Patent ID: 9668008
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: H04H,H04N

Claim:
1. A method for surveying broadcast ratings, the method comprising: receiving by a ratings statistics information server an event signal from a television (TV) signal reception device that is configured to receive a broadcast signal and to send the broadcast signal to a TV, wherein the event signal received by the ratings statistics information server comprises identification information of the TV signal reception device; determining by the ratings statistics information server, based on the identification information of the TV signal reception device included in the event signal, a previously registered user terminal to which a fingerprint extraction request signal is to be sent; upon receiving the event signal, sending by the ratings statistics information server to the determined previously registered user terminal the fingerprint extraction request signal; thereafter receiving by the ratings statistics information server from the user terminal, in response to the sent fingerprint extraction request signal, (i) fingerprint data extracted by the user terminal from an audio signal of TV being watched by a user and (ii) user identification information; obtaining by the ratings statistics information server, based on the fingerprint data received from the user terminal in response to the fingerprint extraction request signal, channel identification information of a TV channel being watched by the user; and generating by the ratings statistics information server ratings statistics information based on the obtained channel identification information and the user identification information, wherein the ratings statistics information correlates user information with watched-channel information.