Abstract:
A system and method that allows content to be broadcast without commercial interruption, yet lets the company or companies that sponsor the broadcast to offer advertisements and discounts and various special offers to the viewers at a later time. The amount of time a viewer spends watching a particular broadcast is recorded along with information about the sponsoring companies or organizations for the broadcast. The viewer later accesses a central database, which sends back to the viewer advertisements, coupons, discounts, contests, and other enticements to purchase products, based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching broadcasts or segments of broadcasts that were sponsored by the advertiser.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    Television shows on network stations are broadcast to viewers throughout the world at very little cost to the viewer. The production and transmission costs of these broadcasts are typically supported by corporations that interrupt the broadcasts at regular intervals with advertisement, called commercials. As production costs increase, network television shows have less and less content while the viewing time is taken up by commercials. These commercials break up the shows, making the viewing experience less enjoyable and informative. These interruptions have not allowed television viewing to reach its potential and have created much competition from pay-per-view stations, video and DVD rental stores, and movie theaters. If it were not for these commercial interruptions, television viewing would be much greater. If television viewing could be increased while still allowing corporations to sponsor content, network broadcasters would be much happier and would be able to compete better against other forms of entertainment and education. If corporations could still attract customers by sponsoring shows, they would have no objection to eliminating commercials, especially if it resulted in more television viewers and more customers.  
           [0002]    Other means of broadcasting content are now becoming available on the Internet. Methods are being studied and tested for sponsoring these broadcasts. A method that allows companies to sponsor broadcasts while avoiding commercial interruptions is ideal for the broadcaster and for the viewer. As long as a sponsoring corporation is still able to turn viewers into customers, the corporation will be amenable to the new method, especially if it results in more customers than a standard broadcast that is interrupted by commercials.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The present invention allows content to be broadcast without commercial interruption, yet lets the company or companies that sponsor the broadcast to offer advertisements and discounts and various special offers to the viewers at a later time of their own choosing. In this application, the terms “broadcast” encompasses all forms of transmitting media content over a WAN to an end user, including radio wave broadcasts such as network television and network radio broadcasts, cable broadcasts such as cable television, and streaming media broadcasts such as video and audio over an Internet connection that may be via telephone lines, television cables, radio waves, etc.  
           [0004]    The invention provides a method and apparatus for recording the amount of time spent watching a particular broadcast. The invention also provides a method and apparatus for recording the sponsoring companies or organizations for each broadcast. The invention provides a method and apparatus for the viewer to access a central database at any time, which provides advertisements, coupons, discounts, contests, and other enticements to purchase products, based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching broadcasts that were sponsored by the advertiser.  
           [0005]    In one embodiment, the user watches an Internet connected television. At various regular intervals, such as the vertical blanking interval of the television signal, HTTP protocol communications from a Web server are sent to the television, which places a cookie or updates an existing cookie on the television hard drive. This cookie contains information including the time of day, the television channel, the name of the television show, and each sponsor of the show. At a later time, of the viewer&#39;s choosing, the viewer can use the Internet connected television to connect to a website. This website can belong to the television network or a particular sponsor or a central clearing house for coupons. When connecting to the website, using the standard HTTP protocol, the website examines the cookie and retrieves the information in it. Each sponsor can then offer advertisements, coupons, discounts, and other enticements to purchase goods based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching a sponsored broadcast.  
           [0006]    In a second embodiment, the user watches an Internet connected television. At various regular intervals, such as the vertical blanking interval of the television signal, data is sent to a centralized database for the network or the sponsor or a clearinghouse for coupons. The data contain information including the time of day, the television channel, the name of the television show, and each sponsor of the show. The data also contain a user identifier such as a name, user ID, or television serial number. At a later time, of the viewer&#39;s choosing, the viewer can use the Internet connected television to connect to a website that has access to the central database. This website can belong to the television network or a particular sponsor or a central clearing house for coupons. When connecting to the website, using the standard HTTP protocol, the user identifier is sent to the website which then examines the central database and retrieves the information in it for this particular user. Each sponsor can then offer advertisements, coupons, discounts, and other enticements to purchase goods based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching a sponsored broadcast.  
