Demand broadcast channels and channel programming based on user viewing history, profiling, and requests

• US 20040117816A1
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bennett, James D., Karaoguz, Jeyhan
• Granted Patent: US 7,958,525 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• 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 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• 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 21/25435 involving characteristics of content or additional data, e.g. video resolution or the amount of advertising
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26266 for determining content or additional data repetition rate, e.g. of a file in a DVB carousel according to its importance arrangements for broadcast or for distribution of identical information repeatedly in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for scheduling media for consumption via a demand broadcast channel based upon notifications received during user consumption of media. An embodiment of the present invention may employ notifications generated when users select media for consumption, to calculate one or more statistics. The statistics may be calculated and used by a media provider to schedule media into a demand broadcast channel in which the frequency of repetition or time of availability of the media is set according to a ranking of the relative frequency of requests for the media. The statistics may also be shared with a third party, to enable a third party media provider to arrange the scheduling of media availability according to the relative frequency of requests for the media.

Claims

1. A method supporting communication of activity information to enable media programming, the method comprising:

receiving, via a communication network, at least one notification of a user request for consumption of media, each of the at least one notification comprising information related to the request;

calculating at least one statistic, using the information related to the request;

identifying media using the at least one statistic;

scheduling the identified media according to the at least one statistic, for consumption via the communication network; and

updating a user interface with the scheduled identified media.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information comprises at least one of an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an electronic serial number (ESN), a title, a subject, a time period, a genre, an artist, a media channel type, a mode, a language, and a user identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication network comprises at least one of a cable infrastructure, a satellite network infrastructure, a digital subscriber line (DSL) infrastructure, an Internet infrastructure, an intranet infrastructure, a wired infrastructure, and a wireless infrastructure.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the communication network is the Internet.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the media comprises at least one of audio, a still image, video, real time video, and data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein consumption comprises at least one of playing audio, displaying a still image, displaying video, and displaying data.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the calculating, identifying, scheduling, and updating is performed on a periodic basis.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one statistic is a ranking of the relative frequency of consumption of media.

9. A method supporting communication of activity information to enable media programming, the method comprising:

receiving, via a communication network, at least one notification of a user request for consumption of media, each of the at least one notification comprising information related to the request;

calculating at least one statistic, using the information related to the request;

identifying media using the at least one statistic; and

communicating at least one of the identified media and the at least one statistic to a provider of the media, via the communication network.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the information related to the request comprises at least one of an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, an electronic serial number (ESN), a title, a subject, a time period, a genre, an artist, a media channel type, a mode, a language, and a user identifier.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the communication network comprises at least one of a cable infrastructure, a satellite network infrastructure, a digital subscriber line (DSL) infrastructure, an Internet infrastructure, an intranet infrastructure, a wired infrastructure, and a wireless infrastructure.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the communication network is the Internet.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the media comprises at least one of audio, a still image, video, real time video, and data.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein consumption comprises at least one of playing audio, displaying a still image, displaying video, and displaying data.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein at least one of the calculating, identifying, and communicating is performed on a periodic basis.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least one statistic is a ranking of the relative frequency of consumption of media.

17. A system supporting communication of activity information to enable media programming, the system comprising:

a television display;

a storage for storing media, the storage having an associated network address;

a user interface accessible via the television display, the user interface supporting the selection of media for consumption;

set top box circuitry communicatively coupling the storage to a communication network to support consumption of the selected media; and

server software that receives, via the communication network, a notification comprising at least one of the associated network address and information related to the media selected for consumption, and responds by calculating at least one statistic.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the media comprises at least one of audio, a still image, video, real time video, and data.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein consumption comprises at least one of playing audio, displaying a still image, displaying video, and displaying data.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the associated network address is one of an Internet protocol (IP) address, a media access control (MAC) address, and an electronic serial number (ESN).

21. The system of claim 17 wherein the communication network comprises at least one of a cable infrastructure, a satellite network infrastructure, a digital subscriber line (DSL) infrastructure, an Internet infrastructure, an intranet infrastructure, a wired infrastructure, and a wireless infrastructure.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein the information related to media selected for consumption comprises at least one of a title, a subject, a time period, a genre, an artist, a media channel type, a mode, a language, and a user identifier.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein the at least one statistic is a ranking of the relative frequency of consumption of media.

24. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

server software that schedules the availability of media, based upon the at least one statistic.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the server software performs the scheduling of the availability of media on a periodic basis.

26. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

server software that shares, with a third party, the at least one statistic.