Asset scoring and ranking for content on demand insertion

1. A system operable to direct asset selection from a plurality of assets for insertion of one or more of the assets into Content On Demand (COD) content, the system comprising:

an interface operable to receive information of a COD content selection by a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), to receive instructions from asset providers regarding when to insert the plurality of assets, and to receive instructions from the asset providers regarding insertion goals; and

an asset ranking module operable to:

identify assets that are available for insertion to the selected COD content from the plurality of assets;

calculate a flexibility score for each of the available assets that represents a likelihood of future availability of an asset, the flexibility score based on an instruction received for the asset;

calculate a scheduling score for each of the available assets based on a completed progress toward an insertion goal received for each of the available assets;

rank the available assets based on a combination of the scheduling score and the flexibility score for each of the available assets; and

direct the insertion of the one or more assets into the selected COD content based on the rank of the available assets.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the interface is operable to receive an update to a received instruction; and

the asset ranking module is further operable to determine assets associated with the update, to recalculate the flexibility score for the determined assets, to recalculate the scheduling score for the determined assets, and to rank the available assets based on the recalculations.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the system is further operable to store asset insertion information in a database, to maintain a list of recently inserted assets, and to periodically update the database with the list to reduce accesses to the database; and

the asset ranking module is further operable to access the database in response to content selection from the CPE to determine whether an asset is overused, and to rank the available assets based on the list when the database is unavailable.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

a provider of the selected COD content is a streaming video provider; and

the system is configured within a server of the streaming video provider.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the interface is further operable to receive instructions from the asset providers regarding asset priorities;

the asset ranking module is further operable to calculate a priority score for each of the available assets based on a received asset priority for an asset, and to rank the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the interface is further operable to receive instructions from the asset providers regarding asset strategy;

the asset ranking module is further operable to calculate a strategy score for each of the available assets based on a received asset strategy for an asset, the strategy score indicative of a desired distribution of an asset over time; and

the asset ranking module is further operable to rank the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.

7. A method for directing asset selection from a plurality of assets for insertion of one or more of the assets into Content On Demand (COD) content, the method comprising:

receiving information of a COD content selection by a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE);

receiving instructions from asset providers regarding when to insert the plurality of assets;

receiving instructions from the asset providers regarding insertion goals;

identifying assets that are available for insertion to the selected COD content from the plurality of assets;

calculating a flexibility score for each of the available assets that represents a likelihood of future availability of an asset, the flexibility score based on an instruction received for the asset;

calculating a scheduling score for each of the available assets based on completed progress toward an insertion goal received for each of the available assets;

ranking the available assets based on a combination of the scheduling score and the flexibility score for each of the available assets; and

directing the insertion of the one or more assets into the selected COD content based on the rank of the available assets.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving an update to a received instruction;

determining assets associated with the update;

recalculating the flexibility score for the determined assets;

recalculating the scheduling score for the determined assets; and

ranking the available assets based on the recalculations.

9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

storing asset insertion information in a database;

maintaining a list of recently inserted assets

periodically updating the database with the list to reduce accesses to the database;

accessing the database in response to content selection from the CPE to determine whether an asset is overused; and

ranking the available assets based on the list when the database is unavailable.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

a provider of the selected COD content is a streaming video provider; and

the method is operable within a server of the streaming video provider.

11. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving instructions from the asset providers regarding asset priorities;

calculating a priority score for each of the available assets based on a received asset priority for an asset; and

ranking the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

receiving instructions from the asset providers regarding asset strategy;

calculating a strategy score for each of the available assets based on a received asset strategy for an asset, the strategy score indicative of a desired distribution of an asset over time; and

ranking the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.

13. A non transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, direct the processor to direct asset selection from a plurality of assets for insertion of one or more of the assets into Content On Demand (COD) content, the instructions further directing the processor to:

receive information of a COD content selection by a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE),

receive instructions from asset providers regarding when to insert the plurality of assets;

receive instructions from the asset providers regarding insertion goals;

identify assets that are available for insertion to the selected COD content from the plurality of assets;

calculate a flexibility score for each of the available assets that represents a likelihood of future availability of an asset, the flexibility score based on an instruction received for the asset;

calculate a scheduling score for each of the available assets based on completed progress toward an insertion goal received for each of the available assets;

rank the available assets based on a combination of the scheduling score and the flexibility score for each of the available assets; and

direct the insertion of the one or more assets into the selected COD content based on the rank of the available assets.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , the instructions further directing the processor to:

receive an update to a received instruction;

determine assets associated with the update;

recalculate the flexibility score for the determined assets;

recalculate the scheduling score for the determined assets; and

rank the available assets based on the recalculations.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , the instructions further directing the processor to:

store asset insertion information in a database;

to maintain a list of recently inserted assets, and to periodically update the database with the list to reduce accesses to the database;

access the database in response to content selection from the CPE to determine whether an asset is overused; and

rank the available assets based on the list when the database is unavailable.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein:

a provider of the selected COD content is a streaming video provider; and

the processor is configured within a server of the streaming video provider.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , the instructions further directing the processor to:

receive instructions from the asset providers regarding asset priorities;

calculate a priority score for each of the available assets based on a received asset priority for an asset; and

rank the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 13 , the instructions further directing the processor to:

receive instructions from the asset providers regarding asset strategy;

calculate a strategy score for each of the available assets based on a received asset strategy for an asset, the strategy score indicative of a desired distribution of an asset over time; and

rank the available assets based on a combination of the flexibility score and the priority score.