Internet-based electronic program guide advertisement insertion method and apparatus

• US 20020026638A1
• Filed: 12/21/2000
• Published: 02/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prime Research Alliance E, LLC
• Inventors: Mehling, Kyle, Eldering, Charles A.
• Application Number:
  US09/742,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20020026638A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/93 which locates resources of other pieces of information, e.g. URL [Uniform Resource Locator]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/72 using electronic programme guides [EPG] focusing on identifying broadcast space time H04H60/39 ; menu type display of EPG in television receivers H04N21/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• 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 21/26233 involving content or additional data duration or size, e.g. length of a movie, size of an executable file
• 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 21/2668 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 21/4532 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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 21/84 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 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17363 : at or near the user terminal

Abstract

The invention is a method and apparatus for delivering targeted Internet-based advertising for insertion into advertisement portions of an electronic program guide display for television.

Claims

1. A method of providing advertising in an electronic program guide for television, said method comprising the steps of:

delivering an electronic program guide to an addressable unit using a first communication channel;

delivering at least one advertisement to said addressable unit in a second communication channel, said at least one advertisement being comprised of an Internet accessible file; and

inserting said advertisement into said electronic program guide.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said first and second channels are different channels of a single transport stream.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said first channel and said second channel comprise first and second transport streams, respectively.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said first transport stream is one of analog cable, digital cable, digital broadcast satellite and switched digital video.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said second transport system comprises the Internet.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said Internet file comprises an HTML file including one or more of a streaming video file, a streaming audio file, a Java file, a FLASH file, and a Javascript file associated therewith.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said advertisement delivery step comprises the steps of:

storing said at least one advertisement on a network comprising said second channel at a node remote from said addressable unit; and

retrieving, at said addressable unit, said at least one advertisement from said remote node responsive to determination of an advertisement insertion opportunity.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said advertisement delivery step comprises the steps of:

delivering said at least one advertisement to said addressable unit at a time prior to determination of an opportunity to insert said advertisement into said electronic program guide; and

storing said advertisement in a memory local to said addressable unit for later retrieval responsive to determination of an advertisement insertion opportunity.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said insertion step further comprises retrieving said at least one advertisement from said local memory.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said advertisement inserting step comprises the steps of:

determining if the electronic program guide is being viewed;

if said electronic program guide is being viewed, inserting said at least on advertisement into said electronic program guide.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one advertisement comprises a plurality of advertisements, said method further comprising the steps of:

creating a schedule for displaying said advertisements in said electronic program guide; and

wherein said inserting step comprises inserting said advertisements in accordance with said schedule.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of creating a schedule comprises storing a queue in a memory, said queue comprising an ordered list of advertisement resource locators (ARLs), each of said ARLs comprising data disclosing a location of a corresponding advertisement.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said queue is stored locally at said subscriber node.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of:

delivering to said subscriber node instructions dictating how to schedule said advertisements for display in said electronic program guide; and

wherein said step of creating said schedule comprises executing said instructions.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said ARLs comprise URLs on the World Wide Web.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein said electronic program guide includes a plurality of spaces dedicated to insertion of advertisements and wherein said inserting step comprises inserting an advertisement in each of said spaces.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein said schedule defines an expiration event for each advertisement and wherein said method further comprises the steps of:

detecting said expiration event for any advertisement that is being displayed in said electronic program guide;

removing a presently displayed advertisements upon detection of said expiration event corresponding to said advertisement;

upon removal of any advertisement from said electronic program guide, consulting said schedule to determine a next advertisement to be inserted in said electronic program guide; and

inserting said next advertisement in said electronic program guide in place of said removed advertisement.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein said electronic program guide comprises an HTML file.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising a processing circuit for processing said HTML files to generate displays corresponding thereto that can be inserted into said electronic program guide.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said first and second channels are different channels of the same transport mechanism.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said first and second channels comprise different transport mechanisms.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said first transport mechanism is one of analog cable, digital cable, digital broadcast satellite and switched digital video.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said second transport mechanism comprises one or more of a DOCSIS modem, a telephone network and the Internet.

25. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said Internet based file comprises an HTML file including one or both of a streaming video file, a streaming audio file, a Java file, a FLASH file, and a Javascript file associated therewith.

26. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:

means for retrieving said advertisements from a remote location coupled to said apparatus via said second transport mechanism responsive to determination of an advertisement insertion opportunity in said electronic program guide.

27. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:

means for retrieving said advertisements at a time prior to determination of an opportunity to insert said advertisement into said electronic program guide; and

a memory for storing said advertisements for later retrieval responsive to determination of an advertisement insertion opportunity in said electronic program guide.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said advertisement insertion circuit comprises means for retrieving said advertisements from said memory.

29. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:

a circuit for determining if said electronic program guide is being viewed; and

wherein said advertisement insertion circuit inserts said advertisements into said electronic program guide only if said circuit for determining determines that said electronic program guide is being viewed.

30. The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising:

a circuit for creating a schedule for displaying said advertisements in said electronic program guide; and

wherein said advertisement insertion circuit inserts said advertisements into said electronic program guide in accordance with said schedule.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said circuit for creating a schedule creates a queue in a memory, said queue comprising an ordered list of advertisement resource locators (ARLs), each of said ARLs comprising data disclosing a location of a corresponding advertisement.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 further comprising:

a receiver for receiving instructions dictating how to order said ARLs in said queue; and

wherein said circuit for creating said schedule does so in accordance with said instructions.

33. The apparatus of claim 32 wherein said ARLs comprise URLs on the World Wide Web.

34. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said schedule defines an expiration event for each advertisement and wherein said advertisement insertion circuit further comprises:

means for detecting said expiration event for any advertisement that has been displayed in said electronic program guide;

means for removing said displayed advertisement upon detection of said corresponding expiration event; and

means for consulting said schedule upon removal of any advertisement from said electronic program guide to determine a next advertisement to be inserted in said electronic program guide and inserting said next advertisement in said electronic program guide in place of said removed advertisement.

19. An apparatus for providing advertising in an electronic program guide for television comprising:

a receiver for receiving an electronic program guide for television via a first communication channel;

a receiver for receiving advertisements via a second communication channel, said advertisements comprising Internet based files; and

an advertisement insertion circuit for inserting said advertisements into said electronic program guide.