IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,266,833
Granted Patent B2
US 7,266,833 · App. 10/453,388 · Granted Sep 4, 2007

System and method for utilizing EPG database for modifying advertisements

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,266,833
App. No.
10/453,388
Granted
Sep 4, 2007
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system and method for utilizing data stored in an EPG database for modifying advertisement information. In this way, a service provider and/or an advertiser can transmit a single advertisement to all the television stations regardless of their geographic location and other user specific information, and need not re-transmit the advertisement even if there is a change in the show's program description. When the advertisement is displayed, the correct updated information is retrieved from the EPG database and inserted into the advertisement. In one aspect, the present invention describes a method for modifying an advertisement in an EPG comprising the steps of: storing television schedule information in a first database; storing advertisement information in a second database; incorporating a portion of the television schedule information into a portion of the advertisement information to form a modified advertisement; and displaying the modified advertisement on a screen.

Claims (51)

1. A method for displaying an advertisement in an electronic program guide (EPG) comprising the steps of:

storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs in a television schedule information database local to a viewer;

local to the viewer, receiving a telecast advertisement via a television signal, wherein the telecast advertisement comprises a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program;

local to the viewer, selecting a second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database including one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program;

local to the viewer, inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement to form a modified advertisement; and

displaying the modified advertisement in the EPG on a screen, wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of advertisement information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving, selecting, inserting, and displaying steps are performed in substantially real time.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a future television program.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving step comprises receiving promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storing step comprises storing a program description and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the stored program description.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storing step comprises storing a web site address and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the stored web site address.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the storing step comprises storing information related to rotating advertisement information in the EPG and the inserting step comprises combining a portion of the received advertisement information with the information related to rotating advertisement information.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising displaying the modified advertisement image in the EPG based on the rotating information.

10. The method of claim 3 , wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

11. The method of claim 5 , wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of a product and a service.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of selecting the displayed information using a pointing device and activating a function related to the selected information.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of activating a function comprises linking to a web site based on an address related to the selected information and displaying more information from the web site.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of activating a function comprises displaying more detail information related to the selected information.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of activating a function comprises scheduling a future television program for recording.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of activating a function comprises tuning to a currently telecast television program.

17. An interactive electronic program guide (EPG) system comprising:

a first database local to a viewer for storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs;

a second database local to the viewer for storing advertisement data, wherein the second database includes a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program and the first database includes a pointer associated with an entry in the second database so that one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program are selected as a second plurality of advertisement information and inserted into a respective advertisement data associated with the entry in the second database to form a modified advertisement; and

a display screen for displaying the modified advertisement, wherein the modified advertisement displayed on the display screen comprises the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of advertisement information.

18. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about a future television program.

19. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about a currently telecast television program.

20. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the advertisement data is promotional information about one or more of a product and a service.

21. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the first database includes a program description for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the stored program description.

22. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the first database includes a web site address for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the stored web site address.

23. The EPG of claim 17 , wherein the first database includes information related to rotating advertisement information in the EPG for combining a portion of the advertisement data with the information related to rotating advertisement information.

24. The EPG of claim 18 , wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the future television program.

25. The EPG of claim 20 , wherein the promotional information is a video preview related to the one or more of a product and a service.

26. The EPG of claim 17 further comprising an input device for selecting the displayed advertisement and activating a function related to the selected advertisement.

27. The EPG of claim 26 , wherein the input device activates a function to link to a web site based on an address related to the selected advertisement.

28. The EPG of claim 26 , wherein the input device activates a function to display more detail information related to the selected advertisement.

29. The EPG of claim 26 , wherein the input device activates a function to schedule a future television program for recording.

30. The EPG of claim 26 , wherein the input device activates a function to tune to a currently telecast television program.

31. The EPG of claim 26 , wherein the input device activates a function to display a video preview related to the selected advertisement.

32. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions including instruction for displaying an advertisement in an electronic program guide (EPG), the instructions, when executed by a microprocessor, cause the microprocessor to perform the steps of:

storing television schedule information including time, date, and channel information for a plurality of television programs in a television schedule information database local to a viewer;

local to the viewer, receiving a telecast advertisement via a television signal, wherein the telecast advertisement comprises a first plurality of advertisement information for a television program;

local to the viewer, selecting a second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database including one or more of the time, date, and channel information for the television program;

local to the viewer, inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement to form a modified advertisement; and

displaying the modified advertisement in the EPG on a screen, wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the first plurality of advertisement information and the second plurality of information.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received telecast advertisement further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the second plurality of information within the one or more placeholders.

34. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database based on the geographic location of the viewer.

35. The system of claim 17 , wherein the stored advertisement data further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein the modified advertisement displayed on the display screen comprises the second advertising information within the one or more placeholders.

36. The system of claim 17 , wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the first database based on the geographic location of the viewer.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 32 , wherein the received telecast advertisement further includes one or more placeholders and wherein inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the received telecast advertisement comprises inserting the second plurality of advertisement information into the one or more placeholders, and wherein displaying the modified advertisement comprises displaying the second plurality of advertising information within the one or more placeholders.

38. The computer readable medium of claim 32 , wherein the selecting the second plurality of advertisement information comprises selecting the second plurality of advertisement information from the local television schedule information database based on the geographic location of the viewer.

Assignments (11)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053458/0749 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 5, 2020
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 053481/0790 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 1, 2020
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS INC.; VEVEO, INC.; INVENSAS CORPORATION; INVENSAS BONDING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; TESSERA, INC.; TESSERA ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DTS, INC.; PHORUS, INC.; IBIQUITY DIGITAL CORPORATION
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053468/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051110/0006 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Nov 25, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: APTIV DIGITAL INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
Reel/Frame 051145/0090 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 22, 2019
From: ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; TIVO SOLUTIONS, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: HPS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 051143/0468 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Jul 24, 2014
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: ALL MEDIA GUIDE, LLC; APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 033396/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 24, 2014
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ROVI GUIDES, INC.; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; SONIC SOLUTIONS LLC; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.; VEVEO, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033407/0035 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2011
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC, A BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY; ROVI CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI GUIDES, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, A DELAWARE CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 027039/0168 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 29, 2010
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. (A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION)
To: ALL MEDIA GUIDE, LLC; APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; INDEX SYSTEMS INC.; ODS PROPERTIES, INC.; ROVI DATA SOLUTIONS, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS TV GUIDE DATA SOLUTIONS, INC.); ROVI GUIDES, INC. (FORMERLY KNOWN AS GEMSTAR-TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.); ROVI SOLUTIONS CORPORATION (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MACROVISION CORPORATION); ROVI SOLUTIONS LIMITED (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MACROVISION EUROPE LIMITED); ROVI TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE, INC.; TV GUIDE ONLINE, LLC; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 025222/0731 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 15, 2008
From: APTIV DIGITAL, INC.; GEMSTAR DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION; GEMSTAR-TV GUIDE INTERNATIONAL, INC.; INDEX SYSTEMS INC; MACROVISION CORPORATION; ODS PROPERTIES, INC.; STARSIGHT TELECAST, INC.; TV GUIDE ONLINE, LLC; UNITED VIDEO PROPERTIES, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 020986/0074 →