Method for enhancing digital video recorder television advertising viewership

• US 8,719,862 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2012
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Barton, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheleheda, James R
• Application Number:
  US13/466,930
• Publication Number:
  US 20120222067A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 725/34, 725/35, 725/58, 725/142, 725/32
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7867 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title and artist information, manually generated time, location and usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4663 involving probabilistic networks, e.g. Bayesian networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4826 using recommendation lists, e.g. of programs or channels sorted out according to their score
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 : for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 : End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 : involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

A method for enhancing digital video recorder television advertising viewership provides a method wherein the first or last number of seconds of a commercial break are carefully authored to provide a “teaser” to entice the viewer to watch multiple commercials during the commercial break instead of skipping the commercial break using the fast forward or jump functions of the DVR. A bookending function displays an advertisement before and/or after a program that has been recorded on the DVR'"'"'s storage device is played to the viewer. The viewer selects a recorded program from the DVR'"'"'s storage device to playback. Before the program is played back, an advertisement is retrieved from the storage device and is displayed before the program is run. Another advertisement is retrieved and then played after the program is over.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

recording, by a multimedia device, program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

receiving, by the multimedia device, advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

storing, by the multimedia device, the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

displaying, by the multimedia device, a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, playing back, by the multimedia device, the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the playing back step begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back;

prior to the playing back step displaying an advertisement and when the playing step has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the playing back step has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the playing back step selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step further comprises:

recording groups of advertisements from an input source.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.

9. A method, comprising:

recording, by a multimedia device, program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

receiving, by the multimedia device, advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

storing, by the multimedia device, the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

displaying, by the multimedia device, a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, playing back, by the multimedia device, the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the playing back step has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back;

prior to the playing back step displaying an advertisement and when the playing step has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the playing back step begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the playing back step selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

requesting advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving step further comprises:

recording groups of advertisements from an input source.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at a multimedia device, that records program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that receives advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that stores the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that displays a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that, in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, plays back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the play back subsystem displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the play back subsystem begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the play back subsystem whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back;

prior to the play back subsystem displaying an advertisement and when the play back subsystem has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the play back subsystem displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the play back subsystem has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the play back subsystem whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the play back subsystem selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that requests advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the receiving subsystem further comprises:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that records groups of advertisements from an input source.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.

25. An apparatus, comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at a multimedia device, that records program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that receives advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that stores the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that displays a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that, in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, plays back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the play back subsystem displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the play back subsystem has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the play back subsystem whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back;

prior to the play back subsystem displaying an advertisement and when the play back subsystem has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the play back subsystem displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the play back subsystem begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the play back subsystem whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the play back subsystem selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

30. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that requests advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

31. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the receiving subsystem further comprises:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, at the multimedia device, that records groups of advertisements from an input source.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.

33. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps comprising:

recording, by a multimedia device, program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

receiving, by the multimedia device, advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

storing, by the multimedia device, the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

displaying, by the multimedia device, a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, playing back, by the multimedia device, the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the playing back step begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back;

prior to the playing back step displaying an advertisement and when the playing step has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

34. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the playing back step has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back.

35. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 34, wherein the playing back step selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

36. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

37. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

38. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, further comprising:

requesting advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

39. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the receiving step further comprises:

recording groups of advertisements from an input source.

40. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 39, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.

41. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps comprising:

recording, by a multimedia device, program material onto at least one storage device communicatively coupled to the multimedia device;

receiving, by the multimedia device, advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement from an external source;

storing, by the multimedia device, the advertisements along with characteristics of each advertisement on the at least one storage device;

displaying, by the multimedia device, a list of program materials stored on the at least one storage device;

in response to a viewer selecting a particular program material from the list, playing back, by the multimedia device, the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer;

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed after the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer after the playing back step has completed playing back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, a service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement after the particular program material is played back;

prior to the playing back step displaying an advertisement and when the playing step has been configured by the service provider to display an advertisement, selecting, by the multimedia device, an advertisement from the at least one storage device to display based on characteristics of the advertisement.

42. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, further comprising:

upon determining that an advertisement is to be displayed before the particular program material is played back, the playing back step displays an advertisement selected from the at least one storage device to the viewer before the playing back step begins to play back the particular program material from the at least one storage device to the viewer, the service provider configuring the playing back step whether to display an advertisement before the particular program material is played back.

43. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 42, wherein the playing back step selects an advertisement to be displayed after the program material playback to the viewer has been completed that is different than the advertisement displayed before the program material playback to the viewer began.

44. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the service provider charges advertisers for targeted advertising selected by the multimedia device that are targeted to the specific audience that the viewer is a part of.

45. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the multimedia device selects the advertisement from the at least one storage device to display additionally based on viewing preferences of the viewer and/or personal data.

46. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, further comprising:

requesting advertisements from the external source for a target audience that the viewer is a part of.

47. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the receiving step further comprises:

recording groups of advertisements from an input source.

48. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 47, wherein the recorded groups of advertisements are selected for the viewer'"'"'s target audience.