JP2006080849A - Audience rating automatic collection system and method of automatically collecting its audience rating - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an audience rating automatic collection system and a method of automatically collecting its audience rating which can easily obtain the audience rating of a TV, etc. in movement by a simple additional device, and which can simplify its constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The audience rating automatic collection system stores the TV viewing and listening data of a mobile terminal 10 with the TV in a server 21 for the audience rating of its mobile terminal network 20, totals the TV viewing and listening data stored in each mobile terminal network 20 in the audience rating totaling center 30, calculates the each TV audience rating data, and distributes it to each user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an audience rating automatic collection system and an audience rating automatic collection method, and more particularly to an audience rating automatic collection system and an audience rating automatic collection method for collecting audience ratings of mobile devices using mobile terminals.

  Currently, there are two types of television (TV) audience rating surveys: a questionnaire method that statistically analyzes information such as requests, applications, and opinions, and an online method that uses a viewing program collector, but the online method is faster and more accurate. This online method is often implemented. The online system is performed by VIDEO RESEARCH (Video Research) Co., Ltd., a specialized company, using a dedicated viewing program collector. In other words, the TV receiver of the household requested as a program monitor is attached to the viewing program collector or its transceiver. The viewing data of this viewing program collector is sent to a viewing data totaling center using a telephone line, and audience rating data is calculated there. This audience rating data is provided to broadcasting stations, newspaper companies and publishers.

  When this viewing program collector is used, it is necessary to install a viewing program collector and its transmitter / receiver. Installation and adjustment are costly and time consuming, and handling is also difficult. Therefore, an audience rating automatic collection system using a PHS (personal handy-phone system) system has been proposed.

  As this TV audience rating automatic collection system (conventional example 1), there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between each household, the network, and the data aggregation center. In this system, a TV remote controller 106 incorporating a PHS data transmission / reception system is lent to each individual in each household 101, each remote controller records an operation history in a built-in RAM, and the PHS system stores the history data in a predetermined cycle. The mail is sent to the data aggregation center 30a. The center 30a accesses a mailbox for a certain period or arbitrary time and analyzes data to obtain a household audience rating and an individual audience rating.

  In FIG. 5, households 101 a to 101 n each having TVs 107 a to 107 n are included in a PIAFS (PHS: Internet Access Forum Standard) compatible network 102. The PIAFS compatible network 102 is connected to the data totaling center 30 a via the Internet 103. Then, remote commanders 106a to 106n are lent to the households 101a to 101n from the data aggregation center 30a side, and the households 101a to 101n use them to control the home TVs 107a to 107n. Note that the TV control codes of the remote commanders 106a to 106n are preset to those corresponding to the TVs 107a to 107n of the households 101a to 101n in advance.

  Here, the remote commanders 106a to 106n are the same as the usual TV remote commanders, but are provided with an antenna applied to a PHS telephone. The relationship between each of the remote commanders 106a to 106n and the PIAFS compatible network 102 will be described. Base stations 105a to 105n in the figure have households 101a to 101n in the service area. A mail server 110 is installed on a network unique to PIAFS that supervises these base stations 105a to 105n, and a mail box 111 of the data aggregation center 30a is registered in advance in the mail server 110. The mailbox 111 can be accessed from the data aggregation center 30a via the Internet 103, and the data aggregation center 30a can retrieve the data stored in the mailbox 111 at an arbitrary timing by the access. It has become.

  When the remote commanders 106a-n perform a power-on operation on the TVs 107a-n, the LEDs are activated, and modulated infrared rays corresponding to the operations are emitted to the TVs 107a-n to turn on the TVs 107a-n. At the same time, the measurement time of the timer at that time is read, and the operation type code and time data for the power-on operation are written in a memory such as a RAM.

  When a channel selection operation is performed on the remote commanders 106a to 106n after the TVs 107a to n are turned on, the remote controller control unit activates the LED by the driver. Then, modulated infrared rays corresponding to the operation are emitted to the TVs 107a to n, and the channels of the TVs 107a to n are set to the selected channels. At this time, the operation type code of the channel operation, the measurement time data of the timer at that time, and the channel data are written into the memory. If the power is turned off, the power of the TV is turned off, and the operation type code of the power off operation and its time data are written in the memory. In this way, data representing operation history in time series is recorded and stored in the memory.

