SPORTS BAR MODE AUTOMATIC VIEWING DETERMINATION

• US 20180249203A1
• Filed: 04/26/2018
• Published: 08/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Dish Technologies LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Gratton, Max Stephen, Tirpak, Christopher Boyd
• Granted Patent: US 10,462,516 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• 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 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score

Abstract

Described herein are methods and systems for automatically selecting television channels for display on one or more televisions based on the viewing preferences of the viewers. The viewers can enter their viewing preferences in a database through a user interface that a controller can access. The controller can receive, for a premises (e.g., a sports bar), a list of viewers. Based on the viewing preferences of the list of viewers, the controller can determine a single or a ranked list of television channels for display on the televisions. If there are multiple televisions, the controller can assign each of the televisions a television channel from the ranked list based on the ranking. The controller can send an instruction to the STB controlling the television(s) to set the assigned television channel to the assigned television.

Claims

1. A method for automatically selecting a television channel, the method comprising:

obtaining, by a controller, viewing preferences for a plurality of users within a premises comprising a plurality of televisions;

identifying, by the controller, a first subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions;

identifying, by the controller, a second subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions;

assigning, by the controller, a first television channel to the first television based on the viewing preferences of the first subset of the plurality of users;

assigning, by the controller, a second television channel to the second television based on the viewing preferences of the second subset of the plurality of users; and

sending, by the controller, an instruction to display the first television channel on the first television and the second television channel on the second television.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, the plurality of users based on receiving, for each user of the plurality of users, a signal that originates from a device associated with the user.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the device for a first user of the plurality of users is a mobile phone of the first user.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the premises comprises a plurality of seating locations;

a first user is seated at a first seating location; and

the device for the first user is a kiosk device at the first seating location.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the controller, the plurality of users based on a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with each user of the plurality of users.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying the first subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions comprises using triangulation of the RFID tag associated with each of the first subset of the plurality of users.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the controller, a list of television channels using at least one filter;

ranking, by the controller, the list of television channels based on the viewing preferences of the first subset of the plurality of users; and

selecting, by the controller, a highest ranked television channels from the list of television channels as the first television channel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the premises is a sports bar, and wherein the at least one filter is used to filter the list of television channels to exclude any television channel not airing a sporting event.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one filter is used to filter the list of television channels to exclude any television channel airing a program that is within a threshold number of minutes of ending.

10. A system for automatically selecting a television channel, the system comprising:

a television receiver associated with a plurality of televisions within a sports bar;

a database having viewing preferences for a plurality of users; and

a controller, comprising;

a processor; and

a memory having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

obtain viewing preferences for a plurality of users within a premises comprising a plurality of televisions;

identify a first subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions;

identify a second subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions;

assign a first television channel to the first television based on the viewing preferences of the first subset of the plurality of users;

assign a second television channel to the second television based on the viewing preferences of the second subset of the plurality of users; and

send an instruction to display the first television channel on the first television and the second television channel on the second television.

11. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, wherein the memory of the controller has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the processor of the controller, cause the processor of the controller to:

identify the plurality of users based on receiving, for each user of the plurality of users, a signal that originates from a device associated with the user.

12. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 11, wherein the device for a first user of the plurality of users is a mobile phone of the first user.

13. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 11, wherein:

the premises comprises a plurality of seating locations;

a first user is seated at a first seating location; and

the device for the first user is a kiosk device at the first seating location.

14. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, wherein the memory of the controller has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the processor of the controller, cause the processor of the controller to:

identify the plurality of users based on a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with each user of the plurality of users.

15. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 14, wherein identifying the first subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions comprises using triangulation of the RFID tag associated with each of the first subset of the plurality of users.

16. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 10, wherein the memory of the controller has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the processor of the controller, cause the processor of the controller to:

generate a list of television channels using at least one filter;

rank the list of television channels based on the viewing preferences of the first subset of the plurality of users; and

select a highest ranked television channels from the list of television channels as the first television channel.

17. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 16, wherein the premises is a sports bar, and wherein the at least one filter is used to filter the list of television channels to exclude any television channel not airing a sporting event.

18. The system for automatically selecting a television channel of claim 16, wherein the at least one filter is used to filter the list of television channels to exclude any television channel airing a program that is within a threshold number of minutes of ending.

19. A processor readable memory device having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

obtain viewing preferences for a plurality of users within a premises comprising a plurality of televisions;

identify a first subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a first television of the plurality of televisions;

identify a second subset of the plurality of users with a line of sight to a second television of the plurality of televisions;

assign a first television channel to the first television based on the viewing preferences of the first subset of the plurality of users;

assign a second television channel to the second television based on the viewing preferences of the second subset of the plurality of users; and

send an instruction to display the first television channel on the first television and the second television channel on the second television.

20. The processor readable memory device of claim 19, wherein the processor readable memory device has stored thereon further instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

identify the plurality of users based on one or more of, for each user of the plurality of users, receiving a signal that originates from a device associated with the user or receiving information from a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with the user.