Personalized television

• US 8,204,073 B1
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Gailloux, Michael A., Biere, Devon L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Donald
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOUDHRY, SAMINA F
• Application Number:
  US11/466,643
• Time in Patent Office: 2,127 Days
• Field of Search: 370/437, 455/70, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 370/437
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/64 file transfer between terminals download of applications H04M1/72406; transfer of messages, e.g. SMS, e-mail or MMS H04M1/7243

Abstract

A method, system, and medium providing personalized media content to a display device. The method includes receiving television programming at a media-receiving device from a content provider (where the media-receiving device includes a wireless-communications component that transmits to and receives data from a mobile communications device in a protocol via a wireless personal area network (PAN) that is effective within a distance range from the wireless-communications component), incident to a mobile communications device entering the distance range, receiving identifying indicia associated with the mobile communications device, communicating the identifying indicia to at least one database to retrieve profile data from at least one profile associated with the mobile communications device; and communicating personalized media content to the display device, the personalized media content based on at least a portion of the profile data associated with at least one profile associated with the mobile communications device.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing personalized media content to a display device, the method comprising:

receiving television programming at a media-receiving device from a content provider, wherein the media-receiving device includes a wireless-communications component that transmits to and receives data from a plurality of mobile communications devices in a protocol via a wireless personal area network (PAN) that is effective within a distance range from the wireless-communications component, wherein the mobile communications devices are each is associated with a wireless communications carrier and are configured to communicate with their respective wireless communications carrier;

incident to the mobile communications devices entering the distance range, receiving at the media-receiving device identifying indicia associated with the mobile communications devices, wherein the identifying indicia is received from the mobile communications devices via the wireless PAN, and wherein the identifying indicia uniquely identifies each the mobile communications devices;

querying at least one remote database from the media-receiving device by communicating the identifying indicia from the media-receiving devices to the remote database to retrieve profile data that includes media programming preferences from a profile associated with each of the mobile communications devices, wherein each profile is stored in the at least one remote database, and wherein the at least one remote database is associated with at least one of the content provider and the respective wireless communications carrier and is accessible to both the content provider and the wireless communications carrier;

receiving, at the media-receiving device, the profile data that includes the media programming preference, wherein the profile data is received in response to the query by the media-receiving device;

communicating personalized media content from the media-receiving device to the display device, wherein the personalized media content is based on at least a collective portion of the profile data received by the media-receiving device from the at least one remote database, wherein the profile data is associated with the identifying indicia received from the mobile communications devices; and

communicating the personalized media content from the media-receiving device via the wireless PAN to the mobile communications devices.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein television programming includes one or more of cable television (CATV) programming, satellite programming, or broadcast programming.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the media-receiving device includes a cable end point or a device integrated into the display device that is capable of rendering media content provided by the content provider.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the mobile communications device includes a mobile phone, personal data assistant (PDA), or other media device capable of receiving content compatible with the protocol via the wireless PAN.

5. The media of claim 4, wherein the protocol includes a version or variation of the Bluetooth protocol, and wherein the Bluetooth protocol is one that complies with a version of the IEEE 802.15 standard.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the identifying indicia includes a unique identifier associated with the mobile communications device, and wherein the unique identifier includes one or more selections of the following associated with the mobile communications device:

a phone number;

a network access identifier;

a username;

an account number;

a billing identifier;

an IF address;

or

a device serial number.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein the profile data include one or more selections from the following:

a device-type indication that indicates a type of mobile communications device;

technological capabilities of the mobile communications device;

a user'"'"'s name;

a user'"'"'s address;

hobbies or interests;

an income level;

media preferences including programming preferences;

a political indication;

a religious indication;

an age indication;

familial data;

or

user-generated preferences.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein the personalized media content includes one or more of:

a personalized advertisement;

a personalized coupon;

personalized content within an advertisement, including personalized interactive options that expose options to a viewer based on a set of capabilities associated with the mobile communications device;

or

personalized programming content.

9. The media of claim 1, further comprising:

incident to a second mobile communications device entering the distance range, receiving a set of identifying indicia associated with the second mobile communications device;

communicating the set of identifying indicia to at least one database to retrieve collective profile data from at least one profile associated with the second mobile communications device; and

communicating collective personalized media content to the display device, the collective personalized media content based on at least a portion of the collective profile data.

10. A method for providing personalized media content to a display device, the method comprising:

providing a cable end-point that can receive television programming from a content provider, wherein the cable end-point includes a wireless-communications component that transmits to and receives data from mobile communications devices by way of a wireless personal area network;

detecting the presence of a first mobile communications device of a first user, wherein the first mobile communications device is configured to communicate with a wireless communications carrier;

incident to detecting the presence of the first mobile communications device, utilizing identifying indicia that uniquely identifies the first mobile communications device, received by the cable end-point from the first mobile communications device, to present personalized media content on a display device according to media programming preference data associated with the first user, wherein the media programming preference data is stored in a remote database that is accessible to the content provider and the wireless communication carrier, and wherein at least a portion of the identifying indicia is utilized by the cable end-point to retrieve the preference data from the remote database;

detecting the presence of one or more other mobile communications devices of one or more other users while the first mobile communications device is present, wherein the first user and the one or more other users constitute multiple users;

incident to detecting the presence of the one or more other mobile communications devices while the first mobile communications device is present, retrieving media programming preference data associated with the one or more other users from the remote database;

evaluating collective media programming preference data that includes the media programming preference data associated with the one or more other users and the media programming preference data associated with the first user, wherein evaluating the collective media programming preference data includes identifying a preference that is common among most of the multiple users;

based on evaluating the collective media programming preference data, selecting personalized media content that is consistent the preference that is common among most of the multiple users; and

presenting the personalized media content on the display device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein utilizing identifying indicia received from the first mobile communications device to present personalized media content includes:

communicating at least a portion of the identifying indicia to a profiles database to correlate profile data with the first user; and

receiving indications of user preferences associated with the first user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the personalized media content is personalized prior to being received by the cable end-point.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the personalized media content is personalized after being received by the cable end-point.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising presenting displaying a user interface on the display device to receive, via a remote control device, preferences to be associated with a user and stored in the remote database in a profile associated with the user'"'"'s mobile communications device via a mobile communications device.