Abstract:
A method for managing content delivery to content consumers commences by initially establishing for at least one content consumer a set of personalized content channels via which the at least one user can access content in accordance with personal preferences. At least one of the one of the set of initially established personalized content channels undergoes modification (addition or deletion) in accordance with at least one attribute of other content consumers.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a technique for managing personalized channels that provide access to content according to user preferences. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    Content delivery networks operated by cable television providers, satellite television purveyors, over the top content providers such as the M-Go content delivery service from Technicolor, and telecommunication companies provide users of such networks a plethora of audio-visual content, such as movies and television programs. The content delivery network operators typically provide such content via hundreds of separate channels, many of which cater specific subjects, such as sports, home improvement, history, drama, romance, and the like. The large number of available channels can overwhelm users who incur difficulty organizing content related to a particular preference. 
         [0003]    Thus, a need exists for a technique for enabling network users to personalize content relevant to them and their interests. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    Briefly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present principles, a method for managing content delivery to content consumers commences by initially establishing for at least one content consumer a set of personalized content channels via which the at least one user can access content in accordance with personal preferences. At least one of the one of the set of initially established personalized content channels undergoes modification in accordance with at least one attribute of other content consumers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  depicts a block schematic diagram of an exemplary system for delivering content to users 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  depicts a block schematic diagram of an exemplary first device for receiving content from the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  depicts a block schematic diagram of an exemplary second device for receiving content from the system of  FIG. 1 ;  FIG. 4  depicts a screen shot of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for managing content delivery to users of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0008]      FIG. 5  depicts in flow chart form a method for create and managing personalized channels in accordance with the present principles; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 6  depicts a screen shot of a portion of the GUI of FIG. for enabling a user to create and manage personal channels using the method of  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a system  100  for delivering content to a user (not shown), and in particular, for delivering content via personalized channels in accordance with the present principles. Such content typically comprises one or audio-visual presentations, including, but not limited to movies, television programs, streaming video or games, for example, that originate from a content source  102  which can deliver content in at least two forms. For example, the content source  102  can deliver content in the form of “broadcast” content of the type formatted for terrestrial broadcast by a broadcast affiliate manager  104 , typically a national television broadcast network, such as those operated by American Broadcasting Company (ABC), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), etc. The broadcast affiliate manager  104  can collect and store the content, and can schedule delivery of that content over a delivery network  106 , which can include a wired or wireless communications network or a combination of over-the-air (OTA), cable television and/or satellite communication networks. 
         [0011]    The content source  102  can also deliver special content, such as premium or pay-per-view content otherwise not provided to the broadcast affiliate manager  104 . For example, such special content can include first run movies offered to users in response to their request (e.g., pay-per-view), or on a subscription basis. Such content can also include archived episodes of television shows provided to the broadcast affiliate manager  104 . The content source  102  provides such special content to a content manager  110 , which can comprise a service provider, such as an Internet website, affiliated with a content provider, broadcast service, or network delivery service (e.g., cable television or satellite provider or telecommunications carrier). The content manager  110  can also incorporate Internet files for delivery with such special content through an over the top service such as, Nettlix, Amazon and the M-GO content delivery service from Technicolor, Inc. as an example. In practice, the content manager  110  delivers special content (and associated Internet files) over a separate delivery network  112 , which can include a Wide-Area Network (WAN), Local-Area Network (LAN) and/or a high-speed broadband communications network, including, but not limited to, the Internet. Note that the content provided by the broadcast affiliate manager  104  could undergo delivery using all or part of delivery network  112  and content from the content manager  110  could undergo delivery using all or part of delivery network  106 . In addition, the delivery of content could occur directly via the network  112  without the need for the content manager  110 . 
         [0012]    At a local premise, such as a home or the like, a user of the content delivery networks  106  and  112  (e.g., a “viewer”) uses a content receiving device  108  to access (e.g., receive) content via one or both of the networks for processing and subsequent display on a display device  114 , such as a television set or the like. In this way, the network user “consumes” content. The content receiving device  108 , described greater in detail in  FIG. 2 , can take many forms, such as a set-top box, gateway, modem or the like. Moreover, the functionality of the content receiving device  108  could reside in devices such as a digital video player (DVR), personal computer, television set, etc. or could take the form of a set top box/digital video recorder (DVR), a gateway, a modem, etc. Further, the content receiving device  108  could act as entry point, or gateway, for a home network system (not shown) that includes additional devices configured as either client or peer devices in the home network (not shown). 
