Patent Publication Number: US-2023134157-A1

Title: Methods and apparatus to use station identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent arises from a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2021/040691, which was filed on Jul. 7, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301, which was filed on Jul. 23, 2020. International Patent Application No. PCT/US2021/040691 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301 are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their respective entireties. Priority to International Patent Application No. PCT/US2021/040691 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/937,301 is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This disclosure relates generally to media identification systems, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to use station identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Audience viewership data is collected and used by media monitoring entities to determine exposure statistics (e.g., viewership statistics) for different media. Some audience viewership data may be collected through device meters that detect media watermarks and/or generate media signatures associated with media presented via media presentation devices. Information from the device meters are processed by the media monitoring entities to determine useful media exposure data and associated statistics. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram of an example environment in which the teachings of this disclosure may be implemented. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram of an example meter data analyzer included in the example environment of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example meter data analyzer of  FIGS.  1  and/or  2   . 
         FIG.  4    is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example reference identifier included in the example meter data analyzer of  FIGS.  1  and/or  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is a block diagram of an example processing platform structured to execute the instructions of  FIGS.  3  and/or  4    to implement the example meter data analyzer of  FIGS.  1  and/or  2   . 
     
    
    
     The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. 
     Unless specifically stated otherwise, descriptors such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. are used herein without imputing or otherwise indicating any meaning of priority, physical order, arrangement in a list, and/or ordering in any way, but are merely used as labels and/or arbitrary names to distinguish elements for ease of understanding the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor “first” may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referred to in a claim with a different descriptor such as “second” or “third.” In such instances, it should be understood that such descriptors are used merely for identifying those elements distinctly that might, for example, otherwise share a same name. As used herein “substantially real time” refers to occurrence in a near instantaneous manner recognizing there may be real world delays for computing time, transmission, etc. Thus, unless otherwise specified, “substantially real time” refers to real time +/−1 second. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As used herein, the term “media” includes any type of content and/or advertisement delivered via any type of distribution medium. Thus, media includes television programming or advertisements, radio programming or advertisements, movies, web sites, streaming media, etc. 
     Example methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture disclosed herein monitor media presentations at media devices. Such media devices may include, for example, Internet-enabled televisions, personal computers, Internet-enabled mobile handsets (e.g., a smartphone), video game consoles (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation®), tablet computers (e.g., an iPad®), digital media players (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, etc.), etc. 
     In some examples, media monitoring information is aggregated to determine ownership and/or usage statistics of media devices, determine the media presented by the media devices, determine audience ratings, determine relative rankings of usage and/or ownership of media devices, determine types of uses of media devices (e.g., whether a device is used for browsing the Internet, streaming media from the Internet, etc.), and/or determine other types of media device information. In examples disclosed herein, monitoring information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of media identifying information (e.g., media-identifying metadata, codes, signatures, watermarks, and/or other information that may be used to identify presented media), application usage information (e.g., an identifier of an application, a time and/or duration of use of the application, a rating of the application, etc.), and/or user-identifying information (e.g., demographic information, a user identifier, a panelist identifier, a username, etc.), etc. 
     Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g., generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a media signal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by a monitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to one or more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference) media source feeds. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlation value, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether a monitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When a match between the monitored signature and a reference signature is found, the monitored media can be identified as corresponding to the particular reference media represented by the reference signature that matched with the monitored signature. Because attributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, a broadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature(s), these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whose monitored signature matched the reference signature(s). 
     Media monitoring entities can generate media reference databases that can include unhashed signatures, hashed signatures, and watermarks. These references are generated by a media monitoring entity (e.g., at a media monitoring station (MMS), etc.) by monitoring a media source feed, identifying any encoded watermarks and determining signatures associated with the media source feed. In some examples, the media monitoring entity can hash the determined signatures. A media monitoring entity may additionally or alternatively generate reference signatures for downloaded reference media, reference media transmitted to the media monitoring entity from one or more media providers, etc. 
     In some examples, media monitoring entities store generated reference databases and gathered monitoring data on cloud storage services (e.g., Amazon Web Services™, etc.). To allow the crediting of time-shifted viewing (e.g., viewing media via a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.), the stored references are retained for a period of time after the initial presentation of the media. 
     In some examples, audio watermarking is used to identify media such as television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (television and/or radio), downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media, etc. Existing audio watermarking techniques identify media by embedding one or more audio codes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as media identifying information and/or an identifier that may be mapped to media identifying information, into an audio and/or video component of the media. In some examples, the watermark is embedded in the audio or video component so that the watermark is hidden. 