  On the other hand, the remote commanders 106a to 106n periodically operate every predetermined time: ΔT (for example, 15 minutes). That is, at every predetermined time ΔT, the PHS system is automatically started to check whether data is being written to the memory, and if not being written, the terminal ID and the data stored / stored in the memory at that time Is sent to the mail box 111 on the network. If the data is being written to the memory, the terminal ID and all the data after the writing are transmitted to the mail box 111 in the same manner as described above after waiting for completion of the writing. Then, the memory data that has already been transmitted is cleared, and the history of subsequent operations is recorded and stored again. Therefore, the operation history data of each household is sequentially accumulated in the mail box 111 on the network by the above-described operation in the remote commanders 106a-n of each household 101a-n.

  On the other hand, the data collection center 30a side performs a data collection operation every time a predetermined time: ΔT (for example, 30 minutes) elapses. That is, every predetermined time ΔT, the mail box 111 on the network is accessed via the Internet 103, and all the data stored in the mail box 111 is downloaded to the database server of the data totaling center 30a and stored.

  As a result, the data aggregation center 30a records TV operation history data of each household 101a to 101n serving as a monitor, but since the terminal ID is associated with each household 101a to 101n, If TV operation history data related to the same terminal ID data is arranged in time series, the TV audience rating for each household can be obtained (for example, see Patent Document 1).

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, from the operation history data, the channel at the time of the previous power-off from 9:12:33 to 9:20:55 is 9:20:55 to 9:23:09. 6 channels until 9 seconds, 10 channels from 9:23:09 to 10:03:44, 1 channel from 10:03:44 to 11:57:15, and 18:00 From 30 minutes 49 seconds to 19 hours 45 minutes 26 seconds, it is possible to obtain household audience rating data indicating that 8 channels have been viewed.
As another conventional example 2, Patent Document 2 discloses a system in which a TV remote control function is incorporated in a mobile phone. In this system, a program history (viewed programs, time, etc.) of TV program selection performed by a user is stored in a storage medium built in the TV remote controller. The accumulated TV viewing data is transmitted to the audience rating server via the Internet of the mobile phone and accumulated. The audience rating data aggregation center can obtain the audience data stored in the audience rating server by connecting to the audience rating server via the Internet. Therefore, the data totaling center can calculate each TV program viewing rate from the TV program viewing data.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-077436 JP 2002-135810 A

  However, in this prior art 1, it is necessary to lend a remote commander for watching TV to each household, and there is a problem that the system configuration becomes complicated. Furthermore, there is a problem that viewers of moving TVs such as car navigation TVs and portable TVs cannot be covered.

  In the related art 2, audience rating data can be obtained using a mobile terminal. However, in this case as well, since the TV remote commander is attached to the mobile terminal, the mobile terminal with the remote commander is not used. There is a problem that data cannot be obtained and viewers of moving TVs such as car navigation TVs and portable TVs cannot be covered.

  The main object of the present invention is to automatically check the viewing rate of a TV or the like that is moving in an automobile or the like with a simple additional device, and to simplify the configuration of the viewing rate automatic collection system and its viewing It is to provide a rate automatic collection method.

  In the configuration of the automatic audience rating collection system of the present invention, TV viewing data including a channel viewed on a mobile terminal with TV and its viewing time is transmitted from the mobile terminal with TV and stored in a viewing server of the mobile terminal network. Then, the TV viewing data stored in the audience rating server of each mobile terminal network is transmitted to the audience rating totaling center, and the TV viewing data received at the audience rating totaling center is totaled to calculate each TV rating data. It is characterized by.

  In the present invention, the TV-equipped mobile terminal can automatically read TV viewing data at predetermined intervals and send it to the viewing server, and the TV-equipped mobile terminal is added to the car navigation device (car navigation system). Or a mobile phone with a TV.

  According to the configuration of the automatic audience rating collection method of the present invention, TV viewing data including a channel viewed on a mobile terminal with TV and its viewing time is transmitted from the mobile terminal with TV and stored in a viewing server of the mobile terminal network. Then, the TV viewing data stored in the audience rating server of each mobile terminal network is transmitted to the audience rating totaling center, and the TV viewing data received at the audience rating totaling center is totaled to calculate each TV rating data. It is characterized by.

  The configuration of the viewing data server of the present invention comprises a storage means for receiving and storing TV viewing data including a channel viewed on each TV-equipped mobile terminal and its viewing time from each of the TV-equipped mobile terminals, and the storage means. Data distribution means for sending the aggregated TV viewing data to the audience rating aggregation center, and is provided in the mobile terminal network.

