Generating alerts for live performances

• US 8,842,007 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2012
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: STATS LLC (Stats Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Thuuz, Inc.
• Inventors: Packard, Warren Joseph, Barcklay, Robert John, Levin, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Casillashernandez, Omar
• Application Number:
  US13/601,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20140062696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 340/540, 340/825, 715/733
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2358 for generating different versions, e.g. for different recipient devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/27 Server based end-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/025 Systems for the transmission of digital non-picture data, e.g. of text during the active part of a television frame transmission of digital non-picture data during the vertical blanking interval only H04N7/088

Abstract

A live performance is monitored by analyzing an input data stream comprising real-time updates related to the live performance. Different sets of excitement levels, excitement curves, alerts and teasers are generated based on the analysis and reported to a plurality of subscribers using any of a variety of mobile communication and/or computing devices.

Claims

1. A method for generating alerts for a live performance, comprising:

monitoring a live performance;

generating different sets of excitement levels for the live performance based on the monitoring, the different sets of excitement levels relate to different subscriber categories;

for each of the different sets of excitement levels, identifying if any of the excitement levels are at or above one or more excitement thresholds;

generating different sets of alerts for the different subscriber categories with respect to excitement levels that are at or above one or more excitement thresholds; and

reporting the generated alerts to a plurality of subscribers, the generating the different sets of alerts further comprises determining an amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts for the excitement levels that are at or above the one or more excitement thresholds, the reporting the generated alerts includes reporting the alerts to the plurality of subscribers when the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts reaches a pre-determined value, the generating the different sets of alerts further comprises determining a rate at which to reduce the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts and reducing the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the rate, wherein the rate is determined based on a difference between the different sets of excitement levels with respect to the one or more excitement thresholds.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the different sets of alerts further comprises:

computing the remaining time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the difference between the amount of time and the rate; and

triggering the different sets of alerts when the difference between the amount of time and the rate reaches the pre-determined value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the different sets of alerts further comprises instantaneously triggering the different sets of alerts based on identifying one or more events of interest in the live performance.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein identifying the one or more events of interest comprises identifying a nail-biter event in the live performance.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the different sets of alerts further comprises instantaneously triggering the different sets of alerts when an excitement level is at or above one or more of the excitement thresholds and the amount of time remaining in the live performance is less than a threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1 comprising reporting the different sets of alerts to the plurality of subscribers based on an alert level related the plurality of subscribers.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the alert level relates to the number of alerts that a subscriber wishes to receive during the live performance and when the subscriber wishes to be notified of the alerts.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein reporting the different sets of alerts comprises generating an excitement alert for a home team fan, an excitement alert for a visiting team fan and an excitement alert for a neutral team fan related to the live performance.

9. A method for generating alerts for a live performance, comprising:

receiving different sets of excitement levels for a live performance;

for each of the different sets of excitement levels, identifying if any of the excitement levels are at or above one or more excitement thresholds;

determining an amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts for the excitement levels that are at the one or more excitement thresholds;

determining whether the excitement levels have been at the one or more thresholds for the determined amount of time required to trigger, for the excitement levels that are at the one or more excitement thresholds;

determining a rate at which to reduce the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts;

reducing the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the rate, wherein the rate is determined based on a difference between the different sets of excitement levels with respect to the one or more excitement thresholds; and

generating and reporting alerts to a plurality of subscribers for those excitement levels that have been determined to be at the one or more thresholds for the determined amount of time required to trigger.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

computing the remaining time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the difference between the amount of time and the rate; and

triggering the different sets of alerts when the difference between the amount of time and the rate reaches the pre-determined value.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

instantaneously triggering the different sets of alerts based on identifying one or more events of interest in the live performance.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein:

reporting the alerts comprises reporting a first alert for a home team fan, a second and different alert for a visiting team fan and a third and different alert for a neutral fan related to the live performance.

13. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on the processor readable storage devices, the processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

monitoring a live performance;

generating different sets of excitement levels for the live performance based on the monitoring, the different sets of excitement levels relate to different subscriber categories;

for each of the different sets of excitement levels, identifying if any of the excitement levels are at or above one or more excitement thresholds;

determining an amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts for the excitement levels that are at the one or more excitement thresholds; and

reporting the different sets of alerts to the plurality of subscribers when the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts reaches a pre-determined value;

wherein generating the different sets of alerts further comprises;

determining a rate at which to reduce the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts and reducing the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the rate, wherein the rate is determined based on a difference between the different sets of excitement levels with respect to the one or more excitement thresholds.

14. A system for generating excitement levels for a plurality of live performances comprising:

one or more storage devices storing code;

a communication interface; and

one or more processors in communication with the one or more storage devices and the communication interface, the one or more processors configured to be in communication with a plurality of client devices via the communication interface based on the code, wherein the code configures the one or more processors to monitor a live performance, generate different sets of excitement levels for different subscriber categories based on the monitoring, identify if any of the excitement levels are at or above one or more excitement thresholds, generate different sets of alerts for the different subscriber categories with respect to the excitement levels are at or above one or more excitement thresholds, and report the different sets of alerts to a plurality of subscribers, the one or more processors determine an amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts and report the different sets of alerts to the plurality of subscribers when the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts reaches a pre-determined value, the one or more processors determine a rate at which to reduce the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts and reduce the amount of time required to trigger the different sets of alerts based on the rate, wherein the rate is determined based on a difference between the different sets of excitement levels with respect to the one or more excitement thresholds.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein:

the one or more servers report an excitement alert for a home team fan, an excitement alert for a visiting team fan and an excitement alert for a neutral team fan related to the live performance, to the plurality of subscribers on one or more display devices.