     As used herein, the terms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeably and are defined to mean any identification information (e.g., an identifier) that may be inserted or embedded in the audio or video of media (e.g., a program or advertisement) for the purpose of identifying the media or for another purpose such as tuning (e.g., a packet identifying header). 
     In some examples, to identify watermarked media, the watermark(s) are extracted and used to access a table of reference watermarks that are mapped to media identifying information. In some examples, media monitoring companies provide watermarks and watermarking devices to media providers with which to encode their media source feeds. In some examples, if a media provider provides multiple media source feeds (e.g., ESPN and ESPN 2, etc.), a media provider can provide a different watermark for each media source feed. 
     In some examples, a user may be exposed to watermarked media in environments with ambient noise (e.g., background noises, conversations, etc.). In some such environments, media monitoring meters that use microphones to detect media exposure (e.g., audio meters) can have difficulty with accurately capturing watermarks in the audio signals. In some examples, the audio meters detect watermarks in a watermarked audio signal and process the watermark to identify the media identifier(s) and timestamp associated with the watermarked media. In some examples, the media identifier is a station identification (ID). In some examples, the station ID identifies the broadcaster of the media (e.g., ABC, Fox, etc.), and the timestamp identifies when the media was broadcasted (e.g., 7 PM Eastern, etc.). In some examples, media identifier(s) of the watermark include other media identifiers in addition to the station ID (e.g., program identifiers, episode identifiers, etc.). The timestamp data of watermarked media can be vulnerable to interference from ambient noise. For example, the station ID may be repeated in multiple watermarks encoded in the watermarked media, and such repetition can be used to improve the detection rate of the station ID. However, the timestamp data may not be repeated and, thus, may be more susceptible to decoding errors in the presence of ambient noise. In such examples, the media monitoring entity may be unable to reliably report the encoded timestamp of a media watermark because a media monitoring meter (e.g., an audio meter) is able to decode a station ID of the media watermarks in an environment with ambient noise but is unable to decode the timestamp(s) of one or more watermarks. In such examples, the media monitoring entity is unable to identify the watermarked media as live or time-shifted. In some examples, live media refers to media that is detected by a meter at the scheduled broadcasting time for the media. In some examples, time-shifted media refers to media that is detected by a meter outside of the scheduled broadcasting time for the media (e.g., when the media is recorded and then presented at a later time). 
     Examples disclosed herein improve media monitoring reliability in environments that contain ambient noise. Examples disclosed herein use the station ID from an identified watermark in conjunction with signature based matching to determine the presentation time characteristic(s) of the media (e.g., live or time-shifted). In some examples, the media meter generates and reports signatures and also decodes watermarks from media signals (e.g., media audio signal). In such examples, the media monitoring entity can run a signature match using the station ID decoded from the watermark to determine if the monitored media is live or time-shifted without needing to decode the timestamp of the watermark. Examples disclosed herein use the station ID during signature matching to reduce the number of false positives during the signature matching process. In some examples, the station ID focuses the signature matching lookup, which makes the signature matching less process intensive and more reliable. Examples disclosed herein allow leveraging the information from the detected watermarks in a challenging acoustic environment. 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram of an example environment in which the teachings of this disclosure may be implemented. The example environment  100  of  FIG.  1    includes an example media meter  105 , an example network  110 , and an example data center  115 . The example data center  115  includes an example meter data analyzer  120 , an example reference database  130 , and an example live media creditor  140 . 
     In the illustrated example of  FIG.  1   , the example media meter  105  collects media monitoring information. In some examples, the media meter  105  is associated with (e.g., installed on, coupled to, etc.) a media device. For example, a media device associated with the media meter  105  presents media (e.g., via a display, etc.). In some examples, the media device associated with the media meter  105  additionally or alternatively presents the media on separate media presentation equipment (e.g., speakers, a display, etc.). For example, the media device associated with the media meter  105  can include a personal computer, an Internet-enabled mobile handset (e.g., a smartphone, an iPod®, etc.), a video game console (e.g., Xbox®, PlayStation 3, etc.), a tablet computer (e.g., an iPad®, a Motorola™ Xoom™, etc.), a digital media player (e.g., a Roku® media player, a Slingbox®, a Tivo®, etc.), a television, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, etc. In some examples, the media meter  105  can have direct connections (e.g., physical connections) to the media device to be monitored, and/or may be connected wirelessly (e.g., via Wi-Fi, via Bluetooth, etc.) to the media device to be monitored. 
     Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the media meter  105  is a portable meter carried by one or more individual people. In the illustrated example, the media meter  105  monitors media presented to one or more people associated with the media meter  105  and generates monitoring data. In some examples, the monitoring data generated by the media meter  105  can include watermarks embedded in the audio signals of the presented media. In some examples, the media meter  105  can detect/decode the watermarks embedded in the audio signals. In some examples, the media meter  105  can generate signatures associated with the presented media while also decoding the watermarks from the presented media. For example, the media meter  105  can determine a signature (e.g., generate signatures, extract signatures, etc.) associated with the presented media that included the embedded watermark. 
     The example network  110  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  1    is a network used to transmit the monitoring data to the data center  115 . In some examples, the network  110  can be the Internet and/or any other suitable external network. In some examples, any other suitable means of transmitting the monitoring data to the data center  115  can be used. 
     The example data center  115  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  1    is an execution environment used to implement the example meter data analyzer  120 , the example reference database  130 , and the example live media creditor  140 . In some examples, the data center  115  is associated with a media monitoring entity. In some examples, the data center  115  can be a physical processing center (e.g., a central facility of the media monitoring entity, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the data center  115  can be implemented via a cloud service (e.g., Amazon Web Services™, etc.). In this example, the data center  115  can further store and process reported watermark and signature reference data. 
     The example meter data analyzer  120  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  1    processes the gathered media monitoring data to detect and identify media associated with the monitoring data from the example media meter  105 . In some examples, the meter data analyzer  120  collects the station ID and timestamp from the monitoring data generated by the example media meter  105 . In some examples, the meter data analyzer  120  receives the watermark payload data (e.g., data symbols) in the monitoring data generated by the example media meter  105 . In such examples, the meter data analyzer  120  decodes the watermark data in the monitoring data to determine the station ID and timestamp. Additionally or alternatively, the meter data analyzer  120  decodes the watermark data in the monitoring data to determine other media identifiers (e.g., program identifier, episode identifier, etc.). In some examples, the meter data analyzer  120  determines that the monitoring data experienced interference and/or other errors in decoding the timestamp of the watermark, and the example meter data analyzer performs a signature matching search with the station ID of the watermark to determine a detection time for the media associated with the watermark. However, the meter data analyzer  120  can additionally or alternatively perform a signature matching search with the other media identifiers. An example implementation of the meter data analyzer  120  is described below in conjunction with  FIG.  2   . 
     The example reference database  130  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  1    includes generated reference signatures created or otherwise obtained by the example data center  115 . In some examples, the media monitoring entity associated with the reference database  130  can directly monitor media source feeds to generate reference signatures. Additionally or alternatively, the media monitoring entity associated with the reference database  130  can generate reference signatures from downloaded reference media, etc. In some examples, each reference signature stored in the reference database  130  is associated with a particular reference media, such as, but not limited to, an episode of a television series, a movie, an advertisement, etc. In some examples, each reference signature stored in the reference database  130  is associated with a timestamp, which indicates a time associated with the reference signature, such as a broadcast time of the reference media or portion thereof represented by the reference signature, a time within the reference media (e.g., a time in content) represented by the reference signature, a time at which the reference signature was generated, etc. In some examples, the reference signature can be associated with multiple timestamps representative of such different times. In some examples, the reference database  130  can include a library (e.g., database, table, etc.) of reference signatures. 
     The example live media creditor  140  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  1    uses identification data from the example meter data analyzer  120  to credit the media exposure as either live or time-shifted. In some examples, the live media creditor  140  generates a report including data metrics regarding live or time-shifted media that may be presented to media providers. 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram of an example implementation of the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  1   . The example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2    includes an example network interface  202 , an example watermark data segmenter  204 , an example detection time determiner  206 , an example database interface  208 , an example reference identifier  210 , an example signature matcher  212 , an example viewing type determiner  214 , and an example creditor interface  216 . 
     The example network interface  202  of the illustrated example  FIG.  2    allows the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  1    to receive the monitoring data from the example network  110 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can convert the monitoring data into a format readable by the meter data analyzer  120 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can be in continuous communication with the network  110  and/or the media meter  105 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can be in intermittent (e.g., periodic or aperiodic) communication with the network  110  and/or the media meter  105 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can be absent. In such examples, the media meter  105  can be in direct communication with the meter data analyzer  120 . For example, if the example meter data analyzer  120  is implemented via a cloud service, the media meter  105  can upload the monitoring data directly to the cloud service. In some examples, the network interface  202  obtains a media watermark from the monitoring data. In some examples, the network interface  202  obtains the station ID and timestamp of the decoded media watermark from the monitoring data. In some examples, the network interface  202  obtains the watermark symbols from the monitoring data and decodes the symbols to determine the station ID, timestamp, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the network interface  202  obtains other media identifiers (e.g., program identifier, episode identifier, etc.) from the media watermark. 
