Systems and methods for providing a broadcast entertainment service and an on-demand entertainment service

• US 7,617,295 B1
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Music Choice
• Original Assignee: Music Choice
• Inventors: Delbeccaro, David J., Feras, John, Farber, Stuart H., Steinberg, Robert M., O'Neill, Donna M., McGonigal, Daniel L., Tancredi, Christina B., Yurman, Ronald M., Rosenberg, Jeremy C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn; Nathan J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqi; Mohammad A
• Application Number:
  US11/002,205
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 725 37- 40, 725 46- 49, 725 86-105, 725138-153, 725/114, 725/135, 709201-203, 709/224, 709/226, 709/217
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for, in some cases, supplementing a broadcast media service with an on-demand and personalized media service.

Claims

1. A system for providing an on-demand, personalized media service and a broadcast service to a plurality of users, comprising:

a plurality of client systems;

a distribution network;

a broadcast media source for broadcasting a signal, said signal including plurality of broadcast media channels, wherein each broadcast media channel is associated with a music format; and

a distribution center including;

a signal receiver system that receives the broadcast signal,

an on-demand system, and

a transmission system that takes output from the on-demand system and output from the signal receiver system and transmits the outputs to the plurality of client systems via the distribution network, wherein

the output from the signal receiving system includes the plurality of broadcast media channels,

the client systems are operable to;

(1) isolate at least one of the broadcast media channels,

(2) provide audio data included in the isolated channel to an audio system that reproduces the audio for a user of the client system to hear,

(3) provide video and/or graphical data included in the isolated channel to a video system that displays the video and/or graphical data on a display device for the user to see,

(4) display a first user selectable button on the display device so that the first user selectable button is displayed on the display device together with the video and/or graphical data obtained from the isolated channel, and

(5) in response to the user of the client system selecting the selectable button, transmit a message to the on-demand system to initiate an on-demand session, wherein the content of the message is dependent on the broadcast media channel that is isolated by the client system, wherein

the on-demand system is configured to transmit a list of music videos to the client system in response to receiving the message,

the client system is configured to display the list of music videos on the display device,

the client system is configured to display together with the list of videos a second selectable button, and

the client system is configured such that in response to the user selecting the second button, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information, and, the on-demand system is configured such that, after receiving the information, the on-demand system transmits to the client system information identifying a set of artists, wherein each identified artist is associated with the format associated with the broadcast channel to which the client system was tuned when the user selected the first button.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the content of the message includes information identifying the broadcast media channel that is isolated by the client system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the audio data is associated with an artist and music format, and the content of the message is dependent upon the artist and/or music format.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein, in response to the user selecting one or more of the listed videos, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information identifying the music videos selected by the user.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein, after receiving the information identifying the music videos selected by the user, the on-demand system creates a playlist of media assets and establishes an on-demand session with the client system.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein, after establishing the on-demand session, the on-demand system transmits, one at a time, to the client system the media assets included in the playlist.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the on-demand system creates the playlist by interpreting one or more scripts.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the media assets in the playlist includes an advertisement targeted to the user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the client system displays together with the list of videos a third selectable button.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein, in response to the user selecting the third button, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information, and, after receiving the information, the on-demand system transmits to the client system information identifying a set of newly added music videos.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein each of said newly added music videos is associated with the format associated with the broadcast channel to which the client system was tuned when the user selected the first button.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein, in response to the user selecting the third button, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information, and, after receiving the information, the on-demand system transmits to the client system information identifying a set of popular music videos within an area in which the user is located.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein, in response to the user selecting the third button, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information, and, after receiving the information, the on-demand system transmits to the client system information identifying a set of sub-categories associated with the format associated with the broadcast channel to which the client system was tuned when the user selected the first button.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein in response to the user of the client system selecting the selectable button, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information identifying the user and/or the client system, and, in response thereto, the on-demand system determines whether there is included in a set of channel profiles one or more channel profiles associated with the user and/or the client system.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein if there is included in the set of channel profiles one or more channel profiles associated with the user and/or the client system, then on-demand system transmits to the client system a list of the one or more channel profiles and the client system displays the list to the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user is able to select one of the listed channel profiles, and, in response to the user selecting a channel profile, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information identifying the channel profile selected by the user.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein, after receiving the information identifying the channel profile selected by the user, the on-demand system selects a media asset that matches the selected channel profile and establishes an on-demand session with the client system, and, after establishing the on-demand session, transmits to the client system the selected media asset.

