Patent ID: 9712869
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: G06F,G06Q,H04L,H04N

Claim:
1. A method of inferring characteristics of broadcast audience members, comprising: receiving, by a communications module of a log server, from a group log database, television viewing information for a group; identifying, by a correlation module of the log server, one or more television viewing sessions from the television viewing information; selecting, by the correlation module of the log server, a first television viewing session and a second television viewing session from the one or more television viewing sessions; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, a first television program selected for display during the first television viewing session; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, a second television program selected for display during the second television viewing session; accessing, by the communications module of the log server, from a trait distribution database, television viewer trait distribution data for the first television program and the second television program, the television viewer trait distribution data identifying a first percentage of total viewership of the first television program and a second percentage of total viewership of the second television program for each of a plurality of predefined trait segments; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, from the television viewer trait distribution data for the first television program, a first segment probability for a predefined trait segment from the identified first percentages of the plurality of predefined segments; determining, by the correlation module of the log server, a member of the group has trait characteristics corresponding to the predefined trait segment; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, for the first television program, a second segment probability for a second predefined trait segment; determining, by the correlation module of the log server, that the first segment probability exceeds the second segment probability by a predefined amount; recording, by the correlation module of the log server, on the viewer log database, the member of the group as an audience member of the first television program for the first television viewing session, responsive to determining that the audience member has the trait characteristics corresponding to the predefined trait segment and responsive to determining that the first segment probability exceeds the second segment probability by the predefined amount; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, for the second television program, a third segment probability for the first predefined trait segment; identifying, by the correlation module of the log server, for the second television program, a fourth segment probability for the second predefined trait segment; determining, by the correlation module of the log server, that the third segment probability exceeds the fourth segment probability by less than a second predefined amount; and recording, by the correlation module of the log server, on the viewer log database, no member of the group as the audience member of the second television program, responsive to determining that that the third segment probability exceeds the fourth segment probability by less than the second predefined amount.