unit, further includes a time-stamp value indicating the last time that the one of the advertisements was displayed.

11. A method comprising:

receiving digital content including segments of an audiovisual program separated by at least one broadcast advertisement;

detecting an operation that alters playback of the broadcast advertisement;

determining that the operation is permitted to alter the playback of the broadcast advertisement;

in response to detecting the operation that alters playback and determining that the operation is permitted to alter the playback, retrieving a stored advertisement from a local memory, the stored advertisement being associated with a genre of advertisements selected by a user during an initial registration process and selected based on heuristic information maintained for each of a plurality of advertisements stored in the local memory; and

displaying the stored advertisement in lieu of the broadcast advertisement.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the heuristic information, used to select the stored advertisement, includes a genre of advertisements preferred by a viewer.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the heuristic information, used to select the stored advertisement, includes feedback information from a viewer for the stored advertisement.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the heuristic information, used to select the stored advertisement, includes a rating for each genre of advertisement selected by a viewer.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the heuristic information, used to select the stored advertisement, includes a count value indicating the number of times that each of the plurality of advertisements stored in the local memory has been selected.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the heuristic information, used to select the stored advertisement, includes a time-stamp value indicating a last time that the stored advertisements was displayed.