           [0007]    In a third embodiment, the user watches a streaming media broadcast from a Web server using a computer with an Internet connection. At various regular intervals during the broadcast, HTTP protocol communications from a Web server are sent to the computer, which places a cookie or updates and existing cookie on the computer hard drive. This cookie contains information including the time of day, the website that is the course of the broadcast, the name of the broadcast content, and each sponsor of the broadcast. At a later time, of the viewer&#39;s choosing, the viewer can use the computer to connect to a website. This website can belong to the television network or a particular sponsor or a central clearing house for coupons. When connecting to the website, using the standard HTTP protocol, the website examines the cookie and retrieves the information in it. Each sponsor can then offer advertisements, coupons, discounts, and other enticements to purchase goods based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching a sponsored broadcast.  
           [0008]    In a fourth embodiment, the user watches a streaming media broadcast from a Web server using a computer with an Internet connection. At various regular intervals during the broadcast, data is sent to a centralized database for the network or the sponsor or a clearinghouse for coupons. The data contain information including the time of day, the website that is the course of the broadcast, the name of the broadcast content, and each sponsor of the show. The data also contain a user identifier such as a name, user ID, or computer serial number. At a later time, of the viewer&#39;s choosing, the viewer can use the computer to connect to a website that has access to the central database. This website can belong to the television network or a particular sponsor or a central clearing house for coupons. When connecting to the website, using the standard HTTP protocol, the user identifier is sent to the website which then examines the central database and retrieves the information in it for this particular user. Each sponsor can then offer advertisements, coupons, discounts, and other enticements to purchase goods based on the amount of time the viewer spent watching a sponsored broadcast. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 shows an Internet-enabled television  106 , a network TV broadcast transmitter  101 , a database server  103 , and the Internet  102 , in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 shows a computer  203 , a streaming media server  200 , a database server  103 , and the Internet  102 , in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for combining broadcast information with broadcast content during a broadcast transmission.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 shows a general format and a specific format for encoding embedded information in a stream of data.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 shows a mechanism for separating broadcast information and broadcast content from a broadcast transmission.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 shows a format for storing the embedded information on the client storage device  506  in a database.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 7 shows an algorithm within the decoder  502  that strips out embedded information and creates the database records  600 ,  601 ,  602   
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 8 shows an algorithm within the database server  103  that gives incentives back to the viewer.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 9 shows data that is contained in blocks in the database on the database server  103 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]    The present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 shows one configuration where an Internet-enabled television  106  with a hard disk  107  receives broadcasts  104  from a network television station via transmitter  101 . The Internet-enabled TV  106  is also connected for two-way communication to a database server  103  via the Internet  102 . In this embodiment, the computer is connected to the Internet via telephone lines  105  using a modem. In this embodiment, the database server is connected to the Internet via a T-1 connection  100 .  
         [0019]    The television  106  receives one-way transmissions  104  from the network broadcast transmitter  101 . Embedded in the transmission are HTTP protocol messages containing information about the show being broadcast, the sponsors of the show, and the current time. Other information can also be embedded and sent to the television  106  for other purposes. The embedded information is stored on the hard disk  107  in the form of a cookie. At a later time, the television  106  connects to the database server  103  which is part of a website on the Internet  102 . The database server  103  queries the cookie on the television  106  in order to determine which shows were watched, during which times, and which advertisers sponsored those shows or those segments of shows. Based on which advertiser sponsored the show or show segments and the amount of time spent watching the show or show segments, the database server searches its database for coupons, advertisements, discounts, and other enticements to buy products or services from the advertiser, and delivers these enticements via the Internet  102  to the television  106 .  