     The example watermark data segmenter  204  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  2    obtains the watermark data from the example network interface  202 . In some examples, the watermark data segmenter  204  identifies the station ID from the decoded watermark. In some examples, the watermark data segmenter  204  decodes the watermark symbol to identify the station ID of the watermark. However, the watermark data segmenter  204  can additionally or alternatively identify the other media identifiers of the watermark. 
     In the illustrated example of  FIG.  2   , the example detection time determiner  206  determines the time of detection for the watermark. In some examples, the media meter  105  of the example of  FIG.  1    records the time (e.g., time of day) at which the watermark was detected in a monitored audio signal. In such examples, the example media meter  105  includes the time of detection in the monitoring data obtained by the network interface  202 . In some examples, the detection time determiner  206  obtains the time of detection recorded by the example media meter  105 . 
     The example database interface  208  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  2    obtains example reference signatures from the example reference database  130 . In some examples, the database interface  208  provides the example reference identifier  210  with access to the example reference signatures stored in the example reference database  130 . 
     The example reference identifier  210  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  2    identifies reference signatures in the example reference database  130  that are associated with reference information corresponding to the watermark data. For example, the reference identifier  210  identifies if any reference signatures stored in the reference database  130  are associated with the station identifier of the watermark. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  queries a library of reference signatures for reference signature(s) associated with the station ID of the watermark. However, the reference identifier  210  can additionally or alternatively query the library of reference signatures for reference signature(s) associated with the other media identifiers of the watermark (e.g., program identifier, episode identifier, etc.). In some examples, the reference identifier  210  determines if any of the identified reference signatures having the same station ID as the watermark are associated with a reference timestamp that corresponds to the watermark time of detection. For example, the reference identifier  210  queries the identified reference signatures with the same station ID for a reference signature that is associated with a reference timestamp that represents a media presentation time (e.g., a broadcast time, a download time, etc.) corresponding to the time at which the media meter  105  detected the watermark. In such examples, “corresponding to” refers to the reference timestamp being within a tolerance or threshold of time from the watermark time of detection (e.g., the difference in time between the reference timestamp and the watermark time of detection satisfies the threshold). For example, the tolerance or threshold of time may be within three seconds, five seconds, etc. If the example reference identifier  210  determines that an identified reference signature is associated with a reference timestamp that corresponds to the watermark time of detection, then the reference identifier  210  identifies the reference signature with similar reference information. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  provides the information of the reference signature to the example signature matcher  212 . In some examples, the reference identifier  210  identifies a sequence of reference signatures with similar reference information. If the example reference identifier  210  determines that none of the identified reference signatures are associated with the reference times corresponding to the watermark time of detection, then the example reference identifier  210  does not identify any reference signatures. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  provides the signature matcher  212  with no reference signatures. 
     The example signature matcher  212  of the illustrated example of  FIG.  2    determines if the reference identifier  210  identified a reference signature or sequence of reference signatures. If the signature matcher  212  does not receive an identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures, then the signature matcher  212  does not perform signature matching and does not provide the example viewing type determiner  214  with a successful match. If the signature matcher  212  receives an identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures, then the signature matcher  212  performs signature matching between the identified reference signature from the example reference identifier  210  and the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105  of  FIG.  1   . In some examples, the media meter  105  can generate monitored media signatures associated with the presented media while also decoding the watermark from the presented media. For example, the monitoring data from the media meter  105  can include monitored media signatures that were generated by the media meter  105  for the presented media that included the watermark. The signature matcher  212  compares the monitored media signatures in the monitoring data to the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the example reference identifier  210 . For example, the signature matcher  212  can determine if the monitored media signatures of the monitoring data match the reference data of the identified reference signatures. In some examples disclosed herein, the signature matcher  212  may perform matching using any suitable means (e.g., linear matching, hashed matching, etc.). 
     In the illustrated example of  FIG.  2   , the example viewing type determiner  214  determines if the signature matching was successful. In some examples, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was successful when the example signature matcher  212  provides a matching reference signature or sequence of matching reference signatures to the viewing type determiner  214 . For example, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was successful when the example signature matcher  212  matches the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210  to the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105 . In some examples, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful when the example signature matcher  212  does not provide a matching reference signature or sequence of matching reference signatures to the viewing type determiner  214 . For example, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful when the example signature matcher  212  does not match the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210  to the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105 . If the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that signature matching was successful, then the viewing type determiner  214  identifies the watermarked media as live. If the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful, then the viewing type determiner  214  identifies the watermarked media as time-shifted. The example viewing type determiner  214  provides the example creditor interface  216  with the live identification or the time-shifted identification for the watermarked media. 
