System and method for delivering media based on viewer behavior

1. A method of communicating multimedia content over a service provider network, the method comprising:

receiving, in a network server processor, an audio-video stream from a content provider server;

relaying the audio-video stream to a receiver device via the service provider network;

receiving, in the network server processor, an operating mode notification from the receiver device, the received operating mode notification identifying a user behavior detected by the receiver device;

determining a degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

determining whether the service provider network is congested based on the degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

altering, in the network server processor, the audio-video stream to include only a closed caption data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is congested;

stopping the relaying of the audio-video stream to the receiver device; and

sending the altered audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising altering the audio-video stream to include only an audio data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is not congested.

3. A server, comprising:

a server processor configured with server-executable instructions to:

receive an audio-video stream from a content provider server;

relay the audio-video stream to a receiver device via a service provider network;

receive an operating mode notification from the receiver device, the received operating mode notification identifying a user behavior detected by the receiver device;

determine a degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

determine whether the service provider network is congested based on the degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

alter the audio-video stream to include only a closed caption data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is congested;

stop the relaying of the audio-video stream to the receiver device; and

send the altered audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network.

4. The server of claim 3 , wherein the server processor is further configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising altering the audio-video stream to include only an audio data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is not congested.

5. The server of claim 3 , wherein the server processor is further configured with server-executable instructions such that receiving the operating mode notification from the receiver device comprises receiving a notification that includes information indicating that a user is not actively viewing content rendered on an electronic display of the receiver device.

6. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable software instructions configured to cause a server processor to perform operations for communicating multimedia content over a service provider network, the operations comprising:

receiving an audio-video stream from a content provider server;

relaying the audio-video stream to a receiver device via the service provider network;

receiving an operating mode notification from the receiver device, the received operating mode notification identifying a user behavior detected by the receiver device;

determining a degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

determining whether the service provider network is congested based on the degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

altering the audio-video stream to include only a closed caption data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is congested;

stopping the relaying of the audio-video stream to the receiver device; and

sending the altered audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations further comprising altering the audio-video stream to include only an audio data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is not congested.

8. A communication system, comprising:

a receiver device comprising a receiver configured to receive data via a service provider network, a memory, and a device processor coupled to the receiver and the memory; and

a server comprising communication circuitry configured to transmit data via the service provider network, and a server processor coupled to the communication circuitry,

wherein the server processor is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:

receiving an audio-video stream from a content provider server;

relaying the audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network;

receiving an operating mode notification from the receiver device, the received operating mode notification identifying a user behavior detected by the receiver device;

determining a degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

determining whether the service provider network is congested based on the degree of network congestion of the service provider network;

altering the audio-video stream to include only a closed caption data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is congested;

stopping the relaying of the audio-video stream to the receiver device; and

sending the altered audio-video stream to the receiver device via the service provider network.

9. The communication system of claim 8 , wherein the server processor is configured with server-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising altering the audio-video stream to include only an audio data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to determining that the service provider network is not congested.

10. The communication system of claim 8 , wherein the device processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising:

detecting the user behavior comprising detecting that a user is not actively viewing content rendered on an electronic display of the receiver device;

selecting an operating mode based on the detected user behavior;

generating the operating mode notification based on the selected operating mode; and

sending the generated operating mode notification to the server processor via the service provider network.

11. The communication system of claim 10 , wherein the device processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that detecting that the user is not actively viewing content rendered on the electronic display of the receiver device comprises activating a camera of the receiver device.

12. The communication system of claim 10 , wherein the device processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that detecting that the user is not actively viewing content rendered on the electronic display of the receiver device comprises determining whether the user has scrolled off a video player portion of a web browser.

13. A method of communicating multimedia content over a service provider network, the method comprising:

receiving, in a receiver device, an audio-video stream from a network server;

detecting a user behavior in a device processor of the receiver device;

selecting an operating mode in the device processor based on the detected user behavior;

generating an operating mode notification in the device processor based on the selected operating mode;

sending the generated operating mode notification to the network server via the service provider network; and

receiving an altered audio-video stream from the network server, wherein:

the altered audio-video stream comprises only a closed caption data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to a determination that the service provider network is congested; and

the altered audio-video stream comprises only an audio data stream that is generated based on the audio-video stream in response to a determination that the service provider network is not congested.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein detecting the user behavior comprises detecting that a user is not actively viewing content rendered on an electronic display of the receiver device.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein detecting that the user is not actively viewing content rendered on the electronic display of the receiver device comprises activating a camera of the receiver device.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein detecting that the user is not actively viewing content rendered on the electronic display of the receiver device comprises determining whether the user has scrolled off a video player portion of a web browser.