Patent Publication Number: US-2009222850-A1

Title: Advertisement skip view

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Viewers have an ever-increasing selection of media content to choose from, such as television programming, on-demand movies and music, and/or recorded media content that is available for streaming from a content distributor to a media device. For example, scheduled television programming can be recorded at the time of broadcast when initially distributed for viewing, and can then be made available for on-demand viewing when requested via a media device. This is commonly referred to as Network Digital Video Recording (nDVR) and a viewer can request the recorded television content, such as movies and television programs, when convenient for the viewer. 
     Media content that is recorded from non-premium or subscription-based television channels generally includes advertisements. Many of the media devices that support playback of recorded media content, such as television client devices (e.g., a television set-top box, a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.), provide viewers with media content navigation features that are typically initiated with a remote control device. These media content navigation features include commands such as pause, fast-forward, rewind, and the like. Some of the media devices may also provide viewers with a thirty-second advance command that advances recorded media content thirty-seconds for each navigation input. While beneficial when used to shorten the time for viewing a recorded program, a “fast-forward” or other similar type of navigation advance input enables a viewer to bypass and ignore the advertisements that are included in the recorded media content between segments of a program. 
     These advertisement bypass features can be undesirable for advertisers, media content distributors, and viewers alike. The advertisements for products and services are typically a primary source of revenue for a distributor of the media content, and advertisers want viewers to see their advertisements. As more viewers attain the ability to bypass the advertisements in their programming choices, advertisers will become unwilling to have their advertising messages communicated in the traditional manner. 
     Some content distributors have opted to remove the thirty-second advance functionality from the remote control devices provided with the television client devices, leaving only the fast-forward function to advance ahead in a program. However, the fast-forward function does not provide a convenient media content advance function for skipping segments of a recorded program, such as television commercials. The video that is being displayed in a fast-forward mode must be observed by the viewer to input another remote control input, such as another fast-forward or play input, at precisely the right time to keep from overrunning a commercial and missing part of the program. 
     Although viewers may want to bypass the advertisements, some may still want to see at least a portion of an advertisement to discern whether a product or service offered in the advertisement may be of interest. The viewers may also want to bypass the advertisements without the complications of fast-forwarding, such as having to watch the display and initiate a play command before running past the advertisements, missing part of the desired programming, and then having to rewind the recorded media content. 
     SUMMARY 
     This summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of advertisement skip view. The simplified concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     In embodiment(s) of advertisement skip view, a video stream of recorded media content can be distributed to a media device when requested at the media device to render as television media content for viewing. The recorded media content can include one or more advertisement pods that each include one or more advertisements. A skip command can be received from the media device to skip an advertisement in an advertisement pod that is rendered for viewing, such as when a viewer initiates a skip command at the media device. A focal position in a next advertisement in the advertisement pod can then be determined to skip to the focal position in the next advertisement. The recorded media content can then be distributed to the media device from the focal position in the next advertisement. 
     In other embodiment(s), a focal position in an advertisement can be determined as a beginning of the advertisement, an end of the advertisement, a position near the end of the advertisement, or any position in the advertisement that conveys the advertising message. When an advertisement skip command is received from a media device, a next advertisement can be rendered for viewing at the media device from the determined focal position in the next advertisement. A play command (or other designated command) may then be received from the media device as an indication to render the advertisement for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement, and the advertisement can then be provided for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement. 
     In other embodiment(s), it can also be determined that the advertisement being skipped is a last advertisement in the advertisement pod. If an advertisement skip command is received while the last advertisement is being rendered for viewing, the media device can be provided with the recorded media content from the end of the last advertisement. The media device can then render the recorded media content for viewing from the end of the last advertisement, which in one example, correlates to a beginning of a next segment of the desired programming after the advertisement pod of advertisements. 
