Grouping advertisement subavails

• US 9,124,949 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2014
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E., Inc.
• Inventors: Eldering, Charles A., Flickinger, Gregory C., Blasko, John P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Kieu Oanh T
• Application Number:
  US14/218,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20140201788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 532 Days
• Field of Search: 725 32- 36
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• 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 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• 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 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Method and system for creating one or more advertising avail sections (subavails) and thereupon aggregating the subavails to form one or more groups of subavails. The advertisement opportunities (avails) may be divided into sections (subavails) with each section being directed at a particular target audience (group). The subavails are then aggregated into one or more groups of subavails so that the groups of subavails can be sold to the advertisers. The grouping of subavails is generally based on a correlation wherein the subavails are characterized based on one or more characteristics. The groups of subavails are formed based on one or more shared characteristics. The advertiser has an option to buy a group of subavails (rather than an avail in prior art), whereby the advertiser may reach a targeted group of an audience.

Claims

1. A method for managing advertisement opportunities in a network environment, the method comprising:

retrieving advertisement parameters supplied by an advertiser;

dividing a program stream into a plurality of program sub-streams;

dividing avails that are positioned within the program stream into a plurality of sub-avails that each correspond to one or more program sub-streams;

retrieving subscriber characteristics related to viewers of the at least one program sub-stream; and

correlating the advertisement parameters with the subscriber characteristics to determine which sub-avail is the optimum sub-avail to schedule a particular advertisement to display.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selling the one or more sub-avails to one or more prospective advertisers.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving one or more bids for one or more sub-avails; and

selling the one or more sub-avails to the highest bidder.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

grouping one or more sub-avails by the advertisement parameters; and

correlating the subscriber characteristics to the groups of sub-avails.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining pricing for the groups of sub-avails based on the correlation.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

selling the groups of sub-avails based on the determined pricing.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting the correlation results to one or more prospective advertisers;

receiving one or more bids for each group of sub-avails; and

selling the group of sub-avails to the highest bidder.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the sub-avails are grouped by combining the plurality of sub-avails across different program sub-streams.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the sub-avails are grouped by combining a plurality of time-sequenced sub-avails.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the sub-avails are gathered from the same programming stream.

11. A method for managing advertisement opportunities in a network environment, the method comprising:

retrieving advertisement parameters supplied by an advertiser and stored at the head-end;

dividing a program stream into a plurality of program sub-streams, at the head-end;

dividing avails that are positioned within the program stream into a plurality of sub-avails that each correspond to one or more program sub-streams, at the head-end;

retrieving subscriber characteristics related to viewers of the at least one program sub-stream stored at the head-end; and

correlating the advertisement parameters with the subscriber characteristics to determine which sub-avail is the optimum sub-avail to schedule a particular advertisement to display.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

selling the one or more sub-avails to one or more prospective advertisers.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving one or more bids for one or more sub-avails; and

selling the one or more sub-avails to the highest bidder.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

grouping one or more sub-avails by the advertisement parameters; and

correlating the subscriber characteristics to the groups of sub-avails.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining pricing for the groups of sub-avails based on the correlation.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

selling the groups of sub-avails based on the determined pricing.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

transmitting the correlation results to one or more prospective advertisers;

receiving one or more bids for each group of sub-avails; and

selling the group of sub-avails to the highest bidder.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the sub-avails are grouped by combining the plurality of sub-avails across different program sub-streams.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the sub-avails are grouped by combining a plurality of time-sequenced sub-avails.

20. In a television network environment, the television network environment being a cable-based system, a satellite-based system or a switched digital video system, an advertisement management system for managing avails, the system comprising:

a computer server for storing and communicating advertisement parameters supplied by an advertiser;

avail opportunities module for dividing a program stream into a plurality of program sub-streams and dividing avails that are positioned within the program stream into a plurality of sub-avails that each correspond to one or more program sub-streams

an avail recognition module for recognizing advertising opportunities; and

a subavail selection module for retrieving subscriber characteristics related to viewers of the at least one program sub-stream and correlating the advertisement parameters with the subscriber characteristics to determine which sub-avail is the optimum sub-avail to schedule a particular advertisement to display.