         [0020]    In another embodiment, the television  106  receives one-way transmissions  104  from the network broadcast transmitter  101 . Embedded in the transmission are HTTP protocol messages containing information about the show being broadcast, the sponsors of the show, and the current time. Other information can also be embedded and sent to the television  106  for other purposes. The embedded information is stored on the hard disk  107 . During the broadcast or at a later time, the television  106  connects to the database server  103  which is part of a website on the Internet  102 . The television  106  sends the information on the hard disk  107  to the database server  103  via the Internet  102 . The database server  103  stores the information in its database. At a later time, based on which advertiser sponsored the show or show segments and the amount of time spent watching the show or show segments, the database server searches the database for coupons, advertisements, discounts, and other enticements to buy products or services from the advertiser, and delivers these enticements via the Internet  102  to the television  106 .  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 shows another configuration where a computer  203  receives streaming media broadcasts from a streaming media server  200  via the Internet  102 . The computer  203  is also connected for two-way communication to a database server  103  via the Internet  102 . In this embodiment, the computer is connected to the Internet via telephone lines  202  using a modem. In this embodiment, the database server is connected to the Internet via a T-1 connection  100 . In this embodiment, the streaming media server is connected to the Internet via a T-1 connection  201 .  
         [0022]    The computer  203  receives transmissions from the streaming media server  200  via the Internet  102 . Embedded in the transmission are messages containing information about the show being broadcast, the sponsors of the show, and the current time. Other information can also be embedded and sent to the computer  203  for other purposes. The embedded information is stored on the computer&#39;s hard disk in the form of a cookie. At a later time, the computer  203  connects to the database server  103  which is part of a website on the Internet  102 . The database server  103  queries the cookie on the computer  203  in order to determine which shows were watched, during which times, and which advertisers sponsored those shows or those segments of shows. Based on which advertiser sponsored the show or show segments and the amount of time spent watching the show or show segments, the database server searches its database for coupons, advertisements, discounts, and other enticements to buy products or services from the advertiser, and delivers these enticements via the Internet  102  to the computer  203 .  
         [0023]    In another embodiment, the computer  203  receives transmissions from the streaming media server  200  via the Internet  102 . Embedded in the transmission are messages containing information about the show being broadcast, the sponsors of the show, and the current time. Other information can also be embedded and sent to the computer  203  for other purposes. The embedded information is stored on the computer&#39;s hard disk. During the broadcast or at a later time, the computer  203  connects to the database server  103  which is part of a website on the Internet  102 . The computer  203  transmits the information on its hard disk to the database server  103  via the Internet  102 . The database server  103  stores the information in the database. At a later time, based on which advertiser sponsored the show or show segments and the amount of time spent watching the show or show segments, the database server searches its database for coupons, advertisements, discounts, and other enticements to buy products or services from the advertiser, and delivers these enticements via the Internet  102  to the computer  203 .  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which content with imbedded information is created from normal broadcast content. The method shown can be implemented in hardware or software or combinations of hardware and software. Sponsor information  302  is translated into a format such as HTTP protocol using HTTP translator  303 . It is then combined with the programming content  301 , such as a television show or streaming video, through multiplexer  305 . The multiplexer inserts the sponsor information at regular periods, or frames, throughout the broadcast by using timer  304 . A frame may be a single television picture scan, or it may be a single frame of streaming video data or it may be an arbitrary amount of data. The sponsor information can be inserted into the data stream at a time or in such a way that it does not destroy data, such as during the vertical blanking time of a television frame scan. The data is then put into the transmitter  306 , which is then transmitted as analog or digital data  300 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a general format and a specific format for the embedded sponsor information as a stream of data. A packet is inserted before a frame of content data, which includes the head  400 , content name  401 , the current date  402 , the current time  403 , the sponsor name  404 , and other data  405  as required. The head can be a start-of-slice (SOS) flag or an end-of-slice (EOS) flag, which signal the start or end of a time slice respectively. An example of specific information is shown where the head is start-of-slice  406 , content name is “Star Trek”  407 , the date is “Jan. 1, 2000”  408 , the time is “9:07 PM”  409 , the sponsor is “Proctor and Gamble”  410 , and a special offer  411  is included for the viewer at this time.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the sponsor information is separated from the broadcast content using hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. The software portion of the implementation may be a stand-alone media player software or a plug-in to a Web browser. The broadcast stream  300 , which may be a television picture or a streaming video is received by a receiver  501  that converts the signal to one that is usable by the decoder  502  that splits the information into programming content  503  and sponsor information  504 . The programming content  503  is sent to a display device  505  such as a computer monitor or television screen. The sponsor information  504  is recorded on a storage device  506  such as a hard disk.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 6 shows one embodiment of the format for storing the embedded information on the client storage device  506  in a database. For each television show or video clip there is an entry block  600  containing several records. The first record contains the name of the content. There are sections for each time slice of the content broadcast. These time slices may, for example, be 15-minute intervals so that there are 4 slices in a one-hour broadcast. Sponsors may then sponsor 1 to 4 slices of a one-hour broadcast. Associated with each time slice in the database are  3  records. One record contains the name of the time slice. Another record contains the number of minutes during that time slice that the viewer was actually watching the broadcast. Another record contains a link to a sponsor block in the database for the sponsor of that time slice. There may be multiple records for links to multiple sponsors of a broadcast time slice.  
