System and method for utilizing EPG database for modifying advertisements

• US 7,266,833 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2003
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Index Systems Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Index Systems Incorporated (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Nesson, Ted, Ward, Thomas Edward III
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, NGOC K
• Application Number:
  US10/453,388
• Publication Number:
  US 20040045025A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39, 725 41- 42, 725/49, 725/51, 725139-140, 725151-152, 725/43, 725/134, 725/142, 348/563, 348/589, 348/600
• US Class Current: 725/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A system and method for utilizing data stored in an EPG database for modifying advertisement information. In this way, a service provider and/or an advertiser can transmit a single advertisement to all the television stations regardless of their geographic location and other user specific information, and need not re-transmit the advertisement even if there is a change in the show'"'"'s program description. When the advertisement is displayed, the correct updated information is retrieved from the EPG database and inserted into the advertisement.

In one aspect, the present invention describes a method for modifying an advertisement in an EPG comprising the steps of: storing television schedule information in a first database; storing advertisement information in a second database; incorporating a portion of the television schedule information into a portion of the advertisement information to form a modified advertisement; and displaying the modified advertisement on a screen.

Claims

1. A method for displaying an advertisement in an electronic program guide (EPG) comprising the steps of:

storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs in a television schedule information database local to a viewer;

local to the viewer, receiving a telecast advertisement via a television signal, wherein the telecast advertisement comprises a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program;

local to the viewer, selecting a second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database including one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program;

local to the viewer, inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement to form a modified advertisement; and

displaying the modified advertisement in the EPG on a screen, wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of advertisement information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving, selecting, inserting, and displaying steps are performed in substantially real time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a future television program.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing a program description and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the stored program description.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing a web site address and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the stored web site address.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step comprises storing information related to rotating advertisement information in the EPG and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the information related to rotating advertisement information.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising displaying the modified advertisement image in the EPG based on the rotating information.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

11. The method of claim 5, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of a product and a service.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of selecting the displayed information using a pointing device and activating a function related to the selected information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of activating a function comprises linking to a web site based on an address related to the selected information and displaying more information from the web site.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of activating a function comprises displaying more detail information related to the selected information.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of activating a function comprises scheduling a future television program for recording.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of activating a function comprises tuning to a currently telecast television program.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein the received telecast advertisement further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the second plurality of information within the one or more placeholders.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database based on the geographic location of the viewer.

17. An interactive electronic program guide (EPG) system comprising:

a first database local to a viewer for storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs;

a second database local to the viewer for storing advertisement data, wherein the second database includes a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program and the first database includes a pointer associated with an entry in the second database so that one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program are selected as a second plurality of advertisement information and inserted into a respective advertisement data associated with the entry in the second database to form a modified advertisement; and

a display screen for displaying the modified advertisement, wherein the modified advertisement displayed on the display screen comprises the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of advertisement information.

18. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about a future television program.

19. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

20. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

21. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the first database includes a program description for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the stored program description.

22. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the first database includes a web site address for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the stored web site address.

23. The EPG of claim 17, wherein the first database includes information related to rotating advertisement information in the EPG for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the information related to rotating advertisement information.

24. The EPG of claim 18, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

25. The EPG of claim 20, wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of a product and a service.

26. The EPG of claim 17 further comprising an input device for selecting the displayed advertisement and activating a function related to the selected advertisement.

27. The EPG of claim 26, wherein the input device activates a function to link to a web site based on an address related to the selected advertisement.

28. The EPG of claim 26, wherein the input device activates a function to display more detail information related to the selected advertisement.

29. The EPG of claim 26, wherein the input device activates a function to schedule a future television program for recording.

30. The EPG of claim 26, wherein the input device activates a function to tune to a currently telecast television program.

31. The EPG of claim 26, wherein the input device activates a function to display a video preview related to the selected advertisement.

35. The system of claim 17, wherein the stored advertisement data further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein the modified advertisement displayed on the display screen comprises the second advertising information within the one or more placeholders.

36. The system of claim 17, wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the first database based on the geographic location of the viewer.

32. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions including instruction for displaying an advertisement in an electronic program guide (EPG), the instructions, when executed by a microprocessor, cause the microprocessor to perform the steps of:

storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs in a television schedule information database local to a viewer;

local to the viewer, receiving a telecast advertisement via a television signal, wherein the telecast advertisement comprises a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program;

local to the viewer, selecting a second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database including one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program;

local to the viewer, inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement to form a modified advertisement; and

displaying the modified advertisement in the EPG on a screen, wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of information.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the received telecast advertisement further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the second plurality of advertising information within the one or more placeholders.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database based on the geographic location of the viewer.