  The configuration of the mobile terminal with TV according to the present invention is characterized by comprising viewing data transmission means for transmitting TV viewing data including the viewed TV channel and the viewing time to a viewing server provided in the mobile terminal network. .

  In the present invention, the viewing data transmission means includes a storage unit that temporarily stores TV viewing data, and a viewing data transmission unit that reads the TV viewing data stored in the storage unit at predetermined intervals and transmits the data to the viewing server. And a switch setting means for switching the TV viewing data automatic transmission function between active and inactive, and the viewing data sending unit periodically checks the storage unit and watches the TV. If it is identified that there is no change of the viewing channel for a certain time or more when operating on the operation unit, the TV viewing data can be sent to the viewing server. The stored contents can be cleared.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to grasp a TV viewing situation while a mobile terminal or the like is moving. In addition, according to the present invention, since the device configuration is simple, the number of target subscribers (samples) can be easily increased. Therefore, the audience rating calculation accuracy can be improved, and further, the audience rating can be automated. There is also an effect that it is difficult to operate the rate illegally.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment is an automatic audience rating collection system for TV-equipped mobile terminals 10, 10 a to 10 e. That is, the mobile terminals with TV 10, 10a, 10b, and 10c to 10e are included in the mobile phone networks 20 and 20a, respectively, and TV viewing data is transmitted from the mobile terminals with TV 10, 10a to 10e, respectively. The mobile phone networks 20 and 20a are provided with viewing data servers 21 and 21a for collecting viewing data in addition to a normal mail server. TV viewing data from the mobile terminals 10 and 10a to 10e with TV, respectively. Receive.

  The TV viewing data from these viewing data servers 21 and 21a is sent to the audience rating data aggregation center 30 and aggregated to obtain audience rating data. The audience rating data obtained at the audience rating data aggregation center 30 is delivered to newspaper companies 41, publishers 42, and broadcast stations 43, which are users.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mobile terminal 10 with TV, the viewing data server 21 and the viewing rate data totaling center 30 of the present embodiment. In the figure, the mobile terminal 10 with TV includes an operation unit 13, a viewing data creation unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a delivery unit 16 in addition to the mobile terminal unit 11 and the TV unit 12. The operation unit 13 operates the portable terminal unit 11 and the TV unit 12, but the viewing data creation unit 14 sets the viewing channel and the viewing time corresponding to the switch operation of the operation unit 13 that views the TV unit 12. While temporarily storing in the memory | storage part 15, it is output toward the viewing-and-listening data server 21 from the delivery part 16. FIG.

  In this case, the viewing data is the same as that shown in FIG. Here, data when not watching TV is also output, but only channel data when watching TV may be delivered. In this case, a selected channel (viewing) between TV SW on and SW off may be stored in the storage unit 16.

  In consideration of turning on / off the TV SW, if there is no channel change for a certain time (for example, 3 hours), the storage unit 16 may be cleared every certain time (for 3 hours). . This is because it is not possible to view the same TV channel on a portable terminal for a long time in this way. Further, in order to confirm that the TV viewing is continued, when the memory 16 is checked periodically (for example, 10 minutes) in the mobile phone 10 and it is identified that the TV is being viewed, Viewing channel information can also be delivered from the delivery unit 17.

  Next, the output from the delivery unit 17 of the portable terminal 10 is input to the viewing data server 21 and stored in the storage unit 22. In this case, for example, data as shown in FIG. Viewing data from each of the mobile terminals 10, 10a to 10d is collected in the storage units 22 and 22a via the viewing data servers 21 and 21a, respectively, sent to the audience rating data aggregation center 30, and aggregated.

FIG. 3 shows viewing data input from the server 21 to the storage unit 22. The viewing data includes a subscriber identification number (contractor ID), a reception time, a reception channel, and an operation mode thereof (for example, a circle when moving). For example, the contractor ID 101 shows that the user has watched the channel C1 from 9:10 to 9:40 on the move, suspended for 10 minutes, and has seen the channel C1 from 9:50 to 10:10. . Also, the contractor ID 102 indicates that the channel C1 was viewed from 9:15 to 9:50 during the stop, the channel C2 was interrupted for 40 minutes, and the channel C2 was viewed from 10:30 to 11:01. .
The viewing data transmission information can be added with the type of viewing device (TV, car navigation system, portable TV, etc.), position information of the viewing device, and the like as necessary. This position information is used to confirm where the TV was viewed, and can be used in the case of a mobile phone with a built-in GPS, for example.