         [0013]    The content receiving device  108  processes the content received via one or both the networks  106  and  112  based on user preferences and commands. The content receiving device  108  can include a storage device, such as a hard drive or optical disk drive (not shown), for content recording and playback. The content receiving device  108  can interface with a second-screen device  116 , described in greater detail with respect to  FIG. 3 . The second-screen device  116  allows the user to control both the content receiving device  108  and the display device  114 , Further, the second-screen device  116  also has the capability to display the same or related content in synchronism with the content displayed on the display device  114 . The second-screen device  116  allows the user to interact with the content. For subsequent reference, the content receiving device  108  constitutes a “first” content receiving device, whereas the second screen device  116  constitutes a “second” content receiving device. 
         [0014]    The system  100  includes a back-end server  18  and a usage database  120 . The back end server  118  performs the function of a personalization engine that analyzes the usage habits of users and makes recommendations for content based on those habits. The usage database  120  stores user data indicate viewing habits and stores user profiles generated by the server  118 . The back-send server  118  can perform billing and/or authentication functions as well. Other mechanisms (not shown) could perform billing and/or authentication in place of the back-end server  118 . 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  depicts a block schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the content receiving device  108  includes an input signal receiver  202  that receives content via the networks  106  and  112  shown in  FIG. 1 . The input signal receiver  202  can comprise one of several known receiver circuits used for receiving, demodulating and decoding received content. An input stream processor  204  receives the decoded content and performs the final signal selection and processing, including separation of video from audio in the decoded content. The input stream processor  204  supplies the audio to an audio processor  206 , which generates an audio signal for receipt by an audio interface  208  that provides an audio signal to the display device  114  of  FIG. 1 , or other device(s) (not shown) for audio reproduction. Typically, the audio interface  208  generates an analog audio signal. Alternatively, the audio interface  208  could generate a digital signal. Additionally, the audio processor  206  supplies audio signals to a storage device  212  for storage. 
         [0016]    The input stream processor  204  also provides a video output signal to a video processor  210 , which undertakes signal conversion to provide a video signal of the appropriate format for storage in the storage device  212  and for display. A display interface  218  interfaces the video processor  210  to the display device  114  of  FIG. 1 . The storage device  212  stores content audio and video for later retrieval and playback of the content under the control of a controller  214  in accordance with commands received by the user through a user interface  216  and/or a touch panel interface  222 . The user interface  216  can provide an interface to a touch panel (not shown) separate from, or integrated with the display device  114  of  FIG. 1 . Additionally, the user interface  216  provides the mechanism by which the second-screen control device  116  of  FIG. 1  interfaces to the controller  214 . The storage device  212  can comprise be a hard disk drive, one or more large capacity integrated electronic memories, such as static RAM (SRAM), or dynamic RAM (DRAM), or an interchangeable optical disk storage system such as a compact disk (CD) drive or digital video disk (DVD) drive. 
         [0017]    The controller  214  controls the operation of the content receiving device  108 . To that end, the controller  214  has bus interconnection to the input stream processor  202 , the audio processor  206 , the video processor  210 , the storage device  212 , the user interface  216  and the touch panel interface  222 . The controller  214  manages the conversion process for converting the input stream signal into a signal for storage on the storage device  212  and/or display. The controller  214  also manages the retrieval and playback of stored content. 
         [0018]    The controller  214  also has a bus interconnection to a control memory  220  (e.g., one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories, including RAM, SRAM, DRAM, ROM, Programmable ROM (PROM), flash memory, Electronically Programmable ROM (EPROM), electronically erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.), for storing information and instruction code for the controller  214 . The control memory  220  can also store a database of elements, such as graphic elements, for generating a graphical user interface for display to the user on the display device  114  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0019]    In practice, the second-screen control device  116  can take a variety of forms. For example, the second-screen control device  116  could take the form of a tablet device, such as the Apple I-Pad, or Samsung Galaxy Note tablet. Alternatively, the second-screen control device  116  could take the form of a smart phone or laptop computer or any other similar device that can send and receive data as well as display of such data. A block schematic diagram of an exemplary second-screen device  116 , in the form of a smart phone, appears in  FIG. 3 . The second-screen device  116  of  FIG. 3  includes an application processor  300 , which controls overall operation of the device. To that end, the application processor  300  has a connection to a memory block  301 , which can include one or more of the following types of memory (not shown), flash card, mobile DRAM, Memory Multi Chip Package (MCP), and Multimedia Card Memory (MMC), which collectively store the operating system for the application processor as well as application programs and data. 
