Method and system for trending media programs for a user
View Patent ↗A client determines that a user is attempting to access media program recommendations. In response to the determination, the client attempts to collect media program recommendations to be presented to the user. Media program recommendations may be derived locally by the client, by the client and a multimedia device locally connected with the client, by the client and one or more additional devices, etc. In some embodiments, in response to receiving a query from the client, one or more recipient devices or servers identify media program recommendations in a plurality of trending categories. The media program recommendations may be selected based at least in part on EPG data and audience research and measurement data. The media program recommendations collected by the client are presented to the user for further exploration. The client may be one of mobile phones, tablet computers, etc.
1. A method for providing trending media asset recommendations from a program trending server, the method comprising:
collecting program trending data from at least one program trending data source;
collecting user viewing activity in a plurality of trending categories;
generating future trending predictions by:
accessing the program trending data received over a network connection;
obtaining a popularity score for each media asset referenced in the program trending data from the program trending data;
determining future media assets which have not been shown in the user's region that are identical to the media assets referenced in the program trending data which have already been shown in another region;
assigning a future popularity score to each future media asset equal to the past popularity scores;
ranking the future media assets based on the assigned future popularity scores; and
determining at least a highest ranked future media asset in each of the plurality of trending categories;
receiving a query from a client; and
in response to receiving the query from the client:
generating a plurality of media asset recommendations comprising at least one media asset recommendation in each of the plurality of trending categories, each recommendation comprising the highest ranked future media asset in the respective category;
ordering the plurality of media asset recommendations according to the query; and
causing concurrent display of the plurality of trending categories with the at least one media asset recommendation in each of the plurality of trending categories.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the program trending data is collected from one or more user populations.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the program trending data comprises a plurality of individual program trending data portions, and wherein each portion is specific to a given user or plurality of users.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the future trending predictions comprise information about media assets that are of varying degrees of popularity in a past or present audience.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the future trending predictions indicate the number of viewers attracted by a media asset.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the past or present audience comprises a representative audience in a region where the media asset has already been viewed or is being viewed.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the future trending predictions are derived from a source selected from the group consisting of the current viewing activities of a representative audience, the scheduled recordings of a representative audience, real-time activity of a search engine, and real-time messages on a social network.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the future trending predictions comprise data selected from the group consisting of media assets that are of various degrees of popularity in the future based on past popularity with a comparable representative audience, past viewing activities of a representative audience, current viewing activities of a representative audience, scheduled recordings of a representative audience, past activity of a search engine, present activity of a search engine, past messages on a social network, and present messaged on a social network.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one program trending data source is selected from the group consisting of multimedia devices, client devices, third party systems, and media subscription servers.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving filter settings from a user, and wherein generating media asset recommendations is further based on the received filter settings.
11. A system for providing trending media asset recommendations from a program trending server, the program trending server comprising control circuitry configured to:
collect program trending data from at least one program trending data source;
collect user viewing activity in a plurality of trending categories;
generate future trending predictions by:
accessing the program trending data received over a network connection;
obtaining a popularity score for each media asset referenced in the program trending data from the program trending data;
determining future media assets which have not been shown in the user's region that are identical to the media assets referenced in the program trending data which have already been shown in another region;
assigning a future popularity score to each future media asset equal to the past popularity scores;
rank the future media assets based on the assigned future popularity scores; and
determine at least a highest ranked future media asset in each of the plurality of trending categories;
receive a query from a client; and
in response to receiving the query from the client:
generate a plurality of media asset recommendations comprising at least one media asset recommendation in each of the plurality of trending categories, each recommendation comprising the highest ranked future media asset in the respective category;
order the plurality of media asset recommendations according to the query; and
concurrently display the plurality of trending categories with the at least one media asset recommendation in each of the plurality of trending categories.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the program trending data is collected from one or more user populations.
13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the program trending data comprises a plurality of individual program trending data portions, and wherein each portion is specific to a given user or plurality of users.
14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the future trending predictions comprise information about media assets that are of varying degrees of popularity in a past or present audience.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the future trending predictions indicate the number of viewers attracted by a media asset.
16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the past or present audience comprises a representative audience in a region where the media asset has already been viewed or is being viewed.
17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the future trending predictions are derived from a source selected from the group consisting of the current viewing activities of a representative audience, the scheduled recordings of a representative audience, real-time activity of a search engine, and real-time messages on a social network.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the future trending predictions comprise data selected from the group consisting of media assets that are of varying degrees of popularity in the future based on past popularity with a comparable representative audience, past viewing activities of a representative audience, current viewing activities of a representative audience, scheduled recordings of a representative audience, past activity of a search engine, present activity of a search engine, past messages on a social network, and present messaged on a social network.
19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one program trending data source is selected from the group consisting of multimedia devices, client devices, third party systems, and media subscription servers.
20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to receive filter settings from a user, and wherein generating media asset recommendations is further based on the received filter settings.