     In other embodiment(s), an advertisement skip command can be received as an auto-skip command, in which case the advertisements in an advertisement pod can be sequentially skipped to the respective focal positions. When the last advertisement in the advertisement pod is determined, the media device can be provided with the recorded media content from the end of the last advertisement, and the media device can then render the recorded media content for viewing from the end of the last advertisement which may also correlate to a beginning of a segment of the desired programming. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of advertisement skip view are described with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example system in which embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates another example system in which embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates example method(s) for advertisement skip view in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates example method(s) for advertisement skip view in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates various components of an example device which can implement embodiments of advertisement skip view. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates various devices and components in an example media content distribution system in which embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of advertisement skip view provide that a skip command can be received to skip to a focal position in an advertisement so that a viewer can see at least a portion of an advertisement to discern whether a product or service offered in an advertisement may be of interest. The viewer is given the ability to watch an entire advertisement if a product or service offered in the advertisement is of interest to the viewer. The advertisement skip view also provides that a viewer can see a portion of each advertisement yet, quickly advance through an advertisement pod of several advertisements, without having to initiate the fast-forward function (or a similar command). After quickly advancing through all of the advertisements in an advertisement pod, a viewer can advance to the beginning of desired programming without overrunning an advertisement or missing part of the desired programming. 
     While features and concepts of the described systems and methods for advertisement skip view can be implemented in any number of different environments, systems, and/or various configurations, embodiments of advertisement skip view are described in the context of the following example systems and environments. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example system  100  in which various embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. In this example, system  100  includes one or more content distributors  102  that communicate or otherwise provide media content  104  to any number of various media devices  106  via a communication network  108 . The various media devices  106  can include wireless media devices  110  as well as other client devices  112  (e.g., wired and/or wireless devices) that are implemented as components in various client systems  114  in a media content distribution system. 
     The communication network  108  can be implemented to include a broadcast network, an IP-based network  116 , and/or a wireless network  118  that facilitates media content distribution and data communication between the content distributors  102  and any number of the various media devices. The communication network  108  can also be implemented as part of a media content distribution system using any type of network topology and/or communication protocol, and can be represented or otherwise implemented as a combination of two or more networks. 
     In the example system  100 , a content distributor  102  includes storage media  120  to store or otherwise maintain various data and media content, such as media content  104 , media content metadata  122 , and/or recorded media content  124  (e.g., recorded on-demand assets, recorded movies, recorded television programming, etc.). In a Network Digital Video Recording (nDVR) implementation, recorded on-demand assets can be recorded when initially distributed to the various media devices as scheduled television media content. The storage media  120  can be implemented as any type of memory, random access memory (RAM), a nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, read only memory (ROM), and/or other suitable electronic data storage. Content distributor  102  can also include one or more media content servers  126  that are implemented to communicate, or otherwise distribute, the media content  104 , media content metadata  122 , recorded media content  124 , and/or other data to any number of the various media devices. 
     The media content  104  and/or recorded media content  124  can include any type of audio, video, and/or image media content received from any type of media content source. As described throughout, “media content” can include television programs (or programming), advertisements, commercials, music, movies, and on-demand media content. Other media content or recorded media content can include interactive games, network-based applications, and any other audio, video, and/or image content (e.g., to include program guide application data, user interface data, search results and/or recommendations, and the like). 
     The media content  104  and/or the recorded media content  124  can include desired programming (e.g., a television show, movie, or sporting event that a viewer desires to watch), as well as one or more advertisement pods  128 . An advertisement pod  128  can include one or more advertisements  130  or commercials for various products and/or services. Thus, a video stream of recorded media content  124  that is distributed to a media device can include multiple segments of desired programming interspersed or separated by multiple advertisement pods  128 , each having one or more advertisements  130 . 
     Content distributor  102  also includes an advertisement skip service  132  that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions and executed by processor(s) to implement the various embodiments and/or features described herein. In addition, a content distributor  102  can be implemented with any number and combination of differing components as further described with reference to the example device shown in  FIG. 5  and/or the example content distributor shown in  FIG. 6 . The advertisement skip service  132 , as well as other functionality described to implement embodiments of advertisement skip view, can also be provided as a service apart from the content distributor  102  (e.g., on a separate server or by a third party service). 
     The wireless media devices  110  can include any type of device implemented to receive and/or communicate wireless data, such as any one or combination of a mobile phone device  134  (e.g., cellular, VoIP, WiFi, etc.), a portable computer device  136 , a media device  138  (e.g., a personal media player, portable media player, etc.), and/or any other wireless media device that can receive media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data. Each of the client systems  114  include a respective client device and display device  140  that together render or playback any form of audio, video, and/or image media content. 