         [0020]    The application processor  300  interfaces with a baseband processor  302 , which connects to an antenna  304 . The baseband processor  302  includes circuitry (not shown) for receiving and transmitting RF signals within the frequency range designated for cellular communication to allow the second-screen device  116  to operate as a cellular telephone for voice and/or data communication. The application processor  300  also interfaces with a wireless access block  306  that connects to an antenna  308 . The wireless access block  306  operates in a manner similar to the baseband processor  302  to receive and transmit RF signals, except that the wireless access block operates in both the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi frequency band. 
         [0021]    The second-screen device includes a display screen  310 , typically an LCD or OLED screen, driven by the application processor  300  via a display driver circuit  312 . In addition to its display functionality, the screen  310  has a data input capability to allow an operator to touch the screen to enter data to the application processor  300  via a touch screen interface  314 . 
         [0022]    The application processor  300  interfaces with an audio codec  316  connected to a microphone  318  and a speaker  320 . The audio codec  316  processes voice signals from the microphone  318  for receipt by the application processor  300  to allow the user of the second-screen device to enter voice commands as well as converse with another caller when the second-screen device operates as a cell phone. The audio codec also process signals from the application processor  300  for audio reproduction by the speaker  320 . 
         [0023]    In the illustrated embodiment, the second-screen device  116  of  FIG. 3  also includes an image sensor, typically in the form of a CMOS image sensor  322 , coupled to the application processor  300 . In an optional embodiment, the image sensor  322  could be configured to accept user input in the form of gestures. The application processor  300  can store images captured by the image sensor  322  in the memory bank  301  for future recall and/or transmission by one of the baseband processor  302  or the wireless access block  306 . A power source, in form of a rechargeable battery provides power to the application processor  300  for its use and for distribution to the other elements within the second-screen device  116 . 
         [0024]    In practice, the wireless access block  306  of the second-screen device  116  of  FIG. 3  advantageously communicates with touch panel interface  222  of the content receive device  108  of  FIG. 2  via a Wi-Fi channel although the second screen could use Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi as the communications protocol. In this way, a user using the second-screen device  116  of  FIG. 3  can enter commands via the touch screen functionality of the screen  310  to control the content receiving device  108  while viewing content displayed on the screen  310 . In addition, the user using the second-screen device  116  could also enter voice commands through the microphone  318  to control the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 2 . 
         [0025]    In accordance with an aspect of the present principles, the back-end server  118  of the system  100  of  FIG. 1  can create and subsequently modify personalized viewing channels for users based on user input commands and the viewing habits of network users, thereby allowing users to access content in accordance with personal preferences. To understand better the manner in which the system  100  of  FIG. 1  manages personalized viewing channels, refer to  FIG. 4 , which depicts a screen shot of a user interface  400  of a typical content consumer (“Regine”) that receives content via one or both of the networks  106  and  112  (both of  FIG. 1 ). The user interface  400  of  FIG. 4  can appear on either or both of the devices  108  and  1116  of  FIG. 1  and serves as a Graphical User Interface via which the user creates and manages such personal channels. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the home page has a heading  402  that identifies the user (e.g., “Regine&#39;s Home Page”). In addition to the heading  402 , the home page  400  typically includes one or more icons, each associated with a different portal (e.g., content source) for accessing content. In the illustrative embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the home page  400  includes icons  404 - 414 . The icon  414  corresponds to a “Movies” portal via which the content consumer can access different movies illustratively depicted by the movies Admissions, Enough Said, Hunger Games, Gravity, Notting Hill, and Mamma Mia!. The movies accessed through the “Movies” portal could exist as stored files resident in the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1  or another storage device (not shown) at the user premise. Alternatively, one or more of these movies listed in the “Movies” portal could exist as a link which, when actuated by the user would trigger an appropriate one of the networks  106  and  112  of FIG. to either stream or download the requested movie. 
