Tiered subscription broadcast system

• US 9,124,375 B1
• Filed: 01/06/2014
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Martin E. Hellman
• Original Assignee: Martin E. Hellman
• Inventors: Hellman, Martin E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marandi, James R
• Application Number:
  US14/148,551
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/21 Billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/23 using cryptography, e.g. encryption, authentication, key distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations

Abstract

A receiver operating in a broadcast system is disclosed that allows a broadcaster to provide multiple tiers of subscription services. By a receiver that can operating at different tiers, a subscriber has the option of listening to fewer (or no) commercials, e.g., by paying a higher fee, or listening to more commercials, e.g., by paying a lower or no fee. Commercials can be demographically targeted, cannot be skipped, and can be audited for billing purposes.

Claims

1. A method of operating a receiver in a broadcast system, the method comprising:

receiving a transmission made by a broadcaster in the broadcast system;

demodulating program content included in the transmission;

demodulating substitution content included in the transmission;

storing a portion of the demodulated substitution content in a memory included in the receiver;

demodulating receiver commands included in the transmission;

in response to a demodulated receiver commands that specifies a portion of the substitution content, checking whether the specified portion of substitution content is accessible by the receiver; and

responsive to the checking,

in the case that the checking indicates that the specified portion of substitution content is accessible, replacing a portion of the demodulated program content with the specified portion of the substitution content, else

in the case the checking indicates that the specified portion of substitution content is not accessible, replacing the portion of the demodulated program content with a portion of stored substitution content different than and related to said specified portion of the substitution content,

wherein the program content that is part of the transmission includes one or more complete programs playable at the receiver in unmodified form, each complete program including one or both of;

(i) advertising-free content such that at least some of said advertising-free content can be replaced with stored substitution content that includes advertising, and

(ii) content that includes advertising such that at least some of the included advertising can be replaced by with stored substitution content that does not include advertising,

such that when the receiver is not able to replace a portion of the program content with a portion of the substitution content, the receiver can play back the program content that is part of the transmission without any replacing.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the different portion of substitution content includes advertising related to advertising included in said specified portion of substitution content.

3. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein the receiver is a first receiver in a set that includes a second receiver,

wherein the receiver commands in the transmission include:

at least one receiver command that indicates how the first receiver is to carry out replacing, and

at least one receiver command that indicates how the second receiver is to carry out replacing,

such that the first receiver can play back substitution content that differs from substitution content played back by the second receiver when the first and second receivers are simultaneously tuned to be receiving a particular program,

wherein the first receiver operates at a first tier, and the second receiver operates at a second tier lower than the first tier,

wherein the receiver commands in the transmission include at least one receiver command related to the tier of service, such that the replacing in response to said at least one receiver command related to the tier of service differs according to the tier of service,

such that the output of the first receiver includes less advertising than the output of the second receiver.

4. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein the receiver is a first receiver in a set that includes a second receiver,

wherein the receiver commands in the transmission include:

at least one receiver command that indicates how the first receiver is to carry out replacing, and

at least one receiver command that indicates how the second receiver is to carry out replacing,

such that the first receiver can play back substitution content that differs from substitution content played back by the second receiver when the first and second receivers are simultaneously tuned to be receiving a particular program,

wherein the at least one receiver command for the first and second receivers that respectively indicate how each of the first and second receivers is to carry out replacing includes at least one receiver command that indicates how each of the first and second receivers, respectively, is to carry out replacing in a manner related to one or more respective characteristics of the first and second receiver, respectively, the one or more respective characteristics including one or more items of respective demographic information related to the first and second receiver, respectively,

such that the type of, amount of, or both type of and amount of substitution content in the output of the respective receiver can be targeted to the first and second receivers, respectively, according to one or more of the items of respective demographic information about the first and second receiver, respectively.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising

transmitting information via a reverse channel;

wherein at least some of the receiver commands are based on demographic information about the receiver and depend at least in part on the information transmitted by the receiver over the reverse channel.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of one or both of the substitution content and the receiver commands is encoded with an erasure-correcting code to protect data included therein.

7. The method as recited in claim 6,

wherein the data protected by the erasure-correcting code is transmitted by the broadcaster in segments, at least one of said segments being transmitted the broadcaster at two or more points in time with one or more respective time separations between the two or more transmissions.

