Systems and methods for processing a traffic log having an optional-promotion log entry
View Patent ↗Disclosed herein are systems and methods for processing a traffic log having an optional-promotion log entry. An example method involves (i) accessing a stored traffic log, wherein the traffic log includes multiple ordered log entries including at least a first log-entry and a second log-entry; (ii) making a first determination that the first log-entry corresponds to a show-segment video-component (VC) of a live news program; (iii) making a second determination that the second log-entry corresponds to an initial show-segment VC of a show, wherein the show is scheduled to follow the live news program; (iv) identifying, among log entries scheduled between the first log-entry and the second log-entry, a set of optional-promotion log entries, each such optional-promotional log entry having a duration; (v) determining a cumulative duration of the optional-promotion log entries in the identified set; and (vi) providing the determined cumulative-duration to an output device for presentation.
1. A method comprising:
an automation system accessing a stored television-broadcasting traffic log, wherein the traffic log includes multiple ordered log entries, the log entries including at least a first log-entry and a second log-entry;
the automation system making a first determination that the first log-entry corresponds to a show-segment video-component (VC) of a live news program;
the automation system making a second determination that the second log-entry corresponds to an initial show-segment VC of a show, wherein the show is scheduled to follow the live news program;
the automation system identifying, among log entries scheduled between the first log-entry and the second log-entry, a set of optional-promotion log entries, each such optional-promotional log entry having a duration;
the automation system determining a cumulative duration of the optional-promotion log entries in the identified set; and
the automation system providing the determined cumulative-duration to an output device for presentation.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the automation system receiving the traffic log from a traffic system.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automation system making the first determination comprises the automation system determining that a source identifier stored in a source-identifier field of the first log-entry corresponds to a live-news-production source.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second log entry includes a description, wherein the automation system making the second determination comprises the automation system determining that the description of the second log-entry is different from a description of a log entry that corresponds to a previously scheduled show-segment VC.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the automation system identifying the set of optional-promotion log entries comprises the automation system determining that each optional-promotion log entry in the identified set includes a respective house identifier having a predefined prefix.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the automation system detecting a triggering event, wherein the automation system making the first and second determinations and the automation system identifying the set of optional-promotion log entries occur in response to the automation system detecting the triggering event.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the automation system detecting the triggering event comprises the automation system determining that a start time of a log entry in the traffic log has changed.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the output device outputting the determined cumulative-duration.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the automation system causing the show-segment VC to be broadcast, wherein the output device outputting the determined cumulative-duration comprises the output device outputting the determined cumulative-duration contemporaneously while the show-segment VC is being broadcast.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
the automation system determining a break period in which an optional-promotion VC in the identified set is positioned; and
the automation system providing the determined break period and the duration of the optional-promotion VC positioned therein to an output device for presentation.
11. A television-broadcasting system comprising:
an output device; and
an automation system connected to the output device via a communication network, wherein the automation system includes a computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that when executed cause the automation system to perform a set of functions, the set comprising:
accessing a stored television-broadcasting traffic log, wherein the traffic log includes multiple ordered log entries, the log entries including at least a first log-entry and a second log-entry;
making a first determination that the first log-entry corresponds to a show-segment video-component (VC) of a live news program;
making a second determination that the second log-entry corresponds to an initial show-segment VC of a show, wherein the show is scheduled to follow the live news program;
identifying, among log entries scheduled between the first log-entry and the second log-entry, a set of optional-promotion log entries, each such optional-promotional log entry having a duration;
determining a cumulative duration of the optional-promotion log entries in the identified set; and
providing the determined cumulative-duration to the output device for presentation.
12. The method of claim 11 , the set of functions further comprising receiving the traffic log from a traffic system.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein making the first determination comprises determining that a source identifier stored in a source-identifier field of the first log-entry corresponds to a live-news-production source.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second log-entry includes a description, wherein making the second determination comprises determining that the description of the second log-entry is different from a description of a log entry that corresponds to a previously scheduled show-segment VC.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein identifying the set of optional-promotion log entries comprises determining that each optional-promotion log entry in the identified set includes a respective house identifier having a predefined prefix.
16. The method of claim 11 , the set of functions further comprising detecting a triggering event, wherein making the first and second determinations, and identifying the set of optional-promotion log entries occur in response detecting the triggering event.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein detecting the triggering event comprises determining that a start time of a log entry in the traffic log has changed.
18. The method of claim 11 , the set of functions further comprising:
determining a break period in which an optional-promotion VC in the identified set is positioned; and
providing the determined break period and the duration of the optional-promotion VC positioned therein to the output device for presentation.
19. A method comprising:
an automation system accessing a stored television-broadcasting traffic log, wherein the traffic log includes multiple ordered log entries, the log entries including at least a first log-entry and a second log-entry;
the automation system making a first determination that the first log-entry corresponds to a show-segment video-component (VC) of a live news program;
the automation system making a second determination that the second log-entry corresponds to an initial show-segment VC of a show, wherein the show is scheduled to follow the live news program;
the automation system identifying, among log entries scheduled between the first log-entry and the second log-entry, an optional-promotion log entry having a duration; and
the automation system providing the duration to an output device for presentation.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising the automation system causing the show-segment VC to be broadcast, wherein the output device outputting the determined cumulative-duration comprises the output device outputting the determined cumulative-duration contemporaneously while the show-segment VC is being broadcast.
21. A method comprising:
an automation system accessing a stored television-broadcasting traffic log, wherein the traffic log includes multiple ordered log entries, the log entries including at least a first log-entry and a second log-entry;
the automation system making a first determination that the first log-entry corresponds to a show-segment video-component (VC) of a live news program;
the automation system making a second determination that the second log-entry corresponds to an initial show-segment VC of a show, wherein the show is scheduled to follow the live news program;
the automation system identifying, among log entries scheduled between the first log-entry and the second log-entry, an optional-promotion log entry; and
responsive to the automation system identifying the optional-promotion log entry, the automation system initiating an action.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the action comprises the automation system removing the identified optional-promotion log entry from the traffic log, the method further comprising:
the automation system making a third determination that an expected duration of the show-segment VC of the live news program exceeds a target duration, wherein the automation system initiates the action responsive to the automation system (i) identifying the optional-promotion log entry, and (ii) making the third determination.