  Returning to FIG. 2, in the audience rating data aggregation center 30, the data from each of the audience data servers 21, 21 a received by the receiving unit 31 is collected by the calculation unit 32, and the viewing information is statistically aggregated, and the audience rating of each TV program Calculate The aggregated audience rating data is distributed from the transmission unit 33 to the distribution contractors 41 to 43.

  In this embodiment, since each storage unit 16 is processed periodically (for example, 10 minutes), real-time information (viewing rate data) can be distributed by adjusting the processing timing.

  In the automatic audience rating collection system of this embodiment, a circuit for delivering viewing data to the viewing data servers 21 and 21a is added to the TV-equipped mobile terminals 10, 10a to 10e. This additional circuit is the viewing data creation unit 14, the storage unit 15 and the delivery unit 16, but the storage unit 15 can also store the viewing channel and viewing time, and the amount of data is small, so that an extremely simple circuit can be used. I can do it. That is, there is no need for a dedicated device installed by Video Research, and there is no need to lend a dedicated remote control.

  With the configuration of the present embodiment, it is possible to grasp the TV viewing status while moving such as a mobile terminal with TV, and since the device configuration is simple, the number of target subscribers (samples) can be easily increased, Therefore, the audience rating calculation accuracy is improved, and further, the audience rating automation process makes it difficult to perform an illegal operation of the TV audience rating.

  Note that in order to employ the automatic audience rating collection system of the present embodiment, it is necessary to popularize a mobile terminal with a TV provided with an additional circuit as in the present embodiment. For this purpose, the mobile terminal with TV needs to be provided with a function of switching the automatic transmission function of viewing data between active / inactive. Then, for the subscriber who has accepted the provision of the viewing data, the automatic transmission function is set to active at the time of handing to the subscriber. Then, incentives such as point addition and discount may be given to subscribers who have agreed to provide viewing data.

  In that case, since the incentive is given to the cellular phone subscriber without imposing a cost burden, the number of subscribers can be increased, and the TV audience rating accuracy can be improved.

  In the case of giving incentives such as point addition and discount, the data from the audience rating data totaling center 30 may be checked from the mobile terminal 10 with TV via the Internet.

  Example 1 has the same configuration as the audience rating automatic collection system of the embodiment. First, as a premise for operating the functions of this embodiment, a service provider (assuming a mobile operator) of this embodiment makes a contract with a audience rating purchase customer (such as a broadcasting station or a newspaper company). When the provision of audience rating information is accepted, the information providing function (active / inactive switching) is set to active when the mobile phone contract is made, that is, when the mobile phone is handed over.

  In the case of the mobile phone 10 with a built-in TV, when the TV viewing status is periodically checked and it is identified that the TV is being viewed, the viewing information is sent to the viewing data totaling center 30. First, the channel desired to be viewed on the TV mobile phone 10 is set. Then, the viewing channel memory is read for each cycle by the viewing status scan cycle timer (10 minutes) in the mobile phone 10. The channel information is added with information on whether it is moving, TV type (mobile phone with TV, car navigation TV), position information, etc., and sent to the viewing data totaling center 30 in a fixed mail format.

  In the viewing data totaling center 30, information sent from an unspecified number of mobile phones is processed by a general audience rating totaling process and calculated. The audience rating of each program as a calculation result is distributed in real time to the contractor as appropriate in accordance with the contract status with the audience who purchased the audience rating.

  This embodiment is characterized in that the audience rating during movement is obtained for a mobile device such as a mobile terminal with a built-in TV. In addition, it is characterized in that the viewing state is confirmed periodically (for example, 10 minutes), and when there is no channel change for a certain time (for example, 3 hours), the storage unit 16 is cleared at every certain time. In addition, whether or not the user is moving, TV type (mobile terminal with TV, mobile car navigation with TV), position information of the mobile device, and the like are added to the TV viewing channel information, and the audience rating is set in a predetermined format. It can be sent to the data collection center. In addition, incentives such as points can be given to subscribers who have agreed to provide information in the present embodiment.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the portable terminal portion of the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a car navigation system 19 and 19a with a TV when a mobile phone is added to a car navigation system where a TV can be viewed. 1, the car navigation unit 17 and the display unit 18 are added to the car navigation systems 19 and 19a with a TV, and the display unit 18 can switch between the car navigation unit 17 and the TV unit 12 according to an instruction from the operation unit 13. It is like that. The car navigation unit 17 has a car navigation function that gives an instruction to the driver of the car by a normal map or voice instruction. The car navigation unit 17 displays the car navigation unit when the car navigation unit 17 is operated, and displays the image receiving channel of the TV unit 12 when viewing the TV. To do. The functions and operations of the present embodiment other than the car navigation unit 17 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the mobile phone is built in the car navigation system. When the viewing status is periodically checked and the TV is identified as being viewed, the operation of sending the viewing channel information to the viewing data totaling center 30 is also performed. Same as 1.