     A display device  140  can be implemented as any type of a television, high definition television (HDTV), LCD, or similar display system. A client device in a client system  114  can be implemented as any one or combination of a television client device  142  (e.g., a television set-top box, a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.), a computer device  144 , a gaming system  146 , an appliance device, an electronic device, and/or as any other type of client device that may be implemented to receive media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data in a media content distribution system. 
     Any of the media devices can be implemented with one or more processors, communication components, memory components, signal processing and control circuits, and a media content rendering system. Further, any of the wireless media devices  110  and/or other client devices  112  can be implemented with any number and combination of differing components as further described with reference to the example media device shown in  FIG. 2  and/or the example device shown in  FIG. 5 . A media device may also be associated with a user or viewer (i.e., a person) and/or an entity that operates the device such that a media device describes logical devices that include users, software, and/or a combination of devices. 
     Any of the wireless media devices  110  and/or other client devices  112  can communicate with any number of content distributors  102  via a two-way data communication link  148  of the communication network  108 . It is contemplated that any one or more of the arrowed communication link  148 , IP-based network  116 , and wireless network  118 , along with communication network  108 , facilitate two-way data communication, such as from a media device to a content distributor  102  and vice-versa. 
     The advertisement skip service  132  at content distributor  102  can be implemented to receive a skip command from a media device  106  and skip an advertisement  130  in an advertisement pod  128  that is rendered for viewing at the media device. When a skip command is received from the media device  106 , the advertisement skip service  132  can determine a focal position in a next advertisement in the advertisement pod  128  that follows the advertisement  130  which is being skipped. The advertisement skip service  132  can then skip to the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod  128  so that the recorded media content  124  can be distributed to the media device from the focal position in the next advertisement. 
     A focal position can be defined as a position in an advertisement  130  that may convey a message of the advertisement and/or content that is likely of interest to viewers. The focal position in an advertisement may also be the position designated, or otherwise desired, as the position in the advertisement that an advertiser would want viewers to see. When an advertisement is rendered for viewing for a short period of time from the focal position, the message of the advertisement and/or the interesting content can be conveyed to a viewer. Thus, rendering a video stream of recorded media content  124  from a focal position of an advertisement may include one or more images, sounds, words, graphics, video, and/or other context that quickly convey the message of the advertisement and/or other interesting content to a viewer. This allows a viewer to receive advertising messages while skipping through advertisements that are included with desired programming. 
     The advertisement skip service  132  can determine a beginning and/or an end of an advertisement  130 . Accordingly, the advertisement skip service can be implemented to determine one or various focal positions in an advertisement. In one embodiment, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine that a focal position in a next advertisement is a beginning of the next advertisement or a position near the beginning of the next advertisement in an advertisement pod  128 . In another embodiment, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine that a focal position in a next advertisement is an end of the next advertisement or a position near an end of the next advertisement in the advertisement pod  128 . For example, a position near an end of the next advertisement could be a position that is approximately ten seconds, five seconds, or one second before the end of the next advertisement. 
     In some instances it may be desirable to skip to a focal position in an advertisement that is currently being rendered. For example, if a focal position is at a position near an end of an advertisement that is currently being rendered for viewing, yet the advertisement is currently being rendered from the beginning, it may be desirable to skip to the focal position of the advertisement. Accordingly, in yet another embodiment, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to first determine whether the focal position of a current advertisement has been rendered for viewing. If the focal position in the current advertisement has not been rendered for viewing, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine that the focal position is at a beginning, an end, or position near a beginning or an end of the advertisement that is currently being rendered. If, on the other hand, the focal position in the current advertisement has been rendered for viewing, the advertisement skip service  132  can determine a focal position in the next advertisement. 
     In some embodiments, the location of a focal position in an advertisement can be defined by the content distributor  102 . For example, a focal position in an advertisement can be defined as a beginning of an advertisement for all advertisements. In this case, advertisers that desire to take advantage of the advertisement skip service  132  can create an advertising message and/or interesting content at the beginning of their advertisements. In other embodiments, the location of the focal position in an advertisement can be defined by the advertiser that provides the advertisement. In this case, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine, from the advertisements, different focal positions for the different advertisements. For example, advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine a focal position at a beginning of a first advertisement in an advertisement pod, and a focal position near an end of a second advertisement in the advertisement pod. 
