Techniques for intelligent video ad insertion

• US 6,698,020 B1
• Filed: 06/15/1998
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: WebTV Networks Inc. (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Goldman, Phillip Y., Zigmond, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Faile, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Hai V.
• Application Number:
  US09/094,851
• Time in Patent Office: 2,080 Days
• Field of Search: 725/32-36, 725/39-43, 725/45-46, 725/49, 725/51, 725/68, 725/22, 725/14, 725/110-114, 725/120, 725/136, 725/139, 709/217-219, 707/103-104
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system and method for selecting and inserting advertisements into a video programming feed at the household level. An advertisement insertion device in a home entertainment system receives a plurality of advertisements from an advertisement source. The advertisement insertion device selects one of the advertisements for display to a viewer according to advertisement selection criteria combined with viewer and system information. The video programming is displayed to a viewer while the advertisement insertion device monitors the programming feed for a triggering event indicating an appropriate time to display the selected advertisement. At the appropriate time, the video programming feed is interrupted and the selected advertisement is displayed. Selecting advertisements at the household level allows advertisers to target viewers with a high degree of specificity. In particular, the advertisement selection criteria may take into account, for example, demographic data relating to the household, the geographical location of the household, of individual viewing habits. The method optionally includes monitoring and reporting viewer response to the selected advertisements.

Claims

1. In a household home entertainment system comprised of a display device for receiving and displaying video programming received from a video content provider, and a computing system for controlling at selected times the source of the video content to be displayed, and particularly the source and nature of advertising content, a method for controlling and determining locally at the home entertainment system the advertising content to be displayed from time to time for one or more users of the home entertainment system when viewing video programming received from a video content provider, the method comprising steps for:

storing at the computing system criteria for selecting some advertising content and not other, the criteria being based on factors provided from any one or any combination of i) a user profile for one of the one or more users viewing the video programming, ii) a video programming content provider, iii) a third party operator, and iv) an advertiser;

receiving at the home entertainment system advertising content from an ad source, and subsequently deciding whether to prefilter at least some of the received advertising content using the stored criteria, and thereafter storing at the computing system any received and prefiltered advertising content;

receiving and displaying at the display device video programming provided by a video content provider; and

using the stored criteria, and while the video programming is being displayed, the computing system detecting a predefined triggering event, and then selecting advertising content to be displayed and displaying it by performing one or both of i) inserting from advertising content stored locally at the computing system at least some of the selected advertising content into the video programming being displayed, and ii) using the stored criteria at the computing system, screening advertising content included with the video programming to display some but less than all of the included advertising content.

3. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising the step for monitoring the video programming in order to detect a triggering signal, wherein detection of the predefined triggering signal is the triggering event.

4. A method as recited in claims 1 or a wherein the triggering event is derived from the structure of a video programming feed used for providing the video programming.

5. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein the criteria based on factors provided from said user profile further comprises a step for compiling and storing household data characterizing the home entertainment system.

6. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising a step for identifying a television program being carried on said video programming, and wherein the stored criteria provides that a specific advertisement is to be selected for display during said identified television program, independent of any particular television channel on which said identified television program is broadcast.

7. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of monitoring closed captioning information of the video programming being displayed in order to identify subject matter of the video programming, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the identified subject matter.

8. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of compiling demographic data characterizing a viewer of the displayed video programming feed, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the compiled demographic data.

9. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of compiling geographical data specifying the geographical location of the home entertainment system, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the geographical location.

10. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of compiling data characterizing the habits of a viewer of the video programming relative to the features of the home entertainment system, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the habits of the viewer.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the habits of the viewer include at least one of the types of video programming watched by the viewer, the types of Internet sites visited by the viewer, and purchases made by the viewer through the Internet.

12. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of presenting a survey including one or more inquiries to a viewer of the video programming, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on responses of the viewer to the survey.

13. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of detecting a content rating associated with the video programming, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the content rating.

14. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of identifying a parental lock code entered to the home entertainment system, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the parental lock code.

15. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein the step of displaying the video programming comprises the step of transmitting the video programming from a video recording media located at the home entertainment system, and wherein one of said factors is comprised of the recorded nature of the video programming.

16. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein one of said factors is comprised of compiling information relating to the actions that a viewer of the video programming feed has taken in response to previous displayed advertisements, so that an appropriate advertisement is to be selected for display based at least in part on the compiled information.

17. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising the step of storing information contained in the displayed advertising content for later reference in response to actions of a viewer of the displayed advertising content.

18. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein said selected advertising content is comprised of a first and a second advertisement which are simultaneously displayed in a split-screen format on the display device.

19. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising, either during or after display of said selected advertising content, a step for collecting information about actions of a viewer of said selected advertisement, including at least one of either channel changes during display of said selected advertisement, requests by said viewer for additional information, or feedback provided by said viewer in response to said selected advertisement.

20. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising a step for learning the identity of the viewer by requesting that a viewer log on to the home entertainment system before displaying the video programming, and wherein one of said factors is comprised of the identity of the viewer.

21. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein the selected advertising content comprises one or more computer-generated documents.

22. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, further comprising a step for monitoring a cumulative number of times that one or more advertisements of the selected advertising content has been displayed at the home entertainment system, and wherein one of said factors is comprised of the cumulative number.

23. A method as recited in claims 1 or 2, wherein the video programming and the selected advertising content are multiplexed and delivered to the home entertainment system in a single data stream.

2. In a household home entertainment system comprised of a display device for receiving and displaying video programming received from a video content provider, and a computing system for controlling at selected times the source of the video content to be displayed, and particularly the source and nature of advertising content, a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium for carrying executable instructions for implementing a method for controlling and determining locally at the home entertainment system the advertising content to be displayed from time to time for one or more users of the home entertainment system when viewing video programming received from a video content provider, and wherein the method is comprised of steps for:

storing at the computing system criteria for selecting some advertising content and not other, the criteria being based on factors provided from any one or any combination of i) a user profile for one of the one or more users viewing the video programming, ii) a video programming content provider, iii) a third party operator, and iv) an advertiser;

receiving at the home entertainment system advertising content from an ad source, and subsequently deciding whether to prefilter at least some of the received advertising content using the stored criteria, and thereafter storing at the computing system any received and prefiltered advertising content;

receiving and displaying at the display device video programming provided by a video content provider; and

using the stored criteria, and while the video programming is being displayed, the computing system detecting a predefined triggering event, and then selecting advertising content to be displayed and displaying it by performing one or both of i) inserting from advertising content stored locally at the computing system at least some of the selected advertising content into the video programming being displayed, and ii) using the stored criteria at the computing system, screening advertising content included with the video programming to display some but less than all of the included advertising content.