         [0027]    Various mechanisms exist for populating the “Movies” portal. For example, the content manager  116  of  FIG. 1  could communicate a list of available movies to the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  for inclusion in the “Movies” portal. In addition, the back-end server  118  could select additional movies from the content manager  116  for inclusion in the “Movies” portal, taking into account the user viewing habits. Further, the user could request movies from the content manager  116 , via the Internet or another communications channel, for inclusion in the “Movies” portal. 
         [0028]    The icon  406  designates a “TV Shows” portal via which the user “Regine” can access episodes of television shows, such as How I Meet Your Mother, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars and Mike &amp; Molly, for example. These television show episodes (as well as episodes of other shows) could exist as stored files resident in the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, these television show episodes could exist as links which, when actuated by the user would trigger streaming or downloading of these episodes as requested. 
         [0029]    Various mechanisms exist for populating the “Television Shows” portal. For example, the content manager  116  of  FIG. 1  could communicate a list of available television show episodes movies to the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  for inclusion in the “Television Shows” portal. In addition, the back-end server  118  could select additional television shows from the content manager  116  for inclusion in the “Television Shows” portal, taking into account the user viewing habits. Further, the user could request different television show episodes from the content manager  116 , via the Internet or another communications channel for inclusion in the “Television Shows” portal. 
         [0030]    The icon  408  designates a “Featured” portal via which the user “Regine” can access featured content. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the “Featured” portal identified by the icon  408  provides the user with access to two first-run movies Divergent and Frozen. Unlike the portals associated with the icons  404  and  406 , which typically confine themselves to movies and television shows, respectively, the portal associated with the icon  408  provides access to variety of featured content including but not limited to first-run movies. Such featured content could include steaming video and/or games in addition to, or in place of featured movies and television show episodes. The content accessible via the “Featured” portal associated with the icon  408  could exist as stored files resident in the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, the content could exist as links which, when actuated by the user would trigger streaming or downloading the featured content as requested. The mechanisms discussed above for populating the other portals could also apply to populating the “Featured” portal as well. 
         [0031]    The icon  410  corresponds to a portal via which the user “Regine” can access content from an Over-the-Top (OM content provider as embodied in the form of a content manager)  16  in accordance with the illustrative principles disclosed above. For example, the M-Go content delivery service from Technicolor, Culver City Calif. is an example of an OTT service provider. For this reason, the portal associated with the icon  410  bears the identification “M-GO.” As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the M-Go service has a user screen that allows the user to access content from the M-Go content delivery service, as illustratively depicted by the movies Annie and The Lego Movie as well as an episode from the television show Mad Men. The content associated with the M-GO user screen typically exists as links, which, when actuated by the user would trigger streaming of the requested content. Typically, the M-GO content delivery services populates the M-GO portal in response to user content requests received via the Internet or another communications channel, 
         [0032]    The home page  400  of  FIG. 4  also includes an icon  412  associated with a “Library” portal via which the user can access content stored on the content receiving device  108 , or another storage device (not shown) directly accessible by the user. The illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4  depicts the “Library” portal as empty because the user has not yet designated any content for storage. Once the user does designate content for storage, the identity of the stored content will appear in the “Library” portal associated with the icon  412 . 
         [0033]    The icon  414  designates a “Personal Channel” portal via which a user can create, delete and otherwise manage personalized channels, exemplified by the channels represented by the icons  416 - 422  depicted in  FIG. 4 . Each personalized channel constitutes separate content repository, which the user can populate with content according to user interests. Further, in accordance with an aspect of the present principles, the back-end server can create and manage personal channels for a user (and populate such channel(s) with content) based on the usage habits of other users. 
         [0034]    In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the icons  416 - 422  designate the following channels “Family”, “Fashion”, “Finance”, and “Home”, respectively, personally selected by the user “Regine.” Having established these channels designated by the icons  416 - 422 , the user can then populate channels with content. For example, the user “Regine” could populate her “Home” channel with content related to the home, such television show episodes related to home improvement and/or real estate, by making a request to the content manager  116  for such content. In addition to or in place of such television show episodes, the user could populate the “Home” channel with how-to videos from YouTube or other sources by requesting such content from such sources. The user can populate each of the other channels with content related to the subject matter of such channels in a manner similar to that described for the “Home” channel 
         [0035]    The back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  can also populate one or more of the user&#39;s channels with content based on the user&#39;s past viewing history. For example, when the back-end server  118  detects that the user “Regine” has designated one or television shows for her “Finance” personalized channel, the server can designate related content for that channel as well. The back-end server  118  can designate content for other personalized channels in a similar manner. 
