Method and system for profiling iTV users and for providing selective content delivery

• US 7,979,880 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2001
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Oddo, Anthony Scott, Zimmerman, Richard S., Rascon, Arthur P., Hosea, Devin F., Thurston, Nathaniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Shang; Annan Q
• Application Number:
  US09/877,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20020059094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,687 Days
• Field of Search: 725 34- 56, 725106-117, 709217-231
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• 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 21/4622 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 21/4668 for recommending content, e.g. movies
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method for profiling an iTV user. The method comprises gathering user-requested content information from iTV interactions, correlating content-associated profile information from a rating service with the user-requested content information, and developing a profile of the user based on the content-associated profile information correlated with the user-requested content information.

Claims

1. A method for profiling iTV users, comprising:

gathering user-related profile data at a client component by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV;

storing the gathered user-related profile data in an interaction database at the client component for processing at the client component to generate content recommendations;

periodically retrieving the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database;

building, at the client component, a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on retrieving the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database at the client component and data in a local categorized program database at the client component, wherein the user profile includes affinity and confidence measures for programs; and

generating, at the client component, an interactive program guide having a listing of available programs rearranged to form a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being displayed in a priority position for initial review by the viewer, the first portion further presenting content recommendations filtered from the listings of the available programs based on the affinity and confidence measures for programs in the user profile, the order of the content recommendations reflecting a predicted interest of the user for the content recommendations based on a comparison of the affinity and confidence measures of the user profile associated with the user to the data retrieved from the local categorized program database and the second portion presenting only unfiltered listings of the available programs in numeric order based on the number of the channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV includes gathering data associated with Internet navigation by the user using the iTV.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering user-related profile data further comprises identifying demographic information associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering user-related profile data further comprises identifying psychographic information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV further comprises identifying a program watched by the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV further comprises associating a plurality of programs with content-associated profile information of viewers of the program watched by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises adjusting the user profile by examining profiles of users with similar profiles to improve the confidence measures of programs below a threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a plurality of advertisements selected using the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising selecting one of the plurality of advertisements for presentation to the user via the iTV based on demographics associated with the user profile of the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises associating a plurality of URLs having content determined to match the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a database developed by a television program ratings service and a web site ratings service.

12. A set-top box for profiling iTV users, comprising:

memory for providing an interaction database; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to gather user-related profile data at the set-top box by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV, to store the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database at the set-top box for processing at the set-top box to generate content recommendations, to periodically retrieve the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database, to build, at the client component, a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on retrieving the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database at the set-top box and data in a local categorized program database at the set-top box, wherein the user profile includes affinity and confidence measures for programs and to generate, at the set-top box, an interactive program guide having a listing of available programs rearranged to form a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being displayed in a priority position for initial review by the viewer, the first portion further presenting content recommendations filtered from the listings of the available programs based on the affinity and confidence measures for programs in the user profile, the order of the content recommendations reflecting a predicted interest of the user for the content recommendations based on a comparison of the affinity and confidence measures of the user profile associated with the user to the data retrieved from the local categorized program database and the second portion presenting only unfiltered listings of the available programs in numeric order based on the number of the channel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to gather user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV by collecting data associated with Internet navigation by the user using the iTV.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to gather demographic information to build the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to gather psychographic information to build the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to identify a program selected for viewing by the user of the iTV.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a plurality of programs with content-associated profile information of viewers of the programs.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to adjust the user profile by examining profiles of users with similar profiles to improve the confidence measures of programs below a threshold.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a plurality of advertisements selected using the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to associate a plurality of URLs having content determined to match the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to build a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a database developed by a television program ratings service and a web site ratings service.

22. A computer readable medium including executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, provides profiling iTV users, by:

gathering user-related profile data at a client component by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV;

storing the gathered user-related profile data in an interaction database at the client component for processing at the client component to generate content recommendations;

periodically retrieving the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database;

building, at the client component, a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on retrieving the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database at the client component and data in a local categorized program database at the client component, wherein the user profile includes affinity and confidence measures for programs; and

generating, at the client component, an interactive program guide having a listing of available programs rearranged to form a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being displayed in a priority position for initial review by the viewer, the first portion further presenting content recommendations filtered from the listings of the available programs based on the affinity and confidence measures for programs in the user profile, the order of the content recommendations reflecting a predicted interest of the user for the content recommendations based on a comparison of the affinity and confidence measures of the user profile associated with the user to the data retrieved from the local categorized program database and the second portion presenting only unfiltered listings of the available programs in numeric order based on the number of the channel.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV includes gathering data associated with Internet navigation by the user using the iTV.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the gathering user-related profile data further comprises identifying demographic information associated with the user.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the gathering user-related profile data further comprises identifying psychographic information.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV further comprises identifying a program watched by the user.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the gathering user-related profile data by monitoring interactions between an iTV user and an iTV to extract data received at the iTV, data transmitted by the user from the iTV and interactions between the user and the iTV further comprises associating a plurality of programs with content-associated profile information of viewers of the programs watched by the user.

28. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises adjusting the user profile by examining profiles of users with similar profiles to improve the confidence measures of programs below a threshold.

29. The computer readable medium of claim 22, further comprising receiving a plurality of advertisements selected using the user profile associated with the user of the iTV.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises associating a plurality of URLs having content determined to match the profile associated with the user of the iTV.

31. The computer readable medium of claim 22, wherein the building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a local categorized program database further comprises building a user profile associated with the user of the iTV based on the gathered user-related profile data in the interaction database and data in a database developed by a television program ratings service and a web site ratings service.