     When an advertisement skip command is received by the advertisement skip service  132 , a next advertisement can be rendered for viewing at a media device  106  from the focal position in the next advertisement. For example, if the focal position is at a beginning of an advertisement, a viewer who wishes to view the entirety of the advertisement can simply watch the advertisement from the beginning of the advertisement. However, in embodiments where the focal position is at a position other than the beginning of an advertisement (e.g., at a position near the end of an advertisement), the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to receive a play command from a media device  106  as an indication to render the advertisement for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement. The advertisement can then be provided by the content distributor  102  for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement. 
     When an advertisement is rendered for viewing from a focal position near the end of an advertisement, a viewer may desire to watch the entire advertisement. To do so, a viewer can simply press a play button (or another designated input button) on a remote input device  150  to initiate a video “play” command, and the advertisement skip service  132  can deliver the video stream to play the advertisement from the beginning of the advertisement. This embodiment is desirable for both advertisers, who want viewers to watch their advertisements, and viewers, who may only want to watch advertisements for products and/or from advertisers that are of interest to them. This also creates an incentive for advertisers to concentrate their efforts on providing interesting content at the focal position of their advertisements so that viewers will be enticed to watch the entire advertisement. 
     In other embodiments, advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to determine that a skip command is received while a last advertisement  130  in an advertisement pod  128  is being rendered for viewing by a media device  106 . A last advertisement in an advertisement pod may also be referred to as the advertisement that is directly before the next segment of desired programming. When a skip command is received while the last advertisement in an advertisement pod  128  is being rendered for viewing, the advertisement skip service  132  can skip to the end of the advertisement being rendered, which may also correlate to a beginning of a next segment of the desired programming. The content distributor  102  can then distribute the recorded media content  124  from the end of the last advertisement so that the media device  106  can render the desired programming for viewing. 
     In other embodiments, the advertisement skip service  132  can receive an auto-skip command, in which case the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to sequentially skip to a focal position in a next advertisement for each of the advertisements in an advertisement pod  128 . When a last advertisement in the advertisement pod is determined, the advertisement skip service  132  can skip to the end of the last advertisement, so that the content distributor  102  can then distribute the recorded media content  124  from the end of the last advertisement in the advertisement pod  128 , which may also correlate to a beginning of a next segment of the desired programming. Advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented to distribute each advertisement being skipped from the focal position for a predetermined time, such as for one second or five seconds. This may enable advertisers to quickly convey an advertising message to viewers, and will allow the viewers to quickly skip through the advertisements  130  in an advertisement pod  128 . 
     Although illustrated and described as a component or module of the content distributor  102 , the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented as an independent service to implement embodiments of advertisement skip view. Further, although the advertisement skip service  132  is illustrated and described as a single component or module, the advertisement skip service  132  can be implemented as several component applications or modules distributed to implement various embodiments of advertisement skip view as described herein. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an example system  200  in which various embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. In this example, system  200  includes one or more content distributors  202  and examples of wired and/or wireless media devices  204 , such as a portable media device  206  and a television client device  208 . A media device  204  can display various types of media content  210  (to include television media content). A viewer can interact with a media device  204  and initiate user inputs and selections of various media content navigation commands, such as on the portable media device  206  or with a remote control input device  212 . 
     An example of a content distributor is described with reference to content distributor  102  shown in  FIG. 1 . However, in this example system  200 , an advertisement skip service  214  is independent and implemented apart from content distributor  202  (e.g., on a separate server or by a third party service). The advertisement skip service  214  can be implemented as an optional service and/or as a service that users pay for to receive advertisement skip controls and/or any of the features and aspects of advertisement skip view. The advertisement skip service  214  can implement any of the techniques described above with reference to the advertisement skip service  132  shown in  FIG. 1 . The content distributor  202 , advertisement skip service  214 , and the media devices  204  can all be implemented for communication with each other via the communication network  108 , the IP-based network  116 , and/or the wireless network  118 . 
     In the example system  200 , a media device  204  includes one or more processors  216  (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like), media content inputs  218 , and recorded media content  220  (e.g., media content that has been received and recorded, recorded media content that is being received, recommended media content, etc.). The media content inputs  218  can include any type of wireless, broadcast, and/or over-the-air inputs via which media content is received. 
     Media device  204  can also include a device manager  222  (e.g., a control application, software application, signal processing and control module, etc.) that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions and executed by the processors  216  to implement various embodiments and/or features of advertisement skip view. The device manager  222  can be implemented to monitor and/or receive selectable inputs (e.g., viewer selections, navigation inputs, etc.) via an input device  212 , and initiate communication of user selections back to a content distributor  202  and/or the advertisement skip service  214 . 
