IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,941,818
Granted Patent B2
US 7,941,818 · App. 11/888,896 · Granted May 10, 2011

System and method for utilizing EPG database for modifying advertisements

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,941,818
App. No.
11/888,896
Granted
May 10, 2011
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 (36)

1. A method of displaying a modified advertisement for a program, comprising:

storing schedule information corresponding to the program in a schedule information database on a user device;

selecting an advertisement corresponding to the program from an advertisement database located on the user device, wherein the advertisement includes at least one placeholder;

inserting, local to the user device, the schedule information corresponding to the program from the schedule information database into the at least one placeholder to form a modified advertisement; and

displaying the modified advertisement on the user device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the schedule information comprises at least one of time, date, channel, price, point of sales, title, and program description information for the program.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected advertisement is selected based on at least one of viewer profile information, monitored user interests, other displayed content, a theme of the other displayed content, a recently tuned program, and a highlighted program listing in an electronic program guide.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a plurality of advertisements in a television telecast signal at the user device; and

storing the plurality of advertisements in the advertisement database, wherein the selected advertisement is one of the plurality of advertisements.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

forming a link between the selected advertisement in the advertisement database and the schedule information for the program in the schedule information database; and

providing a user of the user device with the ability to select the program for viewing based on the link.

6. A method of displaying a modified advertisement for a program, wherein the modified advertisement includes at least one schedule information item corresponding to the program, the method comprising:

selecting an advertisement corresponding to the program from an advertisement database located on a user device, wherein the selected advertisement includes advertisement information and a placeholder for the at least one schedule information item;

selecting the value of the at least one schedule information item from a schedule information database located on the user device;

local to the user device, modifying the selected advertisement to replace the placeholder with the value selected from the schedule information database; and

displaying the modified advertisement on the user device.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least one schedule information item comprises at least one of time, date, channel, price, point of sales, title, and program description information for the program.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the selected advertisement includes schedule information for the program other than the at least one schedule information item, the method further comprising searching for the at least one schedule information item in the schedule information database using the other schedule information.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the other schedule information includes one or more of a title of the program, a time range in which the program will be broadcast, and a network station indicator.

10. User equipment, comprising:

a schedule information database for storing schedule information for a plurality of programs;

an advertisement database for storing a plurality of advertisements; and

a display screen for displaying at least one advertisement for a program to a user, wherein the at least one advertisement is selected from the advertisement database, the at least one advertisement including at least one placeholder, and wherein the at least one advertisement is modified prior to display by inserting, local to the user equipment, schedule information for the program retrieved from the schedule information database into the at least one placeholder.

11. The user equipment of claim 10 , wherein the schedule information comprises at least one of time, date, channel, price, point of sales, title, and program description information for the program.

12. The user equipment of claim 10 , wherein the at least one advertisement is selected based on at least one of viewer profile information, monitored user interests, other displayed content, a theme of the other displayed content, a recently tuned program, and a highlighted program listing in an electronic program guide.

13. The user equipment of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of advertisements are received from a television telecast signal.

14. The user equipment of claim 10 , wherein the at least one advertisement in the advertisement database is linked to the schedule information in the schedule information database, and wherein the user equipment further comprises a user input device for providing a user with the ability to select the program for viewing based on the link.

15. User equipment, comprising:

an advertisement database for storing a plurality of advertisements, wherein at least one advertisement in the advertisement database is for a program and includes a placeholder for at least one schedule information item for the program;

a schedule information database for storing a plurality of schedule information, wherein the schedule information comprises the at least one schedule information item for the program;

a display screen for displaying the at least one advertisement for the program, wherein the at least one advertisement is modified local to the user equipment prior to display to include the value of the at least one schedule information item retrieved from the schedule information database, and wherein the value of the at least one schedule information item is inserted into the placeholder.

16. The user equipment of claim 15 , wherein the at least one schedule information item comprises at least one of time, date, channel, price, point of sales, title, and program description information for the program.

17. The user equipment of claim 15 , wherein the at least one advertisement stored in the advertisement database includes schedule information for the program other than the at least one schedule information item, and wherein the other schedule information is used to locate the at least one schedule information item in the schedule information database.

18. The user equipment of claim 17 , wherein the other schedule information includes one or more of a title of the program, a time range in which the program will be broadcast, and a network station indicator.

Assignments (11)
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 →
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 →
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 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 →
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 →
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: TV GUIDE, INC.; 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 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 →