Patent ID: 7840975
Filing Date: 2010-11-23
Classification: G06Q,H04H,H04N

Abstract:
1. At a television set-top box receiver that is configured to display video television programming that is broadcast from a broadcast signal source to one or more viewers and to receive, display and store web content encoded in the broadcast from the broadcast signal source, a method for offering reward incentives for the one or more viewers to watch video commercial programs broadcast during commercial breaks interrupting regularly scheduled programming, the method comprising: at the set-top box receiver, and during a commercial break, receiving a broadcast signal from a broadcast signal source, the broadcast including a video commercial program that can be viewed by a viewer at a television connected to the set-top box receiver, wherein the broadcast signal includes a reward notice trigger and a query trigger, wherein the reward notice trigger is included in line 21 of a vertical blanking unit (VBI) as the video commercial program begins as well as at predetermined, specified intervals up through conclusion of the video commercial program, and wherein the query trigger is received in line 21 of the VBI of the broadcast signal of the video commercial program after initial receipt of the reward notice trigger, and prior to the conclusion of the video commercial program; monitoring the broadcast for the reward notice trigger and the query trigger; detecting the reward notice trigger as received in the broadcast signal of the video commercial program, the reward notice trigger storing a location and identity of a reward template stored locally on the set-top box receiver, a length of the video commercial program, in seconds, during which the reward notice trigger is to be displayed, an identification of the video commercial program, text for display to the viewer as notice that the reward notice trigger has been received, a checksum, and a date after which the set-top box should not display the reward notice trigger to the viewer; upon detecting the reward notice trigger, generating an initial reward notice to alert the viewer of a reward for viewing the video commercial program, wherein the initial reward notice is associated with the reward notice trigger; determining whether the date in the reward notice trigger has expired and, when it has not, displaying the generated initial reward notice to the user as an icon on the television connected to the set-top box receiver, the icon having a form as defined in the template identified in the reward notice trigger and including the text stored in the reward notice trigger, the icon being displayed during display of the video commercial program corresponding to the identification stored in the reward notice trigger; detecting the query trigger as received in the broadcast signal of the video commercial program, the query trigger including a question field storing a question for the viewer to answer, wherein the question is about content of the video commercial program and for a correct answer to the question to be provided generally requires prior viewing of the video commercial program; displaying the reward notice trigger and, upon receiving viewer selection of the reward notice trigger, generating a query interface for allowing the viewer to input an answer to the question in the question field of the query trigger; and transmitting the answer input by the viewer to a central server for a determination as to whether the viewer is entitled to a reward, entitlement to the reward being based at least in part on the central server determining that the viewer watched the video commercial program as a result of the user providing a correct answer to the question about the content of the video commercial program.