Systems and methods for client-based addressable advertising

• US 8,763,029 B1
• Filed: 11/13/2007
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visible World Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Haberman, Seth, Niemeijer, Gerrit, Jansen, Alex, De Pol, Erik Van
• Primary Examiner(s): Featherstone, Mark D
• Application Number:
  US11/939,423
• Time in Patent Office: 2,415 Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25435 involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/438 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. retrieving encoded video stream packets from an IP network
• 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 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream

Abstract

In accordance with the present invention, systems and methods that allow a television broadcast facility or a headend to insert in-band messages, where the inserted message allow receivers to switch to, insert, or otherwise show addressable advertisements to its viewers.

Claims

1. A method for inserting advertisements into a digital programming signal received at a receiver, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of transport streams comprising a plurality of receiver instructions from a headend, the plurality of transport streams comprising a plurality of television programs and a separate content feeder transport stream carrying a plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, wherein;

the plurality of receiver instructions include timing messages, metadata messages relating to plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, and marker messages;

the receiver uses the timing messages to indicate when an addressable advertisement is to be displayed for an addressable advertising break;

the receiver uses the metadata messages to indicate each of the plurality of segments of addressable advertisements to be assembled as the addressable advertisement;

the receiver uses the marker messages to identify a relative time position within the addressable advertising break; and

the marker messages are received at predetermined time intervals;

using the plurality of receiver instructions to assemble the addressable advertisement within the content feeder transport stream using at least two identified segments of addressable advertising;

using the plurality of receiver instructions to tune in real-time to the content feeder transport stream carrying the addressable advertisement for the advertising break; and

instructing a decoder with the receiver to start decoding the addressable advertisement.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the marker messages provide the receiver, at substantially any point in time, with an indication of the relative time within the addressable advertisement and the addressable advertising break.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

waiting to receive a subsequent marker message in response to not receiving the timing messages;

receiving the subsequent marker message within the predetermined time intervals;

determining the addressable advertisement to switch to based on the subsequent marker message.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tuning to one or more data streams in response to the receiver instructions;

receiving a marker message within the predetermined time intervals; and

determining from the received marker message whether the receiver has switched to the correct addressable advertisement.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tuning to one or more data streams in response to the receiver instructions;

receiving a marker message within the predetermined time intervals; and

comparing a unique identifier for the addressable advertisement or the segment associated with the marker message with previously received unique identifiers associated with previously received marker messages to determine whether the receiver has switched to the correct addressable advertisement or correct segment.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tuning to the addressable advertising break after the addressable advertising break has started;

receiving a subsequent marker message in response to not receiving the timing messages; and

determining the addressable advertisement to be played and a particular point within the addressable advertisement to start playing.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiver instructions are inserted at one of:

a headend and a television broadcast facility.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the timing messages to recognize when the addressable advertising break is approaching in time; and

retrieving the metadata messages to determine which of the plurality of addressable advertisement to display.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising tuning the receiver back to the transport stream carrying the television programs in response to not receiving the subsequent marker message within the predetermined time intervals.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein the marker messages synchronize the receiver and provide the receiver with instructions to tune to the correct addressable advertisement.

11. A system for inserting advertisements into a digital programming signal, the system comprising:

a receiver that is configured to;

receive a plurality of transport streams comprising a plurality of receiver instructions from a headend, the plurality of transport streams comprising a plurality of television programs and a separate content feeder transport stream carrying plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, wherein;

the plurality of receiver instructions include timing messages, metadata messages relating to plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, and marker messages;

the receiver uses the timing messages to indicate when an addressable advertisement is to be displayed for an addressable advertising break;

the receiver uses the metadata messages to indicate each of the plurality of segments of addressable advertisements to be assembled as the addressable advertisement;

the receiver uses the marker messages to identify a relative time position within the addressable advertising break; and

the marker messages are received at predetermined time intervals;

use the plurality of receiver instructions to assemble an addressable advertisement within the content feeder transport stream using at least two identified segments of addressable advertising;

tune in real-time to the content feeder transport stream carrying the addressable advertisement for the advertising break based on the received receiver instructions; and

instruct a decoder to start decoding the addressable advertisement.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code configured to insert advertisements into a broadcast digital programming signal received at a receiver, the computer-readable program code comprising:

computer-readable program code configured to receive a plurality of broadcast transport streams comprising a plurality of receiver instructions from a headend, the plurality of broadcast transport streams comprising a plurality of television programs and a separate broadcast content feeder transport stream carrying a plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, wherein;

the plurality of receiver instructions include timing messages, metadata messages relating to the plurality of segments of addressable advertisements, and marker messages,

the receiver uses the timing messages to indicate when an addressable advertisement is to be displayed for an addressable advertising break,

the receiver uses the metadata messages to indicate each of the plurality of segments of addressable advertisements to be assembled as the addressable advertisement,

the receiver uses the marker messages to identify a relative time position within the addressable advertising break, and

the marker messages are received at predetermined time intervals;

computer-readable program code configured to use the plurality of receiver instructions to assemble the addressable advertisement within the content feeder transport stream using at least two identified segments of addressable advertising;

computer-readable program code configured to use the plurality of receiver instructions to tune in real-time to the content feeder transport stream carrying the addressable advertisement for the advertising break; and

computer-readable program code configured to instruct a decoder with the receiver to start decoding the addressable advertisement.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the broadcast transport streams originate from a cable television provider.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the broadcast transport streams originate from a satellite television provider.