Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
  • G06Q30/0241—Advertisements
  • G06Q30/0251—Targeted advertisements
  • G06Q30/0264—Targeted advertisements based upon schedule

Definitions

• Content may be distributed to provide many types of information including news, entertainment, business, and finance. Some of this content provides information that may relate to products and services available to individuals who view the content.
• One form of content includes electronic content distributed over the Internet.
• Figure 3 illustrates an example of a content delivery system
• Figures 5 illustrates an example of a media device that facilitates serving content with reduced latency
• Figure 6 is a flowchart that illustrates an example method for serving content with reduced latency.
• individuals may operate media devices that receive content segments in response to activity occurring on the media devices.
• the content segments being served to the media devices may bear some relationship to the activity.
• a smart phone may include an Internet browser that allows an individual to browse Web sites.
• a Web site being accessed may display a video program for which the individual was specifically searching.
• the presentation of the video program on the Web page presents an opportunity for a content publisher to provide information in the form of a content segment about a company's products and services.
• the content publisher may be compensated by a company each time the company's product or services information is served on a Web page.
• the publisher may be further compensated if the individual viewing the Web page evidences some interest in the information by, for example, clicking on a link provided with the company's information.
• the publisher has an incentive to provide, on the Web page, information that is most likely to elicit a favorable response from the individual.
• the publisher also has an incentive to serve the information with a low latency.
• One content delivery system provides a primary content segment, such as a video, on a Web page with one or more spaces for serving secondary content segments, where the secondary content segments may relate to the primary content segment.
• a primary content segment such as a video
• the secondary content segments may relate to the primary content segment.
• a signal is sent to a server to provide secondary content segments for display in the spaces.
• the server is remote from the media device, some delay may occur between the time the individual accesses the Web page and the time the secondary content segments are served.
• the primary content segment may not be displayed until after at least some of the secondary content segments are displayed, which may annoy the individual.
• a low latency content delivery systems and related methods To improve serving secondary content segments in response to a display of a primary content segment, disclosed herein are a low latency content delivery systems and related methods.
• the low latency content delivery systems and methods are described herein with respect to delivery of content over the Internet. However, the systems and methods are not limited to content delivery over the Internet. Furthermore, the low latency content delivery systems and methods are described herein with emphasis on delivery of video as a primary content segment and video as a secondary content segment. However, the systems and method also are not limited to delivery of video content.
• the primary content segment may be a streaming video shown on a Web page of an Internet Web site
• the secondary content segment may be a video advertisement, commercial, or infomercial, or a static, display advertisement.
• the static advertisement may relate to the video advertisement.
• the primary content segment generally will be referred to a video program and the secondary content segment as a video advertisement.
• the video advertisement may bear some relationship to the primary content segment.
• the video advertisement may be served at the Web page when an individual requesting the primary content segment accesses the Web page.
• the video advertisements to be served on the Web page may be stored on a remote server, and may be selected for display on the Web page when the Web page is accessed by the individual. However, a number of the video advertisements also may be stored, temporarily, on a media device the individual uses to access the Web site.
• an application, or local advertisement (ad) server on the media device first determines if locally-stored video advertisements are available for display in an advertisement space on the Web page, and if so, displays a locally-stored video advertisement.
• the local ad server may determine if any of the locally stored video advertisements is suitable for display, meaning the video advertisements match some scheduling criteria established for the video program being displayed on the Web page.
• the local ad server if no locally stored video advertisement is available, or optionally suitable, the local ad server sends an advertisement request to a remote advertisement (ad) server to serve an advertisement. Even if no locally stored video advertisement matches any of the scheduling criteria, the local ad server may select one of the locally stored video advertisements for display in the first ad space of the video program. In another embodiment, the local ad server always sends an advertisement request to remote servers after or in parallel with displaying a locally stored video advertisement.
• ad remote advertisement
• the local ad server may identify one of the locally-stored video advertisements as for a pre-roll display but may request additional video advertisements from the remote ad server for the other two video advertisement spaces.
• the two requested video advertisements may replace existing locally- stored video advertisements.
• the local ad server also periodically replaces the locally stored video advertisements based on certain criteria. For example, the local ad server may replace the locally stored video advertisements on a weekly basis, when a history of video programs watched on the media device changes, and other criteria.
• the low latency content delivery system also may push video advertisements to the media device.
• the low latency content delivery system may determine a viewing profile for the media device and may place video advertisements on the media device that are suited to this viewing profile.
