Searchable television commercials

• US 8,724,647 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 05/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Johnson, David Phillip, Kaminsky, David Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheng, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/613,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20130014152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 370/420, 370/432, 370486- 7, 705/14, 725/23, 725 34- 36, 725/42, 725 46- 47
• US Class Current: 370/432
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems

Abstract

A mechanism is provided for indexing commercials. A viewer may query a search engine for a particular product or service. The index may include descriptors that are provided within a blanking interval within the media stream or within program guide information associated with the stream. The index information may also include Internet hyperlinks. Commercials may also have associated therewith a value that is relative to a value of media content. A viewer may accumulate value by viewing advertisements. Accumulated value may then be used to acquire more content.

Claims

1. A method, operable on a server, for providing access to advertising within a media stream, the method comprising:

identifying first account balance for a first user, the first account balance having a negative number of points;

receiving a request for a commercial that the first user desires to view;

determining a point value for the commercial;

providing access to the commercial;

responsive to playing the commercial to the user, adding the point value to the first account balance;

receiving from the first user an assignment of negative points for at least a second user;

adding the value of the assigned negative points to a second account balance for the second user;

determining a point cost for a selected television program; and

providing access to the selected television program if the second account balance is greater than the point cost of the selected television program.

2. A method, operable on a server, for providing access to advertising within a media stream, the method comprising:

identifying, by a processing device, a first account balance for a first user and a second account balance for a second user;

identifying, by a processing device, a time period associated with the first user not watching content;

determining, by a processing device, the time period has expired indicating that the first user has not watched content during the time period;

determining, by a processing device, a point value if the first user does not watch television content during the time period;

responsive to the time period expiring without the first user accessing, by a processing device, the television content, adding a predetermined point value to the first account balance of the first user;

receiving an assignment of negative points from the first user for at least the second user; and

adding, by a processing device, the value of the assigned negative points to the second account balance of the second user.