Granted Patent B2

US 11,277,458 · App. 17/188,100 · Granted Mar 15, 2022

Inventors: Jeff Littlejohn (Mason, OH); Bobbi Denise Schuster (San Antonio, TX); Keyin Hsu (San Antonio, TX); Jennifer L. Smith (San Antonio, TX)

Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc.

H04L65/60H04H60/46H04H60/66H04H60/74H04L12/18H04L67/32

Abstract

Claims (70)

1. A method for use in a server device including a processor and associated memory, the method comprising:

receiving a message from a broadcast station, the message including:

a broadcast station identifier;

a list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein media-works included in the list of media-works are identified using one or more first identifying attributes;

performing a first-level match between first identifying attributes associated with a first media-work included in the list of media-works and a plurality of unique identifiers included in a database, wherein the plurality of unique identifiers link content attributes of different media-works to different unique identifiers, the first-level match including:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the plurality of unique identifiers to determine whether the one or more first identifying attributes include a first unique identifier matching any of the plurality of unique identifiers;

in response to the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers, performing a second-level match, the second-level match including:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the content attributes of the different media-works to attempt to identify one or more matching content attributes, wherein the one or more matching content attributes match the one or more first identifying attributes;

in response to identifying one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to a particular unique identifier included in the database, wherein the particular unique identifier is linked to the one or more matching content attributes:

selecting enhanced content based on the particular unique identifier; and

delivering the enhanced content to the broadcast station.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving a message from a broadcast station includes:

receiving a push-now-playing (PNP) message including the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast identifies at least one media-work being currently broadcast.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein media-works identified in the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station are ordered based on a scheduled order of broadcast.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the content attributes include media-work aliases.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

at least one of the plurality of unique identifiers is associated with a plurality of different media-work aliases identifying a same media-work.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to both: the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers; and the second-level match failing to identify one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to any unique identifier included in the database:

associating the one or more first identifying attributes with another unique identifier; and

storing the another unique identifier in the database.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selecting the enhanced content based on broadcast station preferences indicating a type of enhanced content to be delivered.

8. A server device comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor;

at least one communications interface configured to receive a message from a broadcast station, the message including:

a broadcast station identifier;

a list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein media-works included in the list of media-works are identified using one or more first identifying attributes;

the processor configured to:

perform a first-level match between first identifying attributes associated with a first media-work included in the list of media-works and a plurality of unique identifiers included in a database, wherein the plurality of unique identifiers link content attributes of different media-works to different unique identifiers, wherein performing the first-level match includes:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the plurality of unique identifiers to determine whether the one or more first identifying attributes include a first unique identifier matching any of the plurality of unique identifiers;

in response to the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers, the processor further configured to perform a second-level match, wherein performing the second-level match includes:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the content attributes of the different media-works to attempt to identify one or more matching content attributes, wherein the one or more matching content attributes match the one or more first identifying attributes;

in response to identifying one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to a particular unique identifier included in the database, wherein the particular unique identifier is linked to the one or more matching content attributes:

select enhanced content based on the particular unique identifier; and

deliver the enhanced content to the broadcast station.

9. The server device of claim 8 , wherein receiving the message from the broadcast station includes:

receiving a push-now-playing (PNP) message including the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast identifies at least one media-work being currently broadcast.

10. The server device of claim 8 , wherein media-works identified in the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station are ordered based on a scheduled order of broadcast.

11. The server device of claim 8 , wherein the content attributes include media-work aliases.

12. The server device of claim 11 , wherein:

at least one of the plurality of unique identifiers is associated with a plurality of different media-work aliases identifying a same media-work.

13. The server device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

in response to both: the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers; and the second-level match failing to identify one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to any unique identifier included in the database:

associate the one or more first identifying attributes with another unique identifier; and

store the another unique identifier in the database.

14. The server device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

select the enhanced content based on broadcast station preferences indicating a type of enhanced content to be delivered.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly embodying a program of computer executable instructions, the program of computer executable instructions including:

at least one instruction to receive a message from a broadcast station, the message including:

a broadcast station identifier;

a list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein media-works included in the list of media-works are identified using one or more first identifying attributes;

at least one instruction to perform a first-level match between first identifying attributes associated with a first media-work included in the list of media-works and a plurality of unique identifiers included in a database, wherein the plurality of unique identifiers link content attributes of different media-works to different unique identifiers, the first-level match including:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the plurality of unique identifiers to determine whether the one or more first identifying attributes include a first unique identifier matching any of the plurality of unique identifiers;

at least one instruction to perform a second-level match in response to the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers, the second-level match including:

comparing the one or more first identifying attributes to the content attributes of the different media-works to attempt to identify one or more matching content attributes, wherein the one or more matching content attributes match the one or more first identifying attributes;

in response to identifying one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to a particular unique identifier included in the database, wherein the particular unique identifier is linked to the one or more matching content attributes;

at least one instruction to select enhanced content based on the particular unique identifier; and

at least one instruction to deliver the enhanced content to the broadcast station.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the at least one instruction to receive a message from a broadcast station includes:

at least one instruction to receive a push-now-playing (PNP) message including the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station, wherein the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast identifies at least one media-work being currently broadcast.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein media-works identified in the list of media-works scheduled to be broadcast by the broadcast station are ordered based on a scheduled order of broadcast.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the content attributes include media-work aliases.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein:

at least one of the plurality of unique identifiers is associated with a plurality of different media-work aliases identifying a same media-work.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising at least one instruction configured to:

in response to both: the first-level match indicating that the one or more first identifying attributes do not include any of the plurality of unique identifiers; and the second-level match failing to identify one or more matching content attributes linking the first media-work to any unique identifier included in the database:

associate the one or more first identifying attributes with another unique identifier; and

store the another unique identifier in the database.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (7)