• video advertisements may change over time, and the system may replace existing locally-stored video advertisements with the changed video advertisements.
• the local ad server may monitor requests for display of the video programs.
• Each such video program may include one or more keywords or other criteria that the local server may use to determine if one or more of the locally-stored secondary content segments would be suitable for display with the video program.
• the local ad server also can provide the keywords to a remote content server, where the remote content server uses the keywords to select a number of video advertisements and static advertisements to serve to the media device.
• the local ad server then may display one of these recently received video or static advertisements at appropriate times during the display of the video program. Following display, the local ad server may delete the video and static advertisements.
• the local ad server may delete some or all remaining locally-stored video and static advertisements and pre-fetch new advertisements.
• the local ad server also may monitor a number of un-played video and static advertisements remaining in local storage, and fetch additional video advertisements to maintain a specified number of advertisements in local storage at the media device. For example, the local ad server may query a local store of the advertisements every five minutes, and fetch additional advertisements as appropriate.
• the servers 70 and 80 broadcast both primary content segments (e.g., the content, such as video programs, produced by the content supplier 30) and secondary content segments (e.g., video and static advertisements (ads)).
• the servers 70 and 80 also operate as ad servers.
• the ad servers 70 and 80 are operated by entities (not shown) that are independent of the publisher 40.
• dedicated ad servers serve the advertisements and other servers provide the video programs.
• the ad server 70 functions as a super server: when an ad request is sent from a media device, the request initially is received at the ad server 70.
• the ad server 70 forwards the ad request to the ad server 80.
• the environment 10 may include additional ad servers, and the ad server 70 may send the ad request to the additional ad servers, either in parallel with sending the request to the ad server 80, or in a serial manner.
• the promoter's products and services may be publicized over the network 50 by insertion of video advertisements during breaks in the video programs.
• the products and services also may be publicized by static advertisements.
• the static advertisements may be companion advertisements; i.e., the static advertisements relate to the video advertisements.
• the content supplier 30 generates the video programs to be broadcast or streamed by the publisher 40 over the network 50.
• the publisher 40 provides video programs and advertisements over the network 50 to be seen by the viewers 60.
• the functions of the publisher 40 and the content supplier 30 may be combined into a single entity.
• the network 50 may be any network over which the publisher 40 may provide, and viewers 60 may view or hear, programming and associated content segments.
• the network 50 may allow the transmission of signals, media, messages, voice, and data from the publisher 40 to the viewers 60, including radio, linear broadcast (over-the-air, cable, and satellite) television, on- demand channels, over-the-top media, including streaming video, movies, video clips, and games, and text, email, and still images, and transmission of signals, media, messages, voice, and data between the viewers 60 and the publisher 40.
• the network 50 may include the Internet, cellular systems, and other current and future mechanisms for transmission of these and other media.
• the network 50 may be both wired and wireless.
• the network 50 is a television programming network over which primary and secondary content segments may be broadcast over the air, over cable, by satellite, or by streaming.
• the viewers 60 may view or hear the programming and content on media devices 61 .
• the media devices 61 may be fixed or mobile.
• a media device 61 may be an Internet connected "smart" television (ITV); a "basic” or “smart” television connected to a set top box (STB) or other Internet-enabled device; a Blu-ray player; a game box; and a radio, for example.
• a media device 61 may be a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, or a desk top computer, for example.
• the media devices 61 may display video programs generated by the content supplier 30.
• the video programs may include slots or spaces into which content segments such as advertisements may be placed.
• the media device 61 may send an advertisement (ad) request, which is received at ad server 70 and 80, and which may be answered with an advertisement.
• the publishers 40 may contract with the promoters 20 to determine to which of many viewers 60 specific video and static advertisements should be provided. This determination may be based at least in part on information voluntarily provided by a viewer 60.
• a viewer 60 may register with the publisher 40 and may provide information such as a password and user ID.
• the publisher 40 may operate a satellite television broadcast network, and the viewer 60 may subscribe to programming broadcast over the satellite television broadcast network. Upon signing up for this subscription, the viewer 60 may select a password and user name.
• the viewer 60 also may provide personally-identifiable information such as name and address.
• the information may be "anonymized” or “partially anonymized.”
• partially anonymized information may include the IP address of a media device 61 or a user name provided by the viewer 60.
• Anonymized information is any information that sufficiently identifies the viewer 60 or media device 61 without compromising the viewer's privacy, such as a user pseudonym or other abstraction of the viewer's actual identity. Any personally-identifiable information that may be provided by the viewer 61 , either directly or indirectly, may be made anonymous.
• the anonymized information may include cookies, viewer/device identifiers, or other information about the viewer's identity.
• the publisher 40 then, with the consent of the viewer 60, and perhaps for a reduced subscription fee, may make some of this information available for the purposes of scheduling content segments and recording content segments watched.
