OFFER INCLUSION FOR OVER THE TOP (OTT) CONTENT

• US 20140337146A1
• Filed: 05/08/2013
• Published: 11/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Hooley, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,251,534 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.73
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/10 Usage protection of distributed data files
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• 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

Abstract

Inspection of over the top (OTT) content to facilitate offering non-OTT content or other content and/or services as an alternative to the OTT content is contemplated. The OTT content may be inspected at an access point configured to provide a broadband or other connection between a device consuming the OTT content and a device sourcing the content. Data packets or other signaling may be added to the OTT content at the access point in order to announce the offer.

Claims

1. A method of inserting an offer within over the top (OTT) content accessed through a Web browser operating on a device, the OTT content being delivered from a source to the Web browser using Internet Protocol (IP) signaling carried over a broadband connection, the Web browser being configured to facilitate processing the IP signaling for display to a user, the method comprising:

determining inspection information for the OTT content, the inspection information being based on an inspection of the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the Web browser;

determining an offer as a function of the inspection information; and

facilitating an insertion of the offer within the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the Web browser, the insertion sufficient to facilitate interfacing the offer with the user through the Web browser.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising facilitating the insertion of the offer by inserting offer packets within the IP signaling.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising inserting offer packets at an access point configured to provide the broadband connection, the access point being located downstream of the source and upstream of the Web browser such that the offer packets are inserted after the IP signaling is delivered from the source and before being received by the Web browser.

4. The method claim 3 further comprising determining the inspection information from data generated at the access point, the access point performing the inspection.

5. The method claim 4 further comprising determining an encryption key utilized by the Web browser to decrypt the IP signaling, the access point utilizing the encryption key to decrypt the IP signaling stream when performing the inspection.

6. The method claim 4 further comprising determining the encryption key from an encryption key message transmitted to the access point from the Web browser.

7. The method claim 4 further comprising determining decrypted IP signaling transmitted from the Web browser to the access point, the decrypted IP signaling corresponding with the IP signaling as decrypted by the Web browser, the access point performing the inspection on the decrypted IP signaling.

8. The method of claim 3 further comprising generating the offer packets to facilitate display of a link within the Web browser, the link being user selectable to direct the Web browser to a webpage associated with the offer.

9. The method of claim 3 further comprising generating the offer packets to facilitate display of a pop-up within the Web browser during play of the OTT content, the pop-up being associated with the offer, the pop-up notifying the user of non-OTT content.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising associating instructions sufficient to facilitating controlling the device to access the non-OTT content, the non-OTT content being available through a non-broadband connection, the non-OTT content being a better quality version of the OTT content.

11. A method of redirecting a device accessing over the top (OTT) content to non-OTT content, the OTT content being delivered from a source to a Web browser operating on the device using Internet Protocol (IP) signaling carried over a broadband connection, the non-OTT content being delivered from a headend to a tuner of the device using non-IP signaling carried over a non-broadband connection, the method comprising:

determining inspection information for the OTT content, the inspection information being based on an inspection of the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the Web browser;

determining an offer as a function of the inspection information, the non-OTT content being associated with the offer;

facilitating insertion of the offer within the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the Web browser, the insertion sufficient to facilitate interfacing the offer with a user through the Web browser; and

automatically directing the device to access the associated non-OTT content following an acceptance of the offer.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising including instructions with the offer to facilitate automatically directing the device to the associated non-OTT content, the non-OTT content being delivered as a matching program selected from a plurality of non-OTT programs, the matching program being the one of the plurality of non-OTT programs most closely matching an OTT program being transmitted as the OTT content.

13. The method claim 11 further comprising including a link with the offer whereby user selection of the link automatically directs the device to the associated non-OTT content.

14. The method claim 11 further comprising intercepting the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the Web browser downstream of the source, the inspection being based on the intercepted IP signaling.

15. The method claim 11 further comprising embedding offer data within the IP signaling carrying the OTT content, the embedded offer data being sufficient to cause the Web browser to display the offer to the user.

16. The method claim 15 further comprising transmitting the IP signaling carrying the OTT content to the device from a modem and transmitting the non-IP signaling carrying the non-OTT content to the device from a set top box (STB).

17. A computer program product having non-transitory instructions, which when operable with a processor, are sufficient to facilitate:

determining inspection information for over the top (OTT) content delivered from a source to a device using Internet Protocol (IP) packets carried over a broadband connection, the inspection information being based on an inspection of the IP packets; and

transmitting offer packets with the IP packets carrying the OTT content, the offer packets being sufficient for use with the device to present an offer, the offer being selected from a plurality of offers based on the inspection information.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising instructions sufficient to facilitate configuring the offer to automatically direct the device to non-OTT content following acceptance of the offer.

19. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising instructions sufficient to facilitate inspection of the IP packets and insertion of the offer packets at an access point, the access point being configured to provide the broadband connection to the device and being located downstream of the source.

20. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising instructions sufficient to facilitate ignoring encrypted IP packets in order to limit the inspection to clear IP packets.