         [0036]    The content associated with each personal channel could exist as stored files resident in the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1 . Alternatively, the content could exist as links which, when actuated by the user would trigger streaming or downloading the featured content as requested. 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  depicts in flow-chart form the steps of a method practiced by the system of  FIG. 1  to create personalized channels. The method commences 
         [0038]      FIG. 5  depicts an expanded version of the icon  414  of  FIG. 4  associated with the user&#39;s personalized channels. In addition to the icon  414  including the icons  416 - 422  depicting the user&#39;s personalized channels, the icon  414  depicts a set of icons  424 - 430  corresponding to functions utilized by the user to create and manage personalized channels. The icon  424  displays the message “Create New Channel.” By actuating the icon  424 , the user can create a new personalized channel. The user could use a remote control (not) shown for the content receiving device  108  of  FIG. 1  to actuate the icon and subsequently designate the subject matter for that channel. Alternatively, the user could use the second screen device)  16  for this purpose. 
         [0039]    The icon  426  displays the message “Overwrite Channel.” and by actuating this icon, the user can overwrite an existing personalized channel, e.g., the “Fashion” channel depicted by icon  422 . The icon  427  displays the message “Delete Channel.” and by actuating this icon, the user can delete an existing personalized channel, e.g., the “Family” channel Fashion” channel depicted by icon  416 . The icon  428  displays the message “Allow Others Access” and by actuating this icon, the user can grant other users access to one or more personalized channels. Such access could be unlimited or for a fixed duration. Users accessing other user&#39;s personal channels typically do not have permission to delete or overwrite personal channels. Only the user who created a personalized channel has the permission to overwrite or delete such a channel by actuating a corresponding one of the icons  426  and  427 , respectively. 
         [0040]    The icon  430  lists social media sites, which the user can authorize for access in connection with one or more of the user&#39;s personal channels. In the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the icon  430  lists the following social media sites for connection:
       Facebook   Twitter   YouTube   Instagram
 
Each listed social media site includes a designator “Y/N” which allows the user to authorize a connection to that site. While the icon  430  lists the four social media sites described above, the icon could list a larger or smaller number of sites without departing from the present principles.
       
 
         [0045]    As discussed above, the back-end server  118  can also create and modify a user&#39;s personal channels based on trends of other users, as determines from the usage habits of such other users. In accordance with the present principles, a user also has the ability to select the conditions under which the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  can create and modify that user&#39;s personal channels. For example, the user could authorize the back-end server  118  to take account of the following characteristics/activities of other users:
       a. Demographics (e.g., age, gender, income level etc.)   b. Interests (e.g., hobbies, associations, social network memberships, etc.)   c. Geographic location (street, neighborhood, state)   d. Event attendance (e.g., movies, concerts, social events, etc.)       
 
         [0050]    For example, a user that has similar demographics or interests as other users could authorize the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  to create the same personal channels as such other users populated with the same content. Likewise, a user in a particular geographic location (e.g., a neighborhood, city, region or state, for example) could choose authorize the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  to create the same personal channels as other users in the same location populated with the same content. If the user already has one or more personal channels in common with other users that have the same or similar demographics or interests or the same location, the back-end server  118  could populate such channels with content the same as such other users have populated their similar channels. 
         [0051]    A user who attends certain events on a regular basis (e.g., baseball games, concerts, opera, and art gallery exhibitions) could authorize the back-end server  118  of  FIG. 1  to create the same personal channels other users who attend the same or similar events. If the user already has one or more personal channels in common with other users, the back-end server  118  could populate such channels with content the same as such other users have populated their similar channels. 
         [0052]    Note that the criterion discussed above utilized by the back-end server  118  in creating and populating personal channels constitutes merely an example. Those skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the back-end server  118  can use any or all of these criterion as well as one or more other criterion in addition to or in place thereof to establish trends of other users. 
         [0053]    A user can also authorize the back-end server  118  to modify (e.g., alter or delete) the personal channels (and the content for such channels) based on the trends of other users. For example, a user could have a previously established personal channel associated with a particular movie actor. However, the back-end server  118  could delete that channel or specific content associated with that channel because other users no longer watch movies made by that actor. 
         [0054]    The foregoing describes a technique for managing personalized channels that provide access to content according to user preferences.