• the registration may be a one-time registration or a recurring process.
• the systems and methods disclosed herein may provide for the viewer 60 to opt in or opt out of a specific aspect of the methods at any time.
• the viewer 60 may opt out of a method that collects information about which content segments were watched.
• a media device 61 may send, with the consent of the viewer 60 (e.g., via opt out, opt in, or anonymization), identification (ID) information to the publisher 40 that identifies the media device 61 and/or the viewer 60.
• ID identification
• One aspect of sending the information includes a media device 61 signing on with a service of the publisher 40. In some cases, the media device 61 may sign on automatically using previously provided and stored credentials or other automatic information.
• the data store 1 10 includes database 1 12, which houses data related to operation of the system 100, and program 200, which contains machine instructions that are loaded into memory 130 and executed by processor 120.
• the system 100 includes interface 140, which allows the system 100 to communicate with other computer systems.
• all or part of the system 100 is implemented at the publisher, as shown in Figure 1 .
• all or part of the system 100 is implemented on media devices 61. Implementation of the system 100 on a media device 61 will be described with respect to Figure 5.
• FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the content delivery program 200 as implemented at the publisher 40.
• the program 200 includes ad request engine 210, matching engine 220, ad server engine 230, and ad tracking engine 240.
• the ad request engine 210 generates ad requests to be sent to the ad servers 70 and 80.
• the ad request engine 210 receives inputs from matching engine 220.
• the matching engine 220 identifies advertisements that are suitable for display with a video program based on matching information related to the video program with corresponding information related to the advertisements. For example, a video program may have an associated identifier.
• the advertisements also may have an associated identifier.
• Advertisements that are suitable for display with this video program may be listed in a table that cross references the video program identifies and the advertisement identifiers. Alternately, the video program may have associated key words, and the advertisements may be matched to the video program based on the key words.
• the ad server engine 230 provides the ad requests to the ad servers 70 and 80.
• the ad tracking engine determines which advertisements actually are served to specific media devices 61 .
• the system 100 may push advertisements to the media devices 61.
• the system 100 may simply react to ad requests from the media devices 61 .
• the ad request engine functions may be carried out by corresponding components at the media devices 61.
• the functions of the system 100 are incorporated into the ad servers 70 and 80.
• FIG. 5 illustrates components of a media device that operate to provide reduced latency for content served to the media device.
• media device 61 includes display driver 62, Web application 63, machine interface 64, user interface 65, and local ad server 300.
• the display driver 62 forms the video and static images displayed on a viewing screen of the media device 61.
• the Web application 63 allows the media device 61 to access the Internet, browse Web pages, and download content from the Web pages.
• the media device 61 uses a device native application.
• Machine interface 64 allows the media device to communicate with other devices, such as the ad servers 70 and 80 (see Figure 1 ).
• the user interface 65 allows the viewer 60 to operate the media device 61.
• the user interface 65 may include a soft key keyboard or a voice command application, for example.
• the processor 330 identifies ad spaces that may be used to display advertisements.
• the video program may be preceded by a space for a video ad and may have two program breaks during which a video ad may be displayed.
• the processor 330 may identify static ad spaces.
• the static ad spaces may be for companion advertisements; i.e., static advertisements that relate to the video advertisements.
• a series of video advertisements for a new model sport utility vehicle may be accompanied with static advertisements showing the vehicle and limited text, as well as a link to a Web site for the vehicle manufacturer.
• the static advertisements may persist after the video advertisement has played. However, the static advertisements also may change with changing video advertisements.
• the processor 330 only determines when each ad space becomes available, and notifies the ad request engine310, which then sends an ad request.
• the method 600 also moves to block 640 following completion of the process of block 635.
• the ad request engine 310 sends an ad request to a remote ad server to fill the ad store 320 with replacement advertisements.
• the method moves to block 645 and the processor 330 receives and stores the replacement advertisements, and displays the replacement advertisements in the remaining video advertisement spaces.
• Embodiments may be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on computer-readable storage medium for execution by one or more processors.
• the computer-readable storage medium may be, or may be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, or a random or serial access memory.
• the computer-readable storage medium also may be, or may be included in, one or more separate physical components or media such as multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices.
• the computer-readable storage medium does not include a signal.

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• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
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• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
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• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
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• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

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Citations (5)

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• 2013
  • 2013-06-18 WO PCT/US2013/046222 patent/WO2013192127A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2013-06-18 CN CN201380040421.0A patent/CN104508693A/zh active Pending

Patent Citations (5)

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