     Media device  204  can also include a playback application  224  that can be implemented as computer-executable instructions and executed by the processors  216  to implement various embodiments and/or features of advertisement skip view. The playback application  224  can be implemented as a media control application to control the playback of recorded media content  220  and/or any other audio, video, and/or image media content that can be rendered and/or displayed for viewing at or in association with a media device  204 . 
     Media device  204  can also include a skip control module  226  that is local to a specific media device to implement any of the features and aspects of advertisement skip view. The skip control module  226  can implement any of the techniques described above with reference to the advertisement skip service  132  shown in  FIG. 1 . The skip control module  226  at media device  204  can be implemented to receive a skip command, such as from remote control input device  212 , and skip an advertisement in an advertisement pod that is rendered for viewing by the media device. When the skip command is received at the media device  201 , the skip control module  226  can determine a focal position in a next advertisement in the advertisement pod that follows the advertisement which is being skipped. The skip control module  226  can then skip to the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod so that the recorded media content  220  can be rendered for viewing from the focal position in the next advertisement. 
     The skip control module  226  can determine a beginning and/or an end of an advertisement. Accordingly, the skip control module can be implemented to determine one or various focal positions in an advertisement. In one embodiment, the skip control module  226  can be implemented to determine that a focal position in a next advertisement is a beginning of the next advertisement or a position near the beginning of the next advertisement in an advertisement pod. In another embodiment, the skip control module  226  can be implemented to determine that a focal position in a next advertisement is an end of the next advertisement or a position near an end of the next advertisement in the advertisement pod. For example, a position near an end of the next advertisement could be a position that is approximately ten seconds, five seconds, or one second before the end of the next advertisement. In some instances it may be desirable to skip to a focal position in the advertisement that is currently being rendered. Accordingly, in yet another embodiment, the skip control module  226  can be implemented to determine that a focal position is at a beginning, an end, or position near a beginning or an end of the advertisement that is currently being rendered. 
     When an advertisement skip command is received by the skip control module  226 , a next advertisement can be rendered for viewing from the focal position in the next advertisement. If the focal position is at a beginning of an advertisement, a viewer who wishes to view the entirety of the advertisement can simply watch the advertisement from the beginning of the advertisement. However, in embodiments where the focal position is at a position other than the beginning of an advertisement, the skip control module  226  can be implemented to receive a play command from remote control input device  212  as an indication to render the advertisement for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement. The advertisement can then be rendered for viewing from the beginning of the advertisement. 
     In other embodiments, advertisement skip control module  226  can be implemented to determine that a skip command is received while a last advertisement in an advertisement pod is being rendered for viewing by a media device  204 . When a skip command is received while the last advertisement in the advertisement pod is being rendered for viewing, the skip control module  226  can skip to the end of the advertisement being rendered, which may also correlate to a beginning of a next segment of the desired programming that a viewer wants to watch. The playback application  224  can then initiate that the recorded media content  220  be rendered for viewing from the end of the last advertisement 
     In other embodiments, the skip control module  226  can receive an auto-skip command, in which case the skip control module  226  can be implemented to sequentially skip to a focal position in a next advertisement for each of the advertisements in an advertisement pod. When a last advertisement in the advertisement pod is determined, the skip control module  226  can skip to the end of the last advertisement, so that the recorded media content  220  can be rendered for viewing from the end of the last advertisement in the advertisement pod, which may also correlate to a beginning of a next segment of the desired programming. Skip control module  226  can initiate the playback application  224  to render each advertisement being skipped for a predetermined time, such as for one second or five seconds. This may enable advertisers to quickly convey an advertising message to viewers, and will allow the viewers to quickly skip through the advertisements in an advertisement pod. 
     Example methods  300  and  400  are described with reference to respective  FIGS. 3 and 4  in accordance with one or more embodiments of advertisement skip view. Generally, any of the functions, methods, procedures, components, and modules described herein can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. A software implementation of a function, method, procedure, component, or module represents program code that performs specified tasks when executed on a computing-based processor. Example methods  300  and  400  may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions. Generally, computer-executable instructions can include software, applications, routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, functions, and the like. 
     The method(s) may also be practiced in a distributed computing environment where functions are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, computer-executable instructions may be located in both local and remote computer storage media, including memory storage devices. Further, the features described herein are platform-independent such that the techniques may be implemented on a variety of computing platforms having a variety of processors. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates example method(s)  300  of advertisement skip view. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method. 
     At block  302 , a video stream of recorded media content is distributed when requested by a media device. For example, the content distributor  102  ( FIG. 1 ) distributes recorded media content  124  to various media devices  106 , such as wireless media devices  110  and/or other client devices  112 . In one instance, the recorded media content  124  is distributed to a media device  106  as a video stream that includes a requested program (e.g., a recorded television program, a recorded movie, or other recorded media content requested by a viewer), and includes advertisement pods  128  that each have one or more advertisements  130 . The advertisement pods  128  are included around, or interspersed between, various segments of the requested program. 
     At block  304 , a determination is made as to whether a command to skip an advertisement is received. For example, the advertisement skip service  132  at content distributor  102  can receive a skip command from a media device  106  to skip an advertisement that is currently being rendered for viewing. If a skip command is not received (i.e., “no” from block  304 ), then the method continues at block  302  to distribute the video stream of recorded media content to the media device. 
     If a skip command is received (i.e., “yes” from block  304 ) then at block  306 , a focal position in a next advertisement in an advertisement pod is determined. For example, the advertisement skip service  132  at content distributor  102  determines a focal position in a next advertisement in the advertisement pod. A focal position can be determined as a beginning (or a position near a beginning), an end (or a position near an end), or any other position in any advertisement in the advertisement pod. As discussed above, a focal position may be a position in an advertisement that conveys a message of the advertisement or content that is likely to be of interest to viewers. 
     At block  308 , the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod is skipped to and, at block  310 , the recorded media content is distributed from the focal position in the next advertisement. For example, the advertisement skip service  132  skips to the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod  128 , and then initiates that the media content servers  126  distribute the recorded media content  124  from the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod. 
     At block  312 , a determination is made as to whether a command to play an advertisement is received. For example, a user or viewer at a wireless media device  110  or client device  112  can request to play an advertisement, that is currently being rendered for viewing, from the beginning of the advertisement. If a play command (or other designated command) is not received (i.e., “no” from block  312 ), then the method continues at block  304  to determine whether a subsequent skip command is received. If a play command (or other designated command) is received (i.e., “yes” from block  312 ), then at block  314 , the recorded media content is distributed from the beginning of the current advertisement. For example, the advertisement skip service  132  initiates the media content servers  126  at content distributor  102  to distribute the recorded media content  124  from the beginning of the advertisement that is currently being rendered for viewing at the media device. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates example method(s)  400  of advertisement skip view. The order in which the method is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method. 
     At block  402 , an advertisement that is included within recorded media content is rendered for viewing. For example, the media device  204  ( FIG. 2 ) renders recorded media content  220  which includes a requested program (e.g., a recorded television program, a recorded movie, or other recorded media content requested by a viewer), and includes advertisement pods  128  that each have one or more advertisements  130 . The advertisement pods  128  are included around, or interspersed between, various segments of the requested program. 
     At block  404 , a determination is made as to whether a command to skip an advertisement is received. For example, a user or viewer at media device  204  can initiate a request to skip an advertisement that is currently being rendered for viewing via user inputs or remote control device  212 . The skip control module  226 , or the advertisement skip service  214 , receives the skip command to skip the advertisement that is currently being rendered for viewing. If a skip command is not received (i.e., “no” from block  404 ), then the method continues at block  402  to render the recorded media content. 
     If a skip command is received (i.e., “yes” from block  404 ) then at block  406 , a focal position in a next advertisement in an advertisement pod is determined. For example, the skip control module  226  at media device  204  (or the advertisement skip service  214 ) determines a focal position in a next advertisement in the advertisement pod. A focal position can be determined as a beginning (or a position near a beginning), an end (or a position near an end), or any other position in a current or a next advertisement in the advertisement pod. As discussed above, a focal position may be a position in an advertisement that conveys the message of the advertisement or content that is likely to be of interest to viewers. 
     At block  408 , the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod is skipped to, and at block  410 , the recorded media content is rendered for viewing. For example, the skip control module  226  skips to the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod, and then initiates that the media device  204  render the recorded media content  220  from the focal position in the next advertisement in the advertisement pod. 
     At block  412 , a determination is made as to whether a command to play an advertisement is received. For example, a user or viewer can request to play an advertisement, that is currently being rendered for viewing, from the beginning of the advertisement using user inputs or remote control device  212 . If a play command (or other designated command) is not received (i.e., “no” from block  412 ), then the method continues at block  404  to determine whether a subsequent skip command is received. If a play command (or other designated command) is received (i.e., “yes” from block  412 ), then at block  414 , the recorded media content is rendered for viewing from the beginning of the current advertisement. For example, the skip control module  226  at media device  204  (or the advertisement skip service  214 ) initiates playback of the current advertisement from the beginning of the advertisement. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates various components of an example device  500  that can be implemented as any form of a computing, electronic, appliance, and/or media device to implement various embodiments of advertisement skip view. For example, device  500  can be implemented as a content distributor, an advertisement skip service, and/or a media device as shown in  FIG. 1  and/or  FIG. 2 . In various embodiments, device  500  can be implemented as any one or combination of a wired and/or wireless media device, a mobile phone device, a portable computer device, a television client device (e.g., a television set-top box, a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.), a computer device, a gaming system, an appliance device, an electronic device, and/or as any other type of media that may be implemented to receive media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data. 
     Device  500  can include one or more media content inputs  502  via which any type of audio, video, and/or image media content  504  can be received from a media content source. The media content inputs  502  can include Internet Protocol (IP) inputs over which streams of media content are received via an IP-based network. Device  500  further includes one or more communication interfaces  506  that can be implemented as any one or more of a serial and/or parallel interface, a wireless interface, any type of network interface, a modem, and as any other type of communication interface. The communication interfaces  506  provide a connection and/or communication links between device  500  and a communication network by which other electronic, computing, and communication devices can communicate data with device  500 . 
     Device  500  can include one or more processors  508  (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process various computer-executable instructions to control the operation of device  500 , to communicate with other electronic and computing devices, and to implement embodiments of advertisement skip view. Alternatively or in addition, device  500  can be implemented with any one or combination of hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that is implemented in connection with signal processing and control circuits which are generally identified at  510 . 
     Device  500  can also include computer-readable media  512 , such as one or more memory components, examples of which include random access memory (RAM), non-volatile memory (e.g., any one or more of a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.), and a disk storage device. A disk storage device can include any type of magnetic or optical storage device, such as a hard disk drive, a recordable and/or rewriteable compact disc (CD), any type of a digital versatile disc (DVD), and the like. Device  500  may also include a recording media  514  to maintain recorded media content  516  (e.g., recorded on-demand media content, or assets) that device  500  receives and/or records. 
     Computer-readable media  512  provides data storage mechanisms to store media content  504 , as well as various device applications  518  and any other types of information and/or data related to operational aspects of device  500 . For example, an operating system  520  can be maintained as a computer application with the computer-readable media  512  and executed on the processors  508 . The device applications  518  can also include a device manager  522  when device  500  is implemented as a media device and/or as a content distributor, and can include an advertisement skip service  524  when device  500  is implemented as a content distributor. In this example, the device applications  518  are shown as software modules and/or computer applications that can implement various embodiments of advertisement skip view. 
     When implemented as a television client device, the device  500  can also include a DVR system  526  with a playback application  528  that can be implemented as a media control application to control the playback of recorded media content  516  and/or any other audio, video, and/or image media content  504  that can be rendered and/or displayed for viewing. The recording media  514  can maintain recorded media content that may include the media content  504  when it is received from a content distributor and recorded. For example, the media content  504  can be recorded when received as a viewer-scheduled recording, or when the recording media  514  is implemented as a pause buffer that records the media content  504  as it is being received and rendered for viewing. 
     Device  500  can also include an audio and/or video input/output system  530  that provides audio data to an audio rendering system  532  and/or provides video data to a display system  534 . The audio rendering system  532  and/or the display system  534  can include any devices that process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video, and image data. Video signals and audio signals can be communicated from device  500  to an audio device and/or to a display device via an RF (radio frequency) link, S-video link, composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital video interface), analog audio connection, or other similar communication link. In an embodiment, audio rendering system  532  and/or the display system  534  can be implemented as external components to device  500 . Alternatively, the audio rendering system  532  and/or the display system  534  can be implemented as integrated components of the example device  500 . 
