METHODS AND APPARATUS TO MEASURE EXPOSURE TO STREAMING MEDIA

1 . A method of measuring exposure to streaming media, the method comprising:

inspecting, with a processor, a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request directed to a service provider to determine whether the HTTP request includes a fragment identifier;

extracting media-identifying metadata from the fragment identifier; and

transmitting the media-identifying metadata to a central facility, the central facility at a location different from the service provider.

2 . The method as described in claim 1 , wherein the HTTP request is an HTTP secure (HTTPS) request.

3 . The method as described in claim 1 , further comprising determining, in response to the HTTP request including a fragment identifier, whether the fragment identifier includes the media-identifying metadata.

4 . The method as described in claim 3 , further comprising determining if the fragment identifier is formatted in a metadata format.

5 . The method as described in claim 1 , further comprising storing the media-identifying metadata in a network communications data store.

6 . The method as described in claim 5 , wherein the HTTP request is transmitted by a media device, and further comprising:

identifying the media device; and

storing an identifier of the media device in association with the metadata.

7 . The method as described in claim 6 , wherein the identifier of the media device is a media access control address.

8 . The method as described in claim 1 , wherein the HTTP request is transmitted by a media device based on a manifest file associated with the requested media.

9 . A tangible machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

inspect a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request directed to a service provider to determine whether the HTTP request includes a fragment identifier;

extract media-identifying metadata from the fragment identifier; and

transmit the media-identifying metadata to a central facility, the central facility at a location different from the service provider.

10 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 9 , wherein the HTTP request is an HTTP secure (HTTPS) request.

11 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 9 , further comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the machine to determine, in response to the HTTP request including a fragment identifier, whether the fragment identifier includes the media-identifying metadata.

12 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 11 , further comprising instructions which, when executed cause the machine to determine if the fragment identifier is formatted in a metadata format.

13 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 9 , further comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the machine to store the media-identifying metadata in a network communications data store.

14 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 13 , wherein the HTTP request is transmitted by a media device, and further comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the machine to at least:

identify the media device; and

store an identifier of the media device in association with the metadata.

15 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 14 , wherein the identifier of the media device is a media access control address.

16 . The machine-readable medium as described in claim 9 , wherein the HTTP request is transmitted by a media device based on a manifest file associated with the requested media.

17 . An apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media, the apparatus comprising

a network communicator to monitor a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request transmitted by a media device;

a communications processor to inspect the HTTP request to identify whether the HTTP request includes a fragment identifier, the communications processor to extract media-identifying information from the fragment identifier; and

a communications transmitter to transmit the media-identifying metadata to a central facility.

18 . The apparatus as described in claim 17 , further comprising a communications data storer to store the media-identifying metadata in a memory.

19 . The apparatus as described in claim 17 , wherein the communications processor is further to identify the media device.

20 . The apparatus as described in claim 19 , wherein the communications processor is to identify the media device based on a media access control address.

21 . A method of monitoring exposure to streaming media, the method comprising:

obtaining a watermark associated with media;

embedding metadata representative of the watermark or data identified by the watermark into a manifest file as a fragment identifier of a universal resource locator, the manifest file to instruct a media device to request the media using the universal resource locator;

inspecting a request for the media to identify the metadata, the request being received from the media device; and

forwarding the metadata to a central facility.

22 . The method as described in claim 21 , further comprising collecting audience identifying information associated with the media device.

23 . The method as described in claim 22 , further comprising associating the audience identifying information with the metadata.

24 . The method as described in claim 23 , further comprising generating a media exposure report based on the audience identifying information and the metadata.

25 . A system to measure exposure to streaming media, the system comprising:

a media device to receive a manifest from a service provider, the media device to request media identified in the manifest file by transmitting a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request to a URL, the URL including a fragment identifier including metadata based on a watermark associated with the media; and

a media monitor to intercept the HTTP request, the media monitor to extract the metadata from the fragment identifier of the HTTP request.

26 . The system as described in claim 25 , further comprising a central facility to receive the metadata from the media monitor.

27 . The system as described in claim 26 , wherein the media monitor is to collect audience identifying information associated with the display and transmit the audience identifying information to the central facility.

28 . The system as described in claim 27 , wherein the central facility is to generate a media exposure report based on the audience identifying information and the metadata.