8. The method as recited in claim 7,

wherein at least some of the one or more respective time separations between the two or more points in time are at least partially randomized.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said substitution content comprises demographically targeted advertising.

10. A receiver configured to operate in a broadcast system, said receiver comprising:

a tuner configured to receive a transmission made by a broadcaster in the broadcast system;

a demodulator coupled to the tuner and operative to demodulate;

(i) program content included in the transmission,

(ii) substitution content included in the transmission, and

(iii) receiver commands included in the transmission;

a memory; and

a controller coupled to the memory and to the demodulator, the controller responding to the receiver commands, and operative to store in the memory a portion of the demodulated substitution content;

wherein the controller is further operative to,

in response to a demodulated receiver command that specifies a portion of the substitution content, check whether the specified portion of substitution content is accessible by the receiver; and

in response to the checking,

in the case that the checking indicates that the specified portion of substitution content is accessible, replace a portion of the demodulated program content with the specified portion of the substitution content, else

in the case the checking indicates that the specified portion of substitution content is not accessible, replace the portion of the demodulated program content with a portion of stored substitution content different than and related to said specified portion of the substitution content,

wherein the program content that is part of the transmission includes one or more complete programs playable at the receiver in unmodified form, each complete program including one or both of;

(i) advertising-free content such that at least some of said advertising-free content can be replaced with stored substitution content that includes advertising, and

(ii) content that includes advertising such that at least some of the included advertising can be replaced by with stored substitution content that does not include advertising,

such that when the receiver is not able to replace a portion of the program content with a portion of the substitution content, the receiver can play back the program content that is part of the transmission without any replacing.

11. The receiver as recited in claim 10 wherein the different portion of substitution content includes advertising related to advertising included in the specified portion of substitution content.

12. The receiver as recited in claim 10,

wherein the receiver is a first receiver in a set that includes a second receiver,

wherein the receiver commands in the transmission include:

at least one receiver command that indicates how the first receiver is to carry out replacing, and

at least one receiver command that indicates how the second receiver is to carry out replacing,

such that the first receiver can play back substitution content that differs from substitution content played back by the second receiver when the first and second receivers are simultaneously tuned to be receiving a particular program,

wherein the first receiver operates at a first tier, and the second receiver operates at a second tier lower than the first tier, and

the receiver commands in the transmission include at least one receiver command related to the tier of service, such that the replacing in response to said at least one receiver command related to the tier of service differs according to the tier of service, such that the output of the first receiver includes less advertising than the output of the second receiver.

13. The receiver as recited in claim 10,

wherein the receiver is a first receiver in a set that includes a second receiver,

wherein the receiver commands in the transmission include:

at least one receiver command that indicates how the first receiver is to carry out replacing, and

at least one receiver command that indicates how the second receiver is to carry out replacing,

such that the first receiver can play back substitution content that differs from substitution content played back by the second receiver when the first and second receivers are simultaneously tuned to be receiving a particular program, and

wherein the at least one receiver command for the first and second receivers that respectively indicate how each of the first and second receivers is to carry out replacing includes at least one receiver command that indicates how each of the first and second receivers, respectively, is to carry out replacing in a manner related to one or more respective characteristics of the first and second receiver, respectively, the one or more respective characteristics including one or more items of respective demographic information related to the first and second receiver, respectively,

such that the type of, amount of, or both type of and amount of substitution content in the output of the respective receiver can be targeted to the first and second receivers, respectively, according to one or more of the items of respective demographic information about the first and second receiver, respectively.

14. The receiver as recited in claim 13, further comprising

a transmitter to transmit information via a reverse channel;

wherein at least some of the receiver commands are based on demographic information about the receiver and depend at least in part on information transmitted by the receiver over the reverse channel.

15. The receiver as recited in claim 10, wherein at least a portion of one or both of the substitution content and the receiver commands is encoded with an erasure-correcting code to protect data included therein.

16. The receiver as recited in claim 15,

wherein the data protected by the erasure-correcting code is transmitted in segments, at least one of said segments being transmitted at two or more points in time with one or more respective time separations between the two or more transmissions.

17. The receiver as recited in claim 16,

wherein at least some of the one or more respective time separations between the two or more points in time are at least partially randomized.

18. The receiver as recited in claim 10, wherein at least a portion of said substitution content comprises demographically targeted advertising.