     In the illustrated example of  FIG.  2   , the example creditor interface  216  credits the watermarked media as either live or time-shifted based on the output of the example viewing type determiner  214 . The example creditor interface  216  generates identification data for the watermarked media based on the output of the example viewing type determiner  214 . In some examples, the creditor interface  216  transmits the identification data to the live media creditor  140 . 
     While an example manner of implementing the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  1    is illustrated in  FIG.  2   , one or more of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated in  FIGS.  2    may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, the example network interface  202 , the example watermark data segmenter  204 , the example detection time determiner  206 , the example database interface  208 , the example reference identifier  210 , the example signature matcher  212 , the example viewing type determiner  214 , the example creditor interface  216  and/or, more generally, the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2    may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of the example network interface  202 , the example watermark data segmenter  204 , the example detection time determiner  206 , the example database interface  208 , the reference identifier  210 , the example signature matcher  212 , the example viewing type determiner  214 , the example creditor interface  216  and/or, more generally, the example meter data analyzer  120  could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s), graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example network interface  202 , the example watermark data segmenter  204 , the example detection time determiner  206 , the example database interface  208 , the reference identifier  210 , the example signature matcher  212 , the example viewing type determiner  214 , and/or the example creditor interface  216  is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. including the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2    may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in  FIGS.  3  and  4   , and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices. As used herein, the phrase “in communication,” including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communication through one or more intermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, but rather additionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events. 
     Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readable instructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or any combination thereof for implementing the meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2    are shown in  FIGS.  3  and  4   . The machine readable instructions may be one or more executable programs or portion(s) of an executable program for execution by a computer processor and/or processor circuitry, such as the processor  512  shown in the example processor platform  500  discussed below in connection with  FIG.  5   . The program(s) may be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor  512 , but the entire program(s) and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor  512  and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example program(s) is(are) described with reference to the flowchart illustrated in  FIGS.  4 - 5   , many other methods of implementing the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2    may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all of the blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, an ASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit, etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation without executing software or firmware. The processor circuitry may be distributed in different network locations and/or local to one or more devices (e.g., a multi-core processor in a single machine, multiple processors distributed across a server rack, etc.). 
     The machine readable instructions described herein may be stored in one or more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a fragmented format, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc. Machine readable instructions as described herein may be stored as data or a data structure (e.g., portions of instructions, code, representations of code, etc.) that may be utilized to create, manufacture, and/or produce machine executable instructions. For example, the machine readable instructions may be fragmented and stored on one or more storage devices and/or computing devices (e.g., servers) located at the same or different locations of a network or collection of networks (e.g., in the cloud, in edge devices, etc.). The machine readable instructions may require one or more of installation, modification, adaptation, updating, combining, supplementing, configuring, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution, reassignment, compilation, etc. in order to make them directly readable, interpretable, and/or executable by a computing device and/or other machine. For example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in multiple parts, which are individually compressed, encrypted, and stored on separate computing devices, wherein the parts when decrypted, decompressed, and combined form a set of executable instructions that implement one or more functions that may together form a program such as that described herein. 
     In another example, the machine readable instructions may be stored in a state in which they may be read by processor circuitry, but require addition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc. in order to execute the instructions on a particular computing device or other device. In another example, the machine readable instructions may need to be configured (e.g., settings stored, data input, network addresses recorded, etc.) before the machine readable instructions and/or the corresponding program(s) can be executed in whole or in part. Thus, machine readable media, as used herein, may include machine readable instructions and/or program(s) regardless of the particular format or state of the machine readable instructions and/or program(s) when stored or otherwise at rest or in transit. 
     The machine readable instructions described herein can be represented by any past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language, programming language, etc. For example, the machine readable instructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C, C++, Java, C #, Perl, Python, JavaScript, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc. 
     As mentioned above, the example processes of  FIGS.  3  and  4    may be implemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. 
     “Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are used herein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any form of “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation of any kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc. may be present without falling outside the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including” are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form such as A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as (1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) B with C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performance or execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B. 