  The present invention can be applied to a mobile terminal with a TV, a mobile phone, and a car navigation with a mobile phone / TV, but can also be applied to a radio audience survey.

It is a block diagram of an audience rating automatic collection system explaining a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a detailed block diagram of the part of the portable terminal of FIG. It is a figure explaining the data structure of the portable terminal 11 of FIG. It is a block diagram of the portable terminal part explaining the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a conventional audience rating automatic collection system. It is a figure explaining the data structure of the portable terminal of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10, 10a to 10e Mobile terminal with TV 11, 11a Mobile terminal 12, 12a TV unit 13 Operation unit 14 Data generation unit 15 Storage unit 16 Delivery unit 17 Car navigation unit 18 Display unit 20, 20a Mobile phone network 21, 21a Viewing data server 22, 22a Storage unit 30, 30a Data aggregation center 31 Receiving unit 32 Computing unit 33 Transmitting unit 101a to 101n Household 102 PHS network 103 Internet 105a to 105n PHS base station 106a to 106n Remote commander 107a to 107n TV
110 Mail server 111 Mail box (storage device)

Claims (15)

The TV viewing data including the channel viewed on the mobile terminal with TV and the viewing time is transmitted from the mobile terminal with TV, stored in the viewing server of the mobile terminal network, and stored in the viewing rate server of each mobile terminal network. An automatic audience rating collection system for transmitting stored TV viewing data to an audience rating totaling center and calculating the TV audience rating data by totaling the TV viewing data received at the audience rating totaling center. 2. The automatic audience rating collection system according to claim 1, wherein the mobile terminal with TV automatically reads TV viewing data at predetermined intervals and sends the data to a viewing server. The audience rating automatic collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the portable terminal with TV is added to a car navigation device (car navigation system). The audience rating automatic collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the portable terminal with TV is a portable telephone with TV. TV viewing data including the channel viewed on the mobile terminal with TV and the viewing time thereof are transmitted from the mobile terminal with TV, stored in the viewing server of the mobile terminal network, and stored in the viewing server of each mobile terminal network An audience rating automatic collection method, comprising: transmitting the TV viewing data to an audience rating totaling center, and calculating each TV audience rating data by totaling each TV audience rating data received at the audience rating totaling center. 6. The audience rating automatic collection method according to claim 5, wherein the TV-equipped mobile terminal automatically reads out the TV viewing data at predetermined intervals and sends it to the viewing server. The audience rating automatic collection method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the mobile terminal with a TV is provided in a car navigation system. Storage means for receiving and storing TV viewing data including a channel viewed on each TV-equipped mobile terminal and its viewing time from each of the mobile terminals with TV, and the TV viewing data aggregated in the storage means to the audience rating totaling center A viewing data server comprising a data delivery means for sending out and provided in the mobile terminal network. 9. The viewing data server according to claim 8, wherein the TV viewing data is automatically input from a mobile terminal with a TV every predetermined period. A portable terminal with TV, comprising: viewing data transmission means for transmitting TV viewing data including a viewed TV channel and the viewing time to a viewing server provided in the portable terminal network. 11. The viewing data transmitting means includes a storage unit that temporarily stores TV viewing data, and a viewing data transmission unit that reads out TV viewing data stored in the storage unit at predetermined intervals and transmits the data to a viewing server. Mobile terminal with TV. The mobile terminal with a TV according to claim 10, further comprising switching setting means for switching an automatic transmission function of TV viewing data to active / inactive. 12. The portable terminal with a TV according to claim 11, wherein the viewing data transmission unit has a function of periodically checking the storage unit and transmitting TV viewing data to the viewing server when it is identified that the TV is being viewed. The portable terminal with TV according to claim 11, wherein the content stored in the storage unit is cleared when there is no change in the viewing channel for a certain period of time when operating with the operation unit. A mobile terminal with TV, wherein the mobile terminal with TV according to claim 10 is a mobile phone or a car navigation device.

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