Method and system for delivering personalized broadband content

• US 8,799,471 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2005
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Andrews Kurth LLP, Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP (Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP)
• Original Assignee: Andrews Kurth LLP
• Inventors: Noll, Roland, Mai, Khanh, Grimes, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): ZHANG, SHIRLEY X
• Application Number:
  US11/039,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20050132295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,480 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 725 32- 36, 725 86-104
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; 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 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47805 Electronic banking banking in general G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method (the “Channel Dancer”) of delivering broadband content that has been personalized for a recipient user is disclosed. By excelling in the personalization of the user'"'"'s view of broadband content on the Internet and otherwise, the system and method develop “stickiness” with the user that maximizes the benefits and effectiveness of advertising and related activities. The system preferably comprises a network operations center (“NOC”) that receives and packages content, with promotional materials, on virtual channels, a transmission medium that transmits the virtual channels, a broadband ISP with a point-of-presence (“POP”) server that receives the virtual channels and routs virtual channels to a user machine, based on requests received from client software (the “client”) resident on the user machine and filtering performed by the client based on a personal profile of the user.

Claims

1. A method for method of delivering personalized broadband content, comprising:

receiving a plurality of virtual channels at a user machine, wherein each of said plurality of virtual channels comprises content, including a plurality of content streams, each comprising streaming audio and video;

receiving a control channel that includes information about the virtual channels, including information about the content included in each virtual channel; and

using the control channel, creating a personalized display of content choices available to a user on the user machine based on a user'"'"'s personal profile and user capabilities for receiving the virtual channels,

wherein the control channel displays filtered virtual channel content choices in a graphical user interface (GUI), and

wherein the plurality of content streams further comprises promotional material synchronized with the streaming audio and video so as to leave the primary content stream unaltered wherein the promotional material is selected based on the user'"'"'s personal profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the GUI comprises a skin personalized for the user using a user profile that was generated based on user activity over a period of time and updated based on a user'"'"'s continuing activity, wherein the skin comprises target advertising and e-commerce opportunities based on user feedback received over the Internet or other transmission medium.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the content is multimedia content.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the content is made available from a source using a satellite transponder to multicast the content.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the content includes infomercials with links to web sites.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the content is routed to the user machine by a software module resident at an Internet Service Provider (“

ISP”

) or a dedicated server at the ISP.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step and the creating step are performed by a software module resident on the user machine.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting one of the plurality of filtered virtual channels from the display of content choices;

and displaying or storing content from the selected virtual channel.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a second one of the plurality of virtual channels from the display of content choices and concurrently displaying the content from the selected first virtual channel while storing content from the selected second virtual channel, wherein the selected virtual channels includes advertising targeted to the user based on the user'"'"'s personal profile.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing alerts of new content, advertising, or e-commerce opportunities based on the user'"'"'s personal profile, wherein the alerts interrupt the primary content stream being viewed by the user, and wherein the primary content stream can be paused by the user while viewing the alerts and can be resumed later.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a network operations center (“

NOC”

), comprising one or more servers, receives the content comprising streaming audio, streaming video, and advertising or promotional material and schedules the content for broadcast on the virtual channels;

wherein a transmission medium operatively connected to the NOC transmits the virtual channels;

wherein a point-of-presence (“

POP”

) client server receives at least a subset of the virtual channels and is connected via a network to the user machine and wherein the POP client server comprises client software that issues requests for virtual channels and processes the virtual channels to display the content and promotional materials on the user machine;

wherein the filtered content choices are displayed on the user machine; and

wherein the POP client server routes virtual channels to the user machine based on the requests by the client software.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user machine comprises a user cache and the client software stores content from virtual channels in the user cache.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the user machine includes a personal profile and the client software filters the virtual channels based on the client software, wherein the client software further comprises the GUI.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the promotional material include e-commerce opportunities through which a user on the user machine makes a purchase and wherein the NOC further comprises an e-commerce router that intercepts the user purchase, records the user purchase, re-routs the user purchase to a provider of the e-commerce opportunity, and invoices the provider for the purchase.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the promotional materials include an advertisement with hyper-links that is clicked by the user at the user machine and wherein the NOC further comprises an advertising portal server that intercepts the advertisement click of the user, records the advertisement click, re-routes the advertisement click to a provider of the advertisement, and invoices the provider for the advertisement link.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the transmission medium is a satellite and the POP client server is located at a broadband ISP that receives the virtual channels via satellite.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining which virtual channels the user machine should display.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a link speed that a user machine can accommodate for receiving the virtual channels.

19. A tangible computer readable medium comprising instructions delivering personalized broadband content by:

receiving a plurality of virtual channels at a user machine, wherein each of said plurality of virtual channels comprises content, including a plurality of content streams, each comprising streaming audio and video;

receiving a control channel that includes information about the virtual channels, including information about the content included in each virtual channel; and

using the control channel, creating a personalized display of content choices available to a user on the user machine based on a user'"'"'s personal profile and user capabilities for receiving the virtual channels,

wherein the control channel displays filtered virtual channel content choices in a graphical user interface (GUI), and

wherein the plurality of content streams further comprises promotional material synchronized with the streaming audio and video so as to leave the primary content stream unaltered, wherein the promotional material is selected based on the user'"'"'s personal profile.