     As used herein, singular references (e.g., “a”, “an”, “first”, “second”, etc.) do not exclude a plurality. The term “a” or “an” entity, as used herein, refers to one or more of that entity. The terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more”, and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method actions may be implemented by, e.g., a single unit or processor. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these may possibly be combined, and the inclusion in different examples or claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. 
       FIG.  3    is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2   . The program  300  of  FIG.  3    begins execution at block  302  at which the example network interface  202  collects monitoring data from the example network  110 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can be in continuous communication with the network  110  and/or the media meter  105 . In some examples, the network interface  202  can be in intermittent (e.g., periodic or aperiodic) communication with the network  110  and/or the media meter  105 . At block  304 , the example network interface  202  obtains a media watermark from the monitoring data. In some examples, the network interface  202  obtains the station ID and timestamp of the decoded media watermark from the monitoring data. In some examples, the network interface  202  obtains the watermark data symbols (e.g., watermark payload data) from the monitoring data. 
     At block  306 , the example watermark data segmenter  204  identifies the station identifier from the watermark. In some examples, the watermark data segmenter  204  obtains the watermark data from the example network interface  202 . In some examples, the watermark data segmenter  204  identifies the station ID from the decoded watermark. In some examples, the watermark data segmenter  204  decodes the watermark symbol to identify the station ID of the watermark. In the illustrated example, the watermark data segmenter  204  provides the station ID to the detection time determiner  206 . 
     At block  308 , the example detection time determiner  206  determines a time of detection for the watermark. In some examples, the media meter  105  of the example  FIG.  1    records the time that the watermark was detected in a monitored media signal (e.g., a monitored audio signal). In such examples, the example media meter  105  includes the time of detection in the monitoring data obtained by the network interface  202 . In some examples, the detection time determiner  206  obtains the time of detection recorded by the example media meter  105 . 
     At block  310 , the example database interface  208  obtains the example reference signatures from the example reference database  130 . In some examples, the database interface  208  provides the example signature matcher  212  with access to the example reference signatures stored in the example reference database  130 . 
     At block  312 , the example reference identifier  210  identifies reference signatures. The reference identifier  210  identifies reference signatures in the example reference database  130  that are associated with reference information corresponding to the watermark data. As described in further detail below, the example flowchart  312  of  FIG.  4    represents example instructions that may be implemented to perform the identification of the reference signatures. 
     At block  314 , the example signature matcher  212  determines if any reference signatures were identified by the example reference identifier  210 . The signature matcher  212  determines if the reference identifier  210  identified a reference signature or sequence of reference signatures. If the signature matcher  212  does not receive an identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210 , then process  300  continues to block  322  at which the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as time-shifted. In some examples, if the signature matcher  212  does not receive an identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures, then the signature matcher  212  does not perform signature matching and does not provide the example viewing type determiner  214  with a successful match. If the signature matcher  212  receives an identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210 , then process  300  continues to block  316  at which the example signature matcher  212  performs signature matching. 
     At block  316 , the example signature matcher  212  performs signature matching. In some examples, the signature matcher  212  performs signature matching between the identified reference signature from the example reference identifier  210  and the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105  of  FIG.  1   . In some examples, the media meter  105  can generate monitored media signatures associated with the presented media while also decoding the watermarks from the presented media. For example, the monitoring data from the media meter  105  can include monitored media signatures that were generated by the media meter  105  for the presented media that included the watermark. The signature matcher  212  compares the monitored media signatures in the monitoring data to the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the example reference identifier  210 . For example, the signature matcher  212  can determine if the monitored media signatures of the monitoring data match the reference data of the identified reference signatures. In some examples disclosed herein, the signature matcher  212  may perform matching using any suitable means (e.g., linear matching, hashed matching, etc.). 
     At block  318 , the example viewing type determiner  214  determines if the signature matching was successful. In some examples, the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was successful when the example signature matcher  212  provides the example viewing type determiner  214  with a matching reference signature or sequence of matching reference signatures from the example reference identifier  210 . For example, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was successful when the example signature matcher  212  matches the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210  to the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105 . In some examples, the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful when the example signature matcher  212  does not provide the example viewing type determiner  214  with a matching reference signature or sequence of matching reference signatures. For example, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful when the example signature matcher  212  does not match the identified reference signature or sequence of identified reference signatures from the reference identifier  210  to the monitored media signatures from the example media meter  105 . In some examples, the viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful if the signature matcher  212  determines that no reference signature or sequence of reference signatures were identified by the example reference identifier  210 . If the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was successful, then process  400  continues to block  320  at which the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as live. If the example viewing type determiner  214  determines that the signature matching was not successful, then process  400  continues to block  322  at which the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as time-shifted. In some examples, the viewing type determiner  214  provides the example creditor interface  216  with the live identification or the time-shifted identification for the watermarked media. 
