System and Method for Providing Broadcast Listener Participation

• US 20110271189A1
• Filed: 07/18/2011
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc. (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Clear Channel Management Services LP (iHeartMedia, Inc.)
• Inventors: Myers, Theodore A., Zigler, Jeffrey D., Lockhart, Jacqueline J., Sledge, Alan L., Lockhart, Kevin R., Wooden, Richard D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,003,286 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/06 Arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services

Abstract

A method of allowing listeners to participate in broadcast programming is provided, the method generally comprising one or more of providing a library of media elements accessible by a plurality of listeners; receiving from each of at least two of the listeners a playlist of media elements, wherein at least one of the media elements in each playlist is from the library of media elements; editing the playlists using broadcast scheduling software; providing the edited playlists to the plurality of listeners for playback, and for feedback regarding the playlists; and receiving feedback from at least one of the listeners regarding the playlists. A system and apparatus are similarly provided.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a listener participation interface including an access control and a feedback control to at least one listener, the listener participation interface adapted to present a plurality of media elements included in a broadcast library to the listener for judging;

in response to the listener activating the access control, providing the listener access to the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library, each of the plurality of media elements being a candidate for broadcast;

receiving feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the feedback indicating a judgment of the listener indicating whether the candidate for broadcast should be broadcast; and

creating a broadcast based on the feedback received from the listener.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving changed feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the changed feedback from the listener indicating a changed judgment of the listener related to whether a candidate for broadcast should be broadcast.

3. The method of claim 2, the feedback control adapted to:

modify the broadcast based on the changed feedback received by the listener.

4. The method of claim 1, the listener participation interface comprising a media player that automatically plays the media element when the media element is accessed by the listener.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one listener includes a plurality of listeners.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising receiving statistical information associated with feedback from the plurality of listeners.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the statistical information indicates an average of at least a portion of the feedback from the plurality of listeners.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

evaluating the feedback from each of the plurality of listeners to identify a selected media element to be broadcast at a pre-designated time; and

providing the selected media element for broadcast at substantially the pre-designated time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library is currently being played on air.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a broadcast based on the feedback received from the listener comprises creating a broadcast playlist

11. A computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of computer executable instructions, the program of instructions comprising:

at least one instruction to provide a listener participation interface including an access control and a feedback control to at least one listener, the listener participation interface adapted to present a plurality of media elements included in a broadcast library to the listener for judging;

at least one instruction to, in response to the listener activating the access control, provide the listener access to the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library, each of the plurality of media elements being a candidate for broadcast;

at least one instruction to receive feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the feedback indicating a judgment of the listener indicating whether the candidate for broadcast should be broadcast; and

at least one instruction to create a broadcast based on the feedback received from the listener.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11, the program of instructions comprising:

at least one instruction to receive changed feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the changed feedback from the listener indicating a changed judgment of the listener related to whether a candidate for broadcast should be broadcast.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12, the feedback control adapted to:

modify the broadcast based on the changed feedback received by the listener.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 11, the listener participation interface comprising a media player that automatically plays a media element when the media element is accessed by the listener.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one listener includes a plurality of listeners.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, the program of instructions further comprising at least one instruction to receive statistical information associated with feedback from the plurality of listeners.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the statistical information indicating an average of at least a portion of the feedback from the plurality of listeners.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 11, the program of instructions comprising:

at least one instruction to evaluate the feedback from each of the plurality of listeners to identify a selected media element to be broadcast at a pre-designated time; and

at least one instruction to provide the selected media element for broadcast at substantially the pre-designated time.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein at least one instruction to create a broadcast based on the feedback received from the listener comprises at least one instruction to create a broadcast playlist.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library is currently being played on air.

21. A device comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor configured to;

provide a listener participation interface including an access control and a feedback control to a at least one listener, the listener participation interface adapted to present a plurality of media elements included in a broadcast library to the listener for judging;

in response to the listener activating the access control, provide the listeners access to the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library, each of the plurality of media elements being a candidate for broadcast;

receive feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the feedback indicating a judgment of the listener indicating whether the candidate for broadcast should be broadcast; and

create a broadcast based on the feedback received from the listener.

22. The device of claim 21, the processor further configured to:

receive changed feedback, via the feedback control, from the listener, the changed feedback from the listener indicating a changed judgment of the listener related to whether a candidate for broadcast should be broadcast.

24. The device of claim 21, wherein the at least one listener includes a plurality of listeners.

25. The device of claim 24, further comprising receiving statistical information associated with feedback from the plurality of listeners.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the statistical information indicating an average of at least a portion of the feedback from the plurality of listeners.

27. The device of claim 21, the processor further configured to:

evaluate the feedback from each of the plurality of listeners to identify a selected media element to be broadcast at a pre-designated time; and

provide the selected media element for broadcast at substantially the pre-designated time.

28. The device of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of media elements included in the broadcast library is currently being played on air.

29. The device of claim 21, wherein creating a broadcast playlist based on the feedback received from the listener comprises creating a broadcast playlist.

23. The device of claim 23, the feedback control further adapted to:

modify the broadcast based on the changed feedback received by the listener.