Audience measurement systems and methods for digital television

• US 8,732,738 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2011
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Lu, Daozheng, Kempter, Paul C., Feininger, William A.
• Primary Examiner(s): SALCE, JASON P
• Application Number:
  US13/222,828
• Publication Number:
  US 20110314486A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 725 9- 21
• US Class Current: 725/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/90 characterised by the use of signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/39 for identifying broadcast space-time use of Electronic Programme Guides H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4392 involving audio buffer management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A television audience measurement system measures viewing of a television program viewed on digital television located in a statistically selected site by (i) retrieving an audience measurement data packet from a television set in order to identify the television program, (ii) detecting an audio code embedded in the television program in order to identify the television program, (iii) extracting an audio signature from the television program in order to identify the television program, (iv) identifying the television program through use of a software agent, and (v) selecting at least one of the retrieving means, the detecting means, the extracting means, and the software agent in order to identify the television program.

Claims

1. A rating system to monitor a digital television or radio receiver, the receiver to receive a broadcast channel comprising multiple programs, at least one of the programs being packed as a minor channel in the broadcast channel and each minor channel including an identification datum, the receiver to read a first identification datum from a first channel to which the receiver is tuned and to subsequently read a second identification datum from a second channel to which the receiver is tuned, the rating system comprising:

a software agent to read the first identification datum from a packet label included in a first packet of a digital stream corresponding to the first channel and to time stamp the first identification datum at a first time at which the first identification datum is read, the software agent to read the second identification datum from a second packet label included in a second packet of a digital stream corresponding to the second channel and to time stamp the second identification datum at a second time at which the second identification datum is read;

a detector to detect an audio code embedded in an audio portion of at least one of the programs;

an extractor to extract a signature from one or more characteristic features of the audio portion of the at least one of the programs;

wherein at least one of the first and second channels is a minor channel and the system is to use the software agent and at least one of the detector and the extractor to record data to identify a first program tuned by the receiver.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is to record a third time at which the receiver is turned off.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a meter to separately receive the broadcast channel comprising a plurality of multiplexed digital streams, the meter to compare, at the time of channel change, a digital stream corresponding to the channel to which the receiver is tuned to each of the other digital streams within the broadcast channel until the meter finds a match; and

the software agent to read an identification datum from the matching digital stream.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein:

the plurality of multiplexed digital streams can be received at different frequencies;

the meter is to record a first received frequency and a time of reception of the first received frequency; and

the meter is to record a second received frequency and a time of reception of the second received frequency when the frequency of the received digital stream is changed.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the meter comprises a memory to store the first and second identification data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is to transmit the first and second identification data to a remote computer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the software agent is to read at least one of the first and second identification data from a data packet contained in a digital television program in the broadcast channel.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a computer readable memory storing the software agent, and the first and second identification data identify first and second television programs.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the software agent is to read data packets contained in digital television programming in order to obtain the first and second identification data.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a set top box to provide an analog television signal suitable for reception by an analog receiver.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises digital television equipment.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises a digital television, and a memory storing the software agent is provided within a set top box to provide a digital television signal to the digital television.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises any one of the following:

a personal computer provided with a television receiver;

a Video Cassette Recorder (VCR); and

a Digital Video Disk (DVD) player.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a person identification apparatus.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the software agent is to detect window activities conducted by an audience.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a selector to select at least one of the detector, the extractor, and the software agent to identify the first program.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a packet retriever to retrieve audience measurement data packets from the receiver to identify the first program.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the software agent is to log the first and second identification data and an Internet identification datum associated with an Internet task of a digital receiver receiving the programs.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein both the first channel and the second channel are major channels.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein both the first channel and the second channel are minor channels.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein one of the first and second channels is a major channel and the other of the first and second channels is a minor channel.

22. A method of rating digital television or radio programs, the method comprising:

receiving multiple programs packed as minor channels in a broadcast channel, each minor channel including a respective identification datum,

reading, with a software agent, a first identification datum from a digital stream corresponding to a first channel tuned by a digital receiver;

when the first identification datum is decodable, timestamping, with the software agent, the first identification datum at approximately a time at which the first identification datum is read;

reading, with the software agent, a second identification datum from a digital stream corresponding to a second channel tuned by the receiver, at least one of the first and second channels being a minor channel;

when the second identification datum is decodable, timestamping, with the software agent, the second identification datum at approximately a time at which the second identification datum is read;

when at least one of the first or second identification data is not decodable, performing at least one of;

detecting, with a detector, an audio code embedded in an audio portion of the digital stream;

extracting, with an extractor, an audio signature from one or more characteristic features of the audio portion of the digital stream; and

recording data from the software agent and at least one of the extractor and the detector to identify a first program tuned by the receiver.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second identification data are codes.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second identification data identify corresponding programs.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second identification data comprise any one of the following:

corresponding first and second program identification codes of corresponding first and second television programs;

corresponding first and second program names of corresponding first and second television programs;

corresponding first and second addresses of corresponding first and second Internet pages;

corresponding first and second identification codes of corresponding first and second Internet pages; and

corresponding first and second banners of material viewed by an audience.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the software agent is resident in a memory of the receiver.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the software agent comprises a plug-in software agent.