     At block  320 , the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as live. In some examples, the creditor interface  216  generates identification data for the watermarked media based on the output of the example viewing type determiner  214 . In some examples, the creditor interface  216  transmits the identification data to the live media creditor  140  of  FIG.  1   . Once the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as live, process  300  ends. 
     At block  322 , the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as time-shifted. In some examples, the creditor interface  216  generates identification data for the watermarked media based on the output of the example viewing type determiner  214 . In some examples, the creditor interface  216  transmits the identification data to the live media creditor  140  of  FIG.  1   . Once the example creditor interface  216  credits the media as time-shifted, process  300  ends. 
       FIG.  4    is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructions which may be executed to implement the example reference identifier  210  included in the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIG.  2   . The example program  312  of  FIG.  4    begins execution at block  402  at which the example reference identifier  210  identifies reference signatures associated with the watermark station identifier. For example, the reference identifier  210  identifies if any reference signatures stored in the reference database  130  are associated with the station identifier of the watermark. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  queries a library of reference signatures for reference signature(s) associated with the station ID of the watermark. 
     At block  404 , the example reference identifier  210  determines if any of the identified reference signatures associated with reference times correspond to the watermark time of detection. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  determines if any of the identified reference signatures having the same station ID as the watermark are associated with a reference timestamp that corresponds to the watermark time of detection. For example, the reference identifier  210  queries the identified reference signatures with the same station ID for a reference signature that is associated with a reference timestamp that represents a media presentation time (e.g., a broadcast time, a download time, etc.) corresponding to the time at which the media meter  105  detected the watermark. In such examples, “corresponding to” refers to the reference timestamp being within a tolerance or threshold of time from the watermark time of detection (e.g., the difference in time between the reference timestamp and the watermark time of detection satisfies the threshold). For example, the tolerance or threshold of time may be within three seconds, five seconds, etc. If the example reference identifier  210  determines that an identified reference signature associated with a reference time corresponds to the watermark time of detection, then process  400  continues to block  406  at which the example reference identifier  210  identifies reference signature with corresponding reference information. If the example reference identifier  210  determines that none of the identified reference signatures associated with the reference times correspond to the watermark time of detection, then process  400  continues to block  408  at which the example reference identifier  210  identifies no reference signatures with corresponding reference information. 
     At block  406 , the example reference identifier  210  identifies the reference signature with corresponding reference information. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  provides the information of the reference signature to the example signature matcher  212 . In some examples, the reference identifier  210  identifies a sequence of reference signatures with similar reference information. Once the example reference identifier  210  identifies reference signature with corresponding reference information, process  312  completes and returns to process  300  of  FIG.  3   . 
     At block  408 , the example reference identifier  210  identifies no reference signatures with corresponding reference information. In some examples, the reference identifier  210  provides the signature matcher  212  with no reference signatures. Once the example reference identifier  210  identifies no reference signatures with corresponding reference information, process  312  completes and returns to process  300  of  FIG.  3   . 
       FIG.  5    is a block diagram of an example processor platform  500  structured to execute the instructions of  FIGS.  3  and  4    to implement the example meter data analyzer  120  of  FIGS.  1  and/or  2   . The processor platform  500  can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, a self-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, a headset or other wearable device, or any other type of computing device. 
     The processor platform  500  of the illustrated example includes a processor  512 . The processor  512  of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, the processor  512  can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardware processor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. In this example, the processor implements the example network interface  202 , the example watermark data segmenter  204 , the example detection time determiner  206 , the example database interface  208 , the example reference identifier  210 , the example signature matcher  212 , the example viewing type determiner  214 , and the example creditor interface  216 . 
     The processor  512  of the illustrated example includes a local memory  513  (e.g., a cache). The processor  512  of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory  514  and a non-volatile memory  516  via a bus  518 . The volatile memory  514  may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatile memory  516  may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory  514 ,  516  is controlled by a memory controller. 
     The processor platform  500  of the illustrated example also includes an interface circuit  520 . The interface circuit  520  may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near field communication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface. 
     In the illustrated example, one or more input devices  522  are connected to the interface circuit  520 . The input device(s)  522  permit(s) a user to enter data and/or commands into the processor  512 . The input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system. 
     One or more output devices  524  are also connected to the interface circuit  520  of the illustrated example. The output devices  524  can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching (IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printer and/or speaker. The interface circuit  520  of the illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip and/or a graphics driver processor. 
