Advertisement distribution system for distributing targeted advertisements in television systems
First Claim
1. In a television network system, subscriber equipment for displaying targeted advertisements to a subscriber, the subscriber equipment comprising:
- a communications interface for receiving at least one queue identifying a sequence of targeted advertisements, wherein the at least one queue is selectively distributed to the subscriber and the targeted advertisements have been previously matched to the subscriber, and wherein at least one of the targeted advertisements is repeatedly placed in the queue according to a controllable predetermined spacing, the controllable predetermined spacing specifying the number of intervening advertisements between occurrences of the at least one targeted advertisement and wherein the controllable spacing predetermined is specified by an advertiser;
memory for storing the at least one queue;
a processor, responsive to the at least one queue, configured to repeatedly insert the targeted advertisements into program streams for display to the subscriber in accordance with the sequence; and
a trigger circuit for determining if the at least one queue has reached a low-level, wherein said communications interface refreshes the at least one queue in response to a low-level determination by said trigger circuit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Providing refreshed advertisements to subscriber equipment 210, such as a set-top box. A “client” application runs on the subscriber equipment 210 and includes a queue 404 for storing targeted advertisements, a processor 402 for monitoring the display of each advertisement to the subscriber, a counter 410 for counting each display, and a trigger circuit 406 for initiating an advertisement download each time it is determined that the queue of advertisements stored at the client application has reached a low-level threshold. An advertisement management system 202 provides advertisements to the client application. These advertisements may be network-based advertisements or may be targeted to each individual subscriber, based on a subscriber profile that is provided by a subscriber characterization system 204.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. In a television network system, subscriber equipment for displaying targeted advertisements to a subscriber, the subscriber equipment comprising:
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a communications interface for receiving at least one queue identifying a sequence of targeted advertisements, wherein the at least one queue is selectively distributed to the subscriber and the targeted advertisements have been previously matched to the subscriber, and wherein at least one of the targeted advertisements is repeatedly placed in the queue according to a controllable predetermined spacing, the controllable predetermined spacing specifying the number of intervening advertisements between occurrences of the at least one targeted advertisement and wherein the controllable spacing predetermined is specified by an advertiser; memory for storing the at least one queue; a processor, responsive to the at least one queue, configured to repeatedly insert the targeted advertisements into program streams for display to the subscriber in accordance with the sequence; and a trigger circuit for determining if the at least one queue has reached a low-level, wherein said communications interface refreshes the at least one queue in response to a low-level determination by said trigger circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of displaying targeted advertisements to a subscriber in a communications network, the method comprising:
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(a) selectively distributing at least one queue to a node associated with the subscriber, each queue identifying an ordered list of targeted advertisements, each of the targeted advertisements being previously matched to the subscriber, and wherein a sequence including at least two of the targeted advertisements is placed in the queue according to a controllable predetermined spacing, wherein the controllable predetermined spacing is specified by an advertiser, the controllable predetermined spacing specifying the number of intervening advertisements between one of the at least two advertisements and the successive advertisement of the at least two advertisements in the sequence; (b) storing the at least one queue at the node; (c) inserting the targeted advertisements into one or more programming streams displayed to the subscriber, the advertisements being repeatedly inserted in accordance with the ordered list of the corresponding at least one queue; and (d) refreshing the at least one queue upon a determination that the at least one queue has reached a low-level. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of allowing an advertiser to purchase advertisement opportunities to be displayed to a subscriber in a communications network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a controllable predetermined spacing according to which the advertiser'"'"'s advertisements will be displayed, wherein the controllable predetermined spacing is specified by the advertiser; (b) arranging at least one queue of targeted and ordered advertisements, each of the targeted advertisements being previously matched to the subscriber, and wherein the advertiser'"'"'s advertisements are inserted in the queue according to the controllable predetermined spacing, the controllable predetermined spacing specifying the number of intervening advertisements between successive occurrences of the advertiser'"'"'s advertisements; (c) selectively distributing the at least one queue to a node associated with the subscriber; (d) storing the at least one queue at the node; (e) inserting the targeted advertisements into avails in one or more programming streams displayed to the subscriber, the advertisements being repeatedly inserted in accordance with the order of the at least one queue. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of displaying targeted advertisements to a subscriber in a communications network, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving a plurality of targeted advertisements at subscriber equipment, wherein each advertisement has been previously matched to the subscriber; (b) storing the plurality of advertisements at the subscriber equipment; (c) allowing an advertiser to specify that a subset of the plurality of targeted advertisements is to be displayed to the subscriber according to a controllable predetermined spacing, the controllable predetermined spacing specifying the number of intervening advertisements between the advertisements of the subset and the subsequent advertisement of the subset; (d) arranging the plurality of targeted advertisements in a queue having a sequence, wherein the subset of the plurality of targeted advertisements is placed in the queue according to the controllable predetermined spacing; (e) inserting the targeted advertisements into a programming stream for display to the subscriber in accordance with the sequence. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A method for displaying advertisements to a subscriber in a communications network, the method comprising:
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(a) selecting a plurality of target advertisements matched to a subscriber; (b) arranging at least a subset of the plurality of targeted advertisements in at least one queue, wherein a first targeted advertisement is placed a first predetermined interval from a second targeted advertisement, the first predetermined interval being the number of advertisements separating the first and second targeted advertisements, and wherein the first predetermined interval is specified by an advertiser; (c) selectively distributing the at least one queue to a node associated with the subscriber; (d) storing the at least one queue at the node; (e) inserting the targeted advertisements into avails in one or more programming streams displayed to the subscriber, the advertisements being repeatedly inserted in accordance with the sequence of the at least one queue. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification