Zone control methods and apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10863238-B2
Application number	US-201414252686-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 14, 2014
Priority date	Apr 23, 2010
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for providing control over targeted secondary content based on a zone associated with a user. In one exemplary embodiment, a user request for primary content from a non-legacy device results in the delivery of the same secondary content which would have been provided had the request been generated at a legacy device (so-called “zone preservation”). To accomplish this, the devices are associated with a user's zone at a zone preservation server in communication with the server providing content to the devices. The zone preservation server associates each user with an advertisement zone identifier, and utilizes the identifier to direct the delivery of primary and secondary content. In another embodiment, a prescribed rule set for one or more zones is employed, such as where certain types of advertisements or secondary content are inserted given a particular device or user context.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computerized apparatus configured to operate in a network, the computerized apparatus comprising:
interface apparatus configured for data communication with a mobile user device;
processor apparatus;
network interface apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus; and
storage apparatus in data communication with the processor apparatus, the storage apparatus comprising at least one computer program configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus:
receive data representative of a request for digitally rendered primary content from the mobile user device, the data representative of the request comprising user identification data;
obtain, based at least in part on the user identification data, subscriber billing address information relating to a user associated with the mobile user device;
utilize at least a portion of the subscriber billing address information to identify a zone associated to the user;
cause utilization of data relating to the identified zone to enforce a rule regarding selection and transmission of appropriate advertising to non-legacy client devices, including the mobile user device, the transmission from a legacy video on-demand (VOD) server; and
cause at least one digitally rendered secondary content element to be inserted into the requested digitally rendered primary content for delivery to the mobile user device based at least in part on stored data relating to the rule.

2. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mobile user device comprises an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled device, and the data representative of the request for the digitally rendered primary content is received from the mobile user device disposed in a geographic location outside a geographic location of the zone associated to the user.

3. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the rule further requires selection of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element selected from among a plurality of digitally rendered secondary content elements is further based at least in part on data relating to a correspondence of one or more tiers of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element to the identified zone associated to the user, the correspondence based at least in part on a comparison of the one or more tiers of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element to a profit-based qualification associated with the identified zone, such that one or more of the plurality of digitally rendered secondary content elements of a first tier are delivered to a first zone and have a greater number of targeting opportunities than those of one or more of the plurality of digitally rendered secondary content elements of a second tier that are delivered to a second zone, and the first zone having profitability opportunities greater that those of the second zone; and
the profit-based qualification is associated with disposable incomes of one or more subscribers of the network, the one or more subscribers residing in the identified zone associated to the user.

4. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the digitally rendered primary content is stored as a plurality of data segments, and the delivery of the digitally rendered primary content to the mobile user device comprises creation of a single data stream comprising the plurality of segments having data of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element inserted between at least two of the plurality of data segments.

5. The computerized apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of instructions are further configured to, when executed on the processor apparatus:
evaluate a subscription level of the user; and
based at least on the evaluation indicating that the subscription level does not meet a prescribed criterion, cause insertion of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element into the requested digitally rendered primary content for delivery to the mobile user device irrespective of the rule.

6. A computerized method of operating a network, comprising:
receiving data representative of a request for digitally rendered primary content from a mobile client device, the data representative of the request comprising user identification data;
transmitting the user identification data to a network computerized process;
based at least on the transmitting, receiving subscriber billing address data associated with the user identification data;
utilizing at least a portion of the subscriber billing address data to identify a zone associated with a user of the mobile client device;
algorithmically creating a rule regarding selection and transmission of appropriate digitally rendered secondary content elements to non-legacy client devices, including the mobile client device, wherein the selection is based at least in part on the identified zone, and the transmission is configured to be effected from a legacy video on-demand (VOD) server apparatus; and
causing at least one digitally rendered secondary content element to be inserted into the requested digitally rendered primary content for delivery to the mobile client device based at least in part on the rule.

7. The computerized method of claim 6 , further comprising:
receiving data regarding one or more placement opportunities for insertion of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element into the digitally rendered primary content; and
receiving data regarding an audience associated with the one or more placement opportunities for the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element, the audience comprising the user of the mobile client device;
wherein the algorithmically creating the rule comprises utilizing at least (i) the data regarding the one or more placement opportunities, and (ii) the data regarding the audience.

8. The computerized method of claim 7 , further comprising causing storage of the digitally rendered primary content as a plurality of data segments;
wherein:
the causing of the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element to be inserted into the requested digitally rendered primary content comprises creating a single data stream comprising the plurality of segments, the single stream data having the at least one digitally rendered secondary content element inserted between at least two of the data segments of the stream at the one or more placement opportunities;
the data regarding one or more placement opportunities comprises data indicative of at least one restriction to a selection of the at least one of at least one digitally rendered secondary content element, the at least one restriction comprising a restriction of the selection to only digitally rendered secondary content elements optimized for respective ones of a plurality of delivery platform types, the plurality of delivery platform types comprising at least one of: VOD or pay-per-view (PPV), linear television, interactive television, Internet, or electronic or interactive program guides; and
the data regarding the audience comprises demographic data.

9. The computerized method of claim 6 , wherein:
the receiving the data representative of the request for the digitally rendered primary content from the mobile client device comprises receiving the data representative of the request for the digitally rendered primary content from the mobile client device which is then-currently located in a geographic location outside of a geographic zone where a computerized legacy device of the user of the mobile client device is then-currently located;
the identified zone comprises the geographic zone; and
the mobile client device comprises at least an Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled device.

Assignees

• Time Warner Cable Entpr Llc

Inventors

• Stern Peter
• Gould Kenneth

Classifications

• H04L12/2801

  Broadband local area networks · CPC title

• H04N21/812

  involving advertisement data (advertising per se G06Q30/02) · CPC title

• H04N21/2547

  Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser · CPC title

• H04N21/6118

  involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem · CPC title

• H04N21/6125

  involving transmission via Internet (transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82) · CPC title