     The interface circuit  520  of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a network interface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network  526 . The communication can be via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, a satellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephone system, etc. 
     The processor platform  500  of the illustrated example also includes one or more mass storage devices  528  for storing software and/or data. Examples of such mass storage devices  528  include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. 
     The machine executable instructions  532  of  FIGS.  3  and  4    may be stored in the mass storage device  528 , in the volatile memory  514 , in the non-volatile memory  516 , and/or on a removable non-transitory computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD. 
     From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that allow for leveraging the information from the detected watermarks in an environment with ambient noise to determine crediting of live and time-shifted media. The disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture use the watermark data in conjunction with signature matching to determine if the watermark identifies live or time-shifted media. The disclosed examples improve the efficiency of using a computing device by using the station ID and detection time of the watermark to focus the signature matching process. The disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are accordingly directed to one or more improvement(s) in the functioning of a computer. 
     Example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to use station identification to enable confirmation of exposure to live media are disclosed herein. Further examples and combinations thereof include the following: 
     Example 1 includes an apparatus comprising a watermark data segmenter to determine a media identifier conveyed by a watermark, a detection time determiner to determine a time at which a media meter detected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device, a reference identifier to query a library of reference signatures for a reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark, and a viewing type determiner to determine whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of the query indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library of reference signatures. 
     Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark when a difference in time between the reference timestamp and the time at which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies a threshold. 
     Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 2, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to a broadcast time or a download time of the reference signature. 
     Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the viewing type determiner is to determine that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library of reference signatures. 
     Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 1, the apparatus further including a signature matcher to compare a monitored media signature to an identified reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with the reference timestamp, the monitored media signature included in monitoring data reported by the media meter. 
     Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the viewing type determiner is to determine that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query indicates the reference signature exists in the library of reference signatures and the identified reference signature does not match the monitored media signature. 
     Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the viewing type determiner is to determine that the media presentation is live when the result of the query indicates the reference signature exists in the library of reference signatures and the identified reference signature matches the monitored media signature. 
     Example 8 includes the apparatus of example 1, the apparatus further including a creditor interface to credit media associated with the watermark as live or time-shifted. 
     Example 9 includes a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least determine a media identifier conveyed by a watermark, determine a time at which a media meter detected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device, query a library of reference signatures for a reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark, and determine whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of the query indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library of reference signatures. 
     Example 10 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium of example 9, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark when a difference in time between the reference timestamp and the time at which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies a threshold. 
     Example 11 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium of example 9, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query indicates the reference signature does not exist in the library of reference signatures. 
     Example 12 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium of example 9, wherein the instructions cause the machine to compare a monitored media signature to an identified reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with the reference timestamp, the monitored media signature included in monitoring data reported by the media meter. 
     Example 13 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium of example 12, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query indicates the reference signature exists in the library of reference signatures and the identified reference signature does not match the monitored media signature. 
     Example 14 includes the non-transitory computer readable medium of example 12, wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine that the media presentation is live when the result of the query indicates the reference signature exists in the library of reference signatures and the identified reference signature matches the monitored media signature. 
     Example 15 includes a method comprising determining a media identifier conveyed by a watermark, determining a time at which a media meter detected the watermark from a media presentation by a media device, querying, by executing an instruction with a processor, a library of reference signatures for a reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with a reference timestamp corresponding to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark, and determining whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted based on whether a result of the query returns at least one reference signature that satisfies the query. 
     Example 16 includes the method of example 15, wherein the reference timestamp corresponds to the time at which the media meter detected the watermark when a difference in time between the reference timestamp and the time at which the media meter detected the watermark satisfies a threshold. 
     Example 17 includes the method of example 15, wherein the determining of whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includes determining that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query does not return the at least one reference signature that satisfies the query. 
     Example 18 includes the method of example 15, further including comparing a monitored media signature to an identified reference signature associated with the media identifier of the watermark and associated with the reference timestamp, the monitored media signature included in monitoring data reported by the media meter. 
     Example 19 includes the method of example 18, wherein the determining of whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includes determining that the media presentation is time-shifted when the result of the query returns the at least one reference signature that satisfies the query and the identified reference signature does not match the monitored media signature. 
     Example 20 includes the method of example 18, wherein the determining of whether the media presentation is live or time-shifted includes determining that the media presentation is live when the result of the query returns the at least one reference signature that satisfies the query and the identified reference signature matches the monitored media signature. Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent. 
     The following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.