Technique for providing programming content through a communications network having limited bandwidth

• US 20030217365A1
• Filed: 05/05/2003
• Published: 11/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Caputo, Nicholas D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,910,221 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/02 with bandwidth reduction H04N11/04 , H04N11/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 11/04 using pulse code modulation H04N11/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• 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 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/12 Systems in which the television signal is transmitted via one channel or a plurality of parallel channels, the bandwidth of each channel being less than the bandwidth of the television signal H04N7/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

In a cable television system, a specific carrier is assigned to deliver programming content of a program channel to a service area for a period, defined as a function of viewership of the program channel during that period. For example, the program channel is assigned the specific carrier during the time when it has a generally strong viewership. Otherwise, the program channel is assigned a carrier on an as needed basis, i.e., only when one or more subscribers in the service area request such a program channel. Viewing statistics are generated to identify viewership patterns or viewing habits of the subscribers in the service area with respect to a given program channel. In another embodiment, based on the viewing statistics, popular and unpopular programs, program elements, program lineups, program channels are identified on a temporal and/or regional basis.

Claims

1. Apparatus for controllably delivering programming content associated with a program source in response to requests from a plurality of terminals in a service area, the apparatus comprising:

an interface for receiving the requests;

a memory for storing data in the requests, statistics being generated based on the data; and

a processing element for identifying, based on the statistics, at least one period in which the program source is in a particular status, a selected carrier being assigned to deliver programming content associated with the program source to the service area for the identified period.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the program source includes a program channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the particular status concerns popularity of the program source in the identified period.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the popularity is a function of the number of terminals receiving the programming content in the identified period.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the number of terminals defines viewership of the programming content in the identified period.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the number of terminals receiving the programming content exceeds a threshold.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the service area.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with the program source.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with a second program source.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing programming content.

11. A system for delivering program materials associated with at least first and second program sources in response to requests from a plurality of terminals in a service area, the system comprising:

an interface for receiving the requests;

a processor for generating statistics based on data in the requests, a first period in which the first program source is in a certain status being determined based on the statistics, and a second period in which the second program source is in a certain status being determined based on the statistics, the first and second periods being non-overlapping; and

a mechanism for allocating a carrier to deliver program material associated with the first program source to the service area for the first period, and re-allocating the carrier to deliver program material associated with the second program source to the service area for the second period.

12. The system of claim 11 comprising a multichannel communications system.

13. The system of claim 11 comprising a cable TV system.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein at least one of the first and second program sources includes a program channel.

15. The system of claim 11 Wherein the certain status of the first program source concerns popularity thereof in the first period.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the popularity is a function of the number of terminals receiving the program material associated with the first program source in the first period.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the number of terminals defines viewership of the program material associated with the first program source in the first period.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the number of terminals exceeds a threshold.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the service area.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for receiving the program material associated with the first program source.

21. The system of claim 11 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing program material associated with a program source other than the first program source.

22. The system of claim 11 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing program material.

23. A communications system comprising:

a mechanism for providing a sequence of program elements associated with a program source to at least one service area according to a predetermined schedule;

an interface for receiving requests concerning the program source from a plurality of terminals in the at least one service area, statistics being generated based at least on times of the requests; and

a processor for determining a period in which the program source is in a particular status based on the statistics, a subset of the program elements provided in the period being identified based on the predetermined schedule.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the sequence of program elements are broadcast, and the predetermined schedule comprises a broadcast program schedule.

25. The system of claim 23 wherein the particular status is a function of the number of terminals receiving content of the program elements in the subset.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the number of terminals is compared with a threshold.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the at least one service area.

28. The system of claim 23 wherein the at least one service area includes a plurality of service areas comprising a geographic region.

29. The system of claim 23 wherein at least one of the program elements in the subset includes a commercial.

30. The system of claim 23 wherein the program source includes a program channel.

31. The system of claim 23 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with the program source.

32. The system of claim 23 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with a second program source.

33. The system of claim 23 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing programming content.

34. The system of claim 23 comprising a multichannel communications system.

35. The system of claim 23 comprising a cable TV system.

36. A method for controllably delivering programming content associated with a program source in response to requests from a plurality of terminals in a service area, the method comprising:

receiving the requests;

storing data in the requests;

generating statistics based on the data;

identifying, based on the statistics, at least one period in which the program source is in a particular status; and

assigning a selected carrier to deliver programming content associated with the program source to the service area for the identified period.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the program source includes a program channel.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the particular status concerns popularity of the program source in the identified period.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the popularity is a function of the number of terminals receiving the programming content in the identified period.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein the number of terminals defines viewership of the programming content in the identified period.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein the number of terminals receiving the programming content exceeds a threshold.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the service area.

43. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with the program source.

44. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with a second program source.

45. The method of claim 36 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing programming content.

46. A method for delivering program materials associated with at least first and second program sources in response to requests from a plurality of terminals in a service area, the method comprising:

receiving the requests;

generating statistics based on data in the requests;

determining, based on the statistics, a first period in which the first program source is in a certain status;

determining, based on the statistics, a second period in which the second program source is in a certain status, the first and second periods being non-overlapping; and

performing the following (a) and (b) one or more times;

(a) allocating a carrier to deliver program material associated with the first program source to the service area for the first period, and

(b) allocating the carrier to deliver program material associated with the second program source to the service area for the second period.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein at least one of the first and second program sources includes a program channel.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein the certain status of the first program source concerns popularity thereof in the first period.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein the popularity is a function of the number of terminals receiving the program material associated with the first program source in the first period.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the number of terminals defines viewership of the program material associated with the first program source in the first period.

51. The method of claim 49 wherein the number of terminals exceeds a threshold.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the service area.

53. The method of claim 46 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing the program material associated with the first program source.

54. The method of claim 46 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing program material associated with a program source other than the first program source.

55. The method of claim 46 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing program material.

56. A method for use in a communications system, comprising:

providing a sequence of program elements associated with a program source to at least one service area according to a predetermined schedule;

receiving requests concerning the program source from a plurality of terminals in the at least one service area;

generating statistics based at least on times of the requests;

determining, based on the statistics, a period in which the program source is in a particular status; and

identifying a subset of the program elements provided in the period based on the predetermined schedule.

57. The method of claim 56 wherein the sequence of program elements are broadcast, and the predetermined schedule comprises a broadcast program schedule.

58. The method of claim 56 wherein the particular status is a function of the number of terminals receiving content of the program elements in the subset.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein the number of terminals is compared with a threshold.

60. The method of claim 59 wherein the threshold varies with the total number of terminals in the at least one service area.

61. The method of claim 56 wherein the at least one service area includes a plurality of service areas comprising a geographic region.

62. The method of claim 56 wherein at least one of the program elements in the subset includes a commercial.

63. The method of claim 56 wherein the program source includes a program channel.

64. The method of claim 56 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with the program source.

65. The method of claim 56 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request for providing programming content associated with a second program source.

66. The method of claim 56 wherein at least one of the requests includes a request to stop providing programming content.