     Although not shown, device  500  can include a system bus or data transfer system that couples the various components within the device. A system bus can include any one or combination of different bus structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an example media content distribution system  600  in which various embodiments of advertisement skip view can be implemented. System  600  facilitates the distribution of media content, content metadata, and/or other associated data to multiple viewers, users, viewing systems, and devices. System  600  includes a content distributor  602  and any number of wired and/or wireless media devices. The media devices can include wireless media devices  604  as well as other client devices that are implemented as components in various client systems  606 , each configured for data communication via a communication network  608 . Each of the media devices and other client devices can receive media content, program content, program guide data, advertising content, closed captions data, content metadata, and the like from content server(s) of the content distributor  602  via the communication network  608 . 
     The wireless media devices  604  can include any type of device implemented to receive and/or communicate wireless data, such as a portable computer device  610 , a media device  612  (e.g., a personal media player, portable media player, etc.), and/or any other wireless media device that can receive content in any form of audio, video, and/or image media content. Each of the client systems  606  can include a respective client device and display device that together render media content in any form of audio, video, and/or image data. A client device in a client system  606  can be implemented as any one or combination of a television client device  614  (e.g., a television set-top box, a digital video recorder (DVR), etc.), a computer device  616 , a gaming system  618 , an appliance device, an electronic device, and/or as any other type of client device that may be implemented to receive any form of audio, video, and/or image media content. 
     The communication network  608  can be implemented as any one or combination of a wide area network (e.g., the Internet), a local area network (LAN), an intranet, an IP-based network, a broadcast network, a wireless network, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) network infrastructure, a point-to-point coupling infrastructure, or as any other media content distribution network. Additionally, communication network  608  can be implemented using any type of network topology and any network communication protocol, and can be represented or otherwise implemented as a combination of two or more networks. A digital network can include various hardwired and/or wireless links  620 , such as routers, gateways, and so on to facilitate communication between content distributor  602  and the various media devices. 
     System  600  includes a media server  622  that receives content from various content sources  624 , such as media content from a content provider, program guide data from a program guide source, and advertising content from an advertisement provider. The media server  622  can represent an acquisition server that receives audio, video, and/or image media content from a content provider; an EPG server that receives program guide data from a program guide source; and/or an advertising management server that receives advertising content from an advertisement provider. 
     The content sources  624  control distribution of the media content, the program guide data, and the advertising content to the media server  622  and/or to other servers of system  600 . The media content, program guide data, and advertising content can be distributed via various transmission media  626 , such as satellite transmission, radio frequency transmission, cable transmission, and/or via any number of other wired or wireless transmission media. In this example, media server  622  is shown as an independent component of system  600  that communicates the media content, program guide data, and advertising content to content distributor  602 . In an alternate implementation, media server  622  can be implemented as a component of content distributor  602 . 
     Content distributor  602  is representative of a headend service in a content distribution system, for example, that provides the media content, program guide data, advertising content, and content metadata to multiple subscribers (e.g., the various media devices and client systems  606 ). The content distributor  602  can be implemented as a satellite operator, a network television operator, a cable operator, and the like to control distribution of media content, program and advertising content, and any other audio, video, and/or image content to the media devices and client systems  606 . 
     Content distributor  602  includes various content distribution components  628  to facilitate media content processing and distribution, such as a subscriber manager, a device monitor, and one or more content servers. The subscriber manager manages subscriber data, and the device monitor maintains client state information and monitors the media devices, client devices, and/or the client systems. Although the various managers, servers, and monitors of content distributor  602  (to include the media server  622  in one embodiment) are described as distributed, independent components, any one or more of the managers, servers, and monitors can be implemented together as a multi-functional component of content distributor  602 . Additionally, any one or more of the managers, servers, and monitors described with reference to system  600  can implement features and embodiments of advertisement skip view. 
     The content distributor  602  can also include communication components  630  that are implemented to facilitate media content distribution to the various media devices and other client devices via the communication network  608 . The content distributor  602  can also include one or more processors to process various computer-executable instructions, such as an operating system  632 , a device manager  634 , and an advertisement skip service  636 . The content distributor  602  can also include computer-readable media for data storage to maintain advertisement data  638  for embodiments of advertisement skip view. 
     Although embodiments of advertisement skip view have been described in language specific to features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as example implementations of advertisement skip view.