18. A method for providing an on-demand, personalized media service and a broadcast service to a user, comprising:

receiving a broadcast signal at a distribution center, the broadcast signal including plurality of broadcast media channels;

transmitting from the distribution center to a client system via a distribution network the plurality of broadcast media channels, wherein the client system is configured to isolate one of the broadcast media channels and provide audio data included in the isolated channel to an audio system that reproduces the audio data for a user of the client system to hear;

transmitting from the distribution center to the client system information that causes the client system to;

display a first user selectable button and a second selectable button on a display device while providing the audio data to the audio system so that the user can see the selectable buttons while listening to the audio data included in the isolated channel;

transmit a message to an on-demand system to initiate an on-demand session in response to the user of the client system selecting the first selectable button;

wherein the content of the message is dependent on the broadcast media channel that is isolated by the client system;

transmit to the on-demand system information indicating that the second button was selected in response to the user selecting the second button; and

transmitting, from the on-demand system to the client system, information identifying a set of artists after the on-demand system receives the information indicating that the second button was selected, wherein each identified artist is associated with a format associated with the broadcast media channel isolated by the client system when the user selected the second button.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information transmitted from the distribution center to the client system causes the client system to transmit information from the client system to the on-demand system in response to the user of the client system selecting the first selectable button, and the method further comprises the step of transmitting from the on-demand system to the client system a list of music videos after the on-demand system receives the information from the client system.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the information transmitted from the client system to the on-demand system includes information identifying the broadcast media channel isolated by the client system when the user selected the button.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the audio data is associated with an artist and each music video in the list is also associated with the artist.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising causing the client system to (a) display the list of music videos on the display device and (b) enable the user to be able to select one or more of the listed videos.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising transmitting to the on-demand system information identifying the music videos selected by the user.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

creating a playlist of media assets after receiving information identifying the music videos selected by the user; and

establishing an on-demand session with the client system.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising transmitting, one at a time, to the client system the media assets included in the playlist after establishing the on-demand session.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the step of creating the playlist includes interpreting one or more scripts.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one of the media assets in the playlist includes an advertisement targeted to the user.

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising causing the client system to display a third selectable button.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

providing information to the client system that causes the client system to transmit to the on-demand system information indicating that the third button was selected in response to the user selecting the third button; and

after the on-demand system receives the information indicating that the third button was selected, transmitting from the on-demand system to the client system information identifying a set of newly added music videos.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein each of said newly added music videos is associated with a format associated with the broadcast media channel isolated by the client system when the user selected the third button.

31. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

providing information to the client system that causes the client system to transmit to the on-demand system information indicating that the third button was selected in response to the user selecting the third button; and

after the on-demand system receives the information indicating that the third button was selected, transmitting from the on-demand system to the client system information identifying a set of popular music videos within an area in which the user is located.

32. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

providing information to the client system that causes the client system to transmit to the on-demand system information indicating that the third button was selected in response to the user selecting the third button; and

after the on-demand system receives the information indicating that the third button was selected, transmitting from the on-demand system to the client system information identifying a set of sub-categories associated with a format associated with the broadcast media channel isolated by the client system when the user selected the third button.

33. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

providing information to the client system that causes the client system to transmit to the on-demand system information identifying the user and/or the client system in response to the user selecting the selectable button; and

after receiving the information identifying the user and/or the client system, determining whether there is included in a set of channel profiles one or more channel profiles associated with the user and/or the client system.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

transmitting to the client system a list of the channel profiles associated with the user and/or the client system; and

displaying the list to the user.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the user is able to select one of the listed channel profiles, and, the client system is configured such that, in response to the user selecting a channel profile, the client system transmits to the on-demand system information identifying the channel profile selected by the user.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

selecting a media asset that matches the selected channel profile after receiving the information identifying the channel profile selected by the user;

establishing an on-demand session with the client system; and

after establishing the on-demand session, transmitting from the on-demand system to the client system the selected media asset.

37. A method, comprising:

tuning a client system to a particular broadcast channel so that the client system receives and plays music broadcast from a broadcast media source, the broadcast channel being associated with a music format;

in response to a user indicating that the user desires to select one or more music videos while the client system is tuned to the broadcast channel, transmitting from the client system to an on-demand system information that identifies, or can be used to identify, the music format and/or an artist associated with the music;

in response to transmitting the information, receiving from the on-demand system information identifying a set of music videos associated with the music format and/or artist, wherein each video has a title;

displaying the title of at least two or more of the music videos on a display device so that a user of the client system can see the two or more titles;

displaying a first button and a second button on the display device together with the two or more titles;

in response to the user selecting the first button, transmitting from the client system to the on-demand system a request;

after the on-demand system receives the request, receiving from the on-demand system information identifying a set of artists, wherein each identified artist is associated with the format associated with the broadcast channel to which the client system was tuned when the user provided the indication that the user desires to select one or more music videos; and

after receiving the information identifying the set of artists, displaying information identifying at least two of the artists included in the set.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

in response to the user selecting the second button, transmitting from the client system to the on-demand system a second request;

after the on-demand system receives the second request, receiving from the on-demand system information identifying a set of popular music videos within an area in which the user is located.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

in response to the user selecting the second button, transmitting from the client system to the on-demand system a second request;

after the on-demand system receives the second request, receiving from the on-demand system information identifying a set of sub-categories associated with the music format.

40. The method of claim 39, further comprising enabling the user to select on of the sub-categories.