Distribution of real-time entertainment scheduling data

• US 7,971,218 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2002
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gracenote Media Services LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: Tribune Media Services Incorporated (Nexstar Media Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Strong, Kelly A., Shannon, Bryan A., White, Melissa E., Evans, Gary L., Ward, Brian J., Cushing, Michael P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): TESFAYE, AKLIL M
• Application Number:
  US10/265,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20040068742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,189 Days
• Field of Search: 725/39, 725/44, 725/49, 725/50, 725/55
• US Class Current: 725/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor

Abstract

A method, system, and software for distributing entertainment scheduling data (e.g., television scheduling data, movie scheduling data, etc.) to end users. Entertainment scheduling data updates are entered into an editorial database and then used to rapidly update a real-time database. A subset of entertainment scheduling data from the real-time database may be transmitted from the real-time database to an end-user database of an end user. The subset may be transmitted across a communication interface (e.g., the Internet) from the real-time database to the end-user database. An intermediate destination (e.g., a File Transfer Protocol server) between the real-time database and the communication interface may be used for temporary parking of the subset.

Claims

1. A method for distributing entertainment scheduling content in real-time from an editorial database to a real-time database, and then to a destination server, and then to an end-user database via a communication link, the distribution to the end-user database being based upon a plurality of end-user selection criteria, the method comprising the following steps:

entering the entertainment scheduling content into the editorial database, wherein the editorial database is recorded in a first computer-readable medium and wherein the entertainment scheduling content comprises new entertainment scheduling data not previously stored in the editorial database and correction entertainment scheduling data intended to replace existing data in the editorial database;

extracting the entertainment scheduling content from the editorial database wherein extraction of the content from the editorial database is based on factors other than a target environment context of any end users;

updating the real-time database with the extracted entertainment scheduling content by pushing via real-time software the entertainment scheduling content from the editorial database to the real-time database, wherein the real-time database is recorded in a second computer-readable medium;

adapting a portion of the entertainment scheduling content stored in the real-time database into an end-user specific dataset by applying a plurality of end-user selection criteria to the entertainment scheduling content stored in the real-time database;

pushing the end-user specific dataset to the destination server, wherein the destination server stores the dataset in a third computer-readable medium;

pulling the dataset from the destination server to the end-user database wherein the dataset is pulled to the end-user database via pull software running on the end user database, wherein the end-user database is recorded in a fourth computer-readable medium, the end-user database corresponds to the end-user selection criteria, and the dataset is adapted to be transmitted to the end-user database via the communication link between the destination server and the end-user database; and

updating the end-user database with the dataset without logical modification of the dataset.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein entering the entertainment scheduling content into the editorial database ends at time T₁ and updating the real-time database with the extracted entertainment scheduling content ends at time T₂, wherein T₂-T₁ does not exceed about 240 minutes.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeating N times said updating the real-time database with additional entertainment scheduling content derived from the editorial database, wherein N is at least 1, wherein for each updating, Δ

T indicates T₂-T₁ for the respective updating, wherein Δ

T_AVE is the statistical average computed as Σ

(Δ

T)/N, and wherein Δ

T_AVE does not exceed about 10 minutes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the statistical average is an arithmetic average.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said updating comprises multi-threaded updating of said real-time database with said content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said entertainment scheduling data comprises television program scheduling data, and wherein said entertainment scheduling content comprises television program scheduling content.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said entertainment scheduling data comprises movie-theatre scheduling data, and wherein said entertainment scheduling content comprises movie-theatre scheduling content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said entertainment scheduling data comprises scheduling data selected from the group consisting of sports events scheduling data, musical performance scheduling data, and live theatre scheduling data, and wherein said entertainment scheduling content comprises scheduling content selected from the group consisting of sports events scheduling content, musical performance scheduling content, and live theatre scheduling content.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the destination server is a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link comprises the Internet.