METHOD, SYSTEM AND PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR BROADCAST ADVERTISING AND OTHER BROADCAST CONTENT PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION UTILIZING DIGITAL ARTIFACTS

• US 20070220544A1
• Filed: 09/20/2006
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Forefront Assets Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Nash-Putnam, Jon
• Granted Patent: US 8,566,857 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/375 Commercial
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/39 for identifying broadcast space-time use of Electronic Programme Guides H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6583 Acknowledgement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A verification system that injects a inaudible identification code into a broadcast advertisement immediately prior to its radio frequency transmission is disclosed. An amplitude modulated sample sequence called a “digital artifact” containing, for example, a date and time code, is generated and inserted into the audio or video or composite audio and video data stream called a content “carrier.” The combined data signal is converted from a digital stream to an analog signal and processed by standard broadcast transmission and transmitted in the radio frequency spectrum in the conventional manner. A radio frequency spectrum radio or television receiver receives the broadcast signal and converts to a digital data stream. A decoder processes the transmitted content carrier and extracts the digital artifact from the data stream. The derived information is evaluated, quantified, and transmitted to a central control point where it is compared with original reference and identification data.

Claims

8. A method comprising:

receiving a broadcast data stream comprising an advertisement;

extracting a unique identifier from digital content contained within the advertisement;

storing the extracted unique identifier in an event log database;

comparing the extracted unique identifier with an authenticated unique identifier referenced in a transmission event log as associated with the advertisement; and

verifying broadcast of the advertisement if the extracted unique identifier and authenticated unique identifier match.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein extracting the unique identifier comprises:

demodulating the unique identifier from the data contained within the broadcast data stream.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

receiving the broadcast data stream from a radio frequency receiver.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

receiving the transmission event log from a transmitting broadcaster, wherein the transmission event log identifies the broadcast event sequence of the content within the broadcast data stream.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

identifying the first and last unique identifiers of a sequence of unique identifiers within the broadcast data stream having identical unique identifiers; and

determining the length of the broadcast data stream at least between the identified first and last identical unique identifiers.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

determining that the length indicates the advertisement corresponding to the unique identifier had been broadcast in the received broadcast data stream.

26. A program product comprising a machine-readable medium including program logic embedded therein for causing an apparatus to perform the steps of claim 8.

14-1. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

wherein the unique identifier includes broadcast identifying information, and wherein the broadcast identifying information is a specific time of broadcast transmission of the advertisement.

15. A system comprising:

a content control system configured to assign a unique identification code to broadcast data associated with an advertisement, and store the identification code in association with the broadcast data, wherein a production log identifies the sequence of broadcast performance for the advertisement and other broadcast content;

a broadcast production system configured to access a broadcast content database and insert broadcast data from the broadcast content database corresponding to an indicated unique identification code, in accordance with the production log, into a broadcast data stream;

a modulation system receiving at least a portion of the broadcast data from the broadcast production system and modulating the at least a portion of the broadcast data periodically with an unique identifier to create modulated broadcast data; and

a transmission system that transmits the broadcast data containing the modulated broadcast data when the unique identifier within the modulated broadcast data is determined to be associated with the unique identification code identified in the production log for the broadcast data.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a broadcast transmitter system that receives the broadcast data stream from the transmission system, converts the data stream into radio frequency signals and transmits the radio frequency signals over a communication medium.

17. A system comprising:

a broadcast system configured to perform;

retrieving an unique identification code for an advertisement scheduled to be broadcast as identified in an event log;

combining the unique identification code with broadcast identifying information to create a unique identifier;

generating a broadcast data stream by inserting the unique identifier within advertisement content for the advertisement, at the time of broadcast transmission.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

wherein the advertisement content comprises digital audio data, inserting the unique identifier into the digital audio data.

19. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

wherein the event log indicates a broadcast sequence for broadcasting advertisements and other broadcast content;

extracting the unique identifier within the digital audio data when queued for broadcast in accordance with an entry in the event log;

comparing the extracted unique identifier to the unique identification code specified in the entry within the event log;

releasing the digital audio data for broadcast within the broadcast data stream if the extracted unique identifier of the digital audio data is associated with the unique identification code specified in the entry within the event log.

20. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

revising the unique identifier within the digital audio data with the time of broadcast.

21. The system according to claim 17, further comprising a receiver system configured to perform:

receiving a broadcast data stream comprising an advertisement;

extracting a unique identifier from digital content contained within the advertisement;

storing the extracted unique identifier in an event log database;

comparing the extracted unique identifier with an authenticated unique identifier referenced in a transmission event log as associated with the advertisement; and

verifying broadcast of the advertisement if the extracted unique identifier and authenticated unique identifier match.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein extracting the unique identifier comprises:

demodulating the unique identifier from the data contained within the broadcast data stream.

23. The system according to claim 21, further comprising:

identifying the first and last unique identifiers of a sequence of unique identifiers within the broadcast data stream having identical unique identifiers; and

determining the length of the broadcast data stream at least between the identified first and last identical unique identifiers; and

determining that the length indicates the advertisement corresponding to the unique identifier had been broadcast in the received broadcast data stream.

24. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

a central storage database that stores an event sequence log extracted from the information contained within the transmitter event log.