         [0028]    A sponsor block, such as  601  or  602 , contains multiple records. One record contains the name of the sponsor. Another record contains information about the sponsor. Other records contain links to content that is sponsored by the sponsor. Having both content blocks and sponsor blocks in the database, with links to each other, allows the database to easily be searched for all content sponsored by a specific sponsor, or all sponsors of particular content.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the algorithm within the decoder  502  that strips out embedded information and creates the database records  600 ,  601 ,  602 . This algorithm may be implemented in software or hardware or a combination of software and hardware. Execution starts at block  700  where a frame of broadcast content is received. The content information is separated out and sent to the display device by executing block  701 . Execution of block  702  searches for embedded sponsor information in the broadcast. If there is no embedded sponsor information, execution is transferred to block  707 . This may be due to the fact that the viewer has switched between a commercial-free broadcast to some other content such as a normal commercial broadcast. If there is embedded sponsor information, block  703  is executed, extracting that information. Block  704  is then executed where viewing counters are incremented. These viewing counters keep track of how much time the viewer has spent viewing the content. In block  705 , the embedded information is examined for an end-of-slice marker that signals the end of a time slice. If this marker is found, execution is transferred to block  707 . Otherwise, execution is transferred to block  706  where the embedded information is examined for a start-of-slice marker that signals the start of a time slice. If this marker is found, execution is transferred to block  708 . Otherwise execution is transferred back to block  700  and the process is repeated.  
         [0030]    Block  707  is executed when a time slice has ended or the viewer has switched to another type of broadcast. When this block is executed, the viewing counters are recorded in the database on the client machine. Execution is then transferred to block  708 .  
         [0031]    Block  708  is executed at the start of a new time slice. This block resets the viewing counters and transfers execution to block  700 , starting the entire process over.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the algorithm within the database server  103  that gives incentives back to the viewer. Execution starts in block  800  when a request for an incentive is received from the viewer. Execution continues to block  801  where, through a handshaking protocol, the information in the client database stored in storage device  506  on the viewer&#39;s computer  203  or Internet connected TV  106  is used to query the database of database server  103 . Execution continues to block  802  where the database server searches its database for matches with the sponsors reported by the viewer. Execution continues to block  803  where links to sponsor Web pages are retrieved from the database server based on the information from the viewer. Execution continues to block  804  where an entire HTML page is created which contains links to all incentives to which the viewer is entitled, based on the amount of time he spent viewing specific content. Execution continues to block  805  where this Web page is then sent back to the viewer. At this time, the viewer can click on links to obtain coupons, discounts, special offers, etc.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the data that is contained in blocks in the database on the database server  103 . For each sponsor, there is a block of records  900  that contains multiple records. One record contains the sponsor name. For each incentive, there are two records. One of these records contains the criteria for the viewer to receive the incentive such as a specific amount of time watching a particular broadcast. The other record contains a link to the particular incentive. Each incentive has a block of records such as  901  and  902 . The block includes a record of the incentive name, and a number of other records that contain information about advertisements, coupons, discounts, etc. that should be offered to the viewer who has met the incentive criteria. claims