METHODS, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEMS TO COLLECT AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT DATA

• US 20120072940A1
• Filed: 09/21/2010
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Fuhrer, Brian Shane
• Granted Patent: US 8,677,385 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/66 for using the result on distributors' side
• 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 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44226 on social networks
• 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

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, and systems to collect audience measurement data are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes collecting first program identification data and audience identification data during a first time period, the audience identification data being collected by prompting audience members in the monitored household to self-identify using a people meter, developing audience member behavior data based on the first program identification data and the audience identification data collected in the first time period, collecting second program identification data in a second time period after the first time period without collecting audience identification data, and identifying the audience members associated with the second program identification data based on the audience member behavior data.

Claims

13. A system to collect audience measurement data comprising:

a set of active audience metering systems, each of the active audience metering systems located in a respective panelist household and including a respective meter to collect program identification data and a respective people meter; and

a set of legacy audience metering systems, each of the legacy audience metering systems formerly an active audience metering system and each of the legacy audience metering systems located in a respective panelist household and including a respective meter to collect program identification data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein each of the legacy audience metering systems at least one of (a) includes a deactivated people meter or (b) has no people meter.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein audience member behavior data collected when the legacy audience metering systems were active audience metering systems is used to identify audience members associated with program identification data collected by the legacy audience metering systems.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein each legacy audience metering system was an active audience metering system for a first time period before becoming a legacy audience metering system.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first time period is at least one year.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the program identification data collected by the active audience metering systems is used for a first purpose, and the program identification data collected by the legacy audience metering systems is used for a second purpose different from the first purpose.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first purpose is to generate first viewership statistics and the second purpose is to adjust the first viewership statistics.

20. The system of claim 13, further comprising a collection server to collect active data from the active audience metering systems and legacy data from the legacy audience metering systems.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the collection server is to adjust the legacy data based on the active data, and to combine the adjusted legacy data and the active data to generate viewership statistics.

22. An apparatus to collect audience measurement data comprising:

a people meter interface to collect audience identification data during a first time period, the audience identification data being collected by prompting audience members in a monitored household to self-identify using a people meter communicatively coupled to the people meter interface;

a programming measurement circuitry to collect first program identification data during the first time period and second program identification data during a second time period after the first time period; and

a behavior processor to;

develop audience member behavior data based on the first program identification data and the audience identification data collected in the first time period; and

identify the audience members associated with the second program identification data based on the audience member behavior data.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein collecting the second program identification data comprises not collecting the audience identification data by not prompting the audience members to self-identify.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising a communication interface to collect Internet usage data during the second time period without collecting audience identification data.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the behavior processor is to identify the audience members associated with the Internet usage data based on the audience member behavior data.

27. A machine-accessible medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to:

collect first program identification data and audience identification data during a first time period, the audience identification data being collected by prompting audience members in the monitored household to self-identify using a people meter;

develop audience member behavior data based on the first program identification data and the audience identification data collected in the first time period;

collect second program identification data in a second time period after the first time period without collecting audience identification data; and

identify the audience members associated with the second program identification data based on the audience member behavior data.

1. A method of collecting audience measurement data in a monitored household, the method comprising:

collecting first program identification data and audience identification data during a first time period, the audience identification data being collected by prompting audience members in the monitored household to self-identify using a people meter;

developing audience member behavior data based on the first program identification data and the audience identification data collected in the first time period;

collecting second program identification data in a second time period after the first time period without collecting audience identification data; and

identifying the audience members associated with the second program identification data based on the audience member behavior data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the people meter from the monitored household after the first time period.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising deactivating the people meter after the first time period.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the second program identification data without collecting the audience identification data comprises not prompting the audience members to self-identify.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time period is more than one year and the second time period is more than one year.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the audience member behavior data includes at least one of times of day, days of week, or programs typically watched by individual ones of the audience members.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the audience members associated with the second program identification data further comprises obtaining demographic data for the identified audience members and associating the demographic data with the program identification data to generate audience composition data.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second time period extends a time for which the monitored household remains in a panel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the second time period extends a panelist term for the monitored household by eliminating button pushing fatigue.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first program identification data is collected via a base metering device and the second program identification data is collected via a mailable meter or a portable meter.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first program identification data is collected via a base metering device and the second program identification data is received from a service provider associated with the second program identification data.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

collecting Internet usage data during the second time period without collecting audience identification data; and

identifying the audience members associated with the Internet usage data based on the audience member behavior data.

28. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to deactivate the people meter after the first time period.

29. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to identify the audience members associated with the second program identification data further by obtaining demographic data for the identified audience members and associating the demographic data with the program identification data to generate audience composition data.

30. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to extend a time for which the monitored household remains in a panel.

31. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to extend a panelist term for the monitored household by eliminating button pushing fatigue.

32. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to:

collect Internet usage data during the second time period without collecting audience identification data; and

identify the audience members associated with the Internet usage data based on the audience member behavior data.

28-1. A machine-accessible medium as defined in claim 27, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to collect the second program identification data without collecting the audience identification data by not prompting the audience members to self-identify.

33. A method of collecting audience measurement data in a monitored household, the method comprising:

collecting first program identification data and audience identification data during a first time period, the audience identification data being collected by prompting audience members in the monitored household to self-identify while the audience members are consuming first media provided by a first type of media system;

developing audience member behavior data based on the first program identification data and the audience identification data collected in the first time period;

collecting second program identification data during a second time period after the first time period without collecting audience identification data while the audience members are consuming second media provided by a second type of media system different from the first type of media system; and

identifying the audience members associated with the second program identification data based on the audience member behavior data.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first type of media system is a television and the second type of media system is at least one of a computer, a cell phone, a smartphone, a laptop, or a netpad.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the first media is a television program and the second media is website content.