Granted Patent B2

US 12,314,228 · App. 17/193,162 · Granted May 27, 2025

Inventors: Jeffrey Lee Littlejohn (Cincinnati, OH); David C. Jellison, Jr. (Ogallala, NE)

Assignee: iHeartMedia Management Services, Inc.

G06F16/1827G06F16/27G06F16/43H04H20/103H04H20/24H04H60/06H04H60/21H04H60/82

Abstract

Claims (66)

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprises at least one memory section that stores operational instructions that, when executed by a processing system running a cloud-based application, causes the processing system to:

obtain user information associated with a user of the cloud-based application, wherein the user information includes preferences associated with the user;

transmit the user information through a communications network to a media automation system;

transmit a request for available media items through the communications network to the media automation system, wherein the available media items are to be selected in accordance with the user information and one or more content parameters included in the request;

receive a message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items, wherein the message identifies a plurality of media items to be delivered to the user of the cloud-based application, wherein the plurality of media items include first media items and second media items and are in a particular order based on the one or more content parameters, and wherein the first media items are updated as time changes to new versions of the first media items, and wherein the second media items remain constant as time changes;

transmit at least some of the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud-based application via the communications network;

determine to replace a first media item of the plurality of media items yet to be consumed by the user with a replacement first media item based on an update to the first media item;

determine to replace a second media item of the plurality of media items with a replacement second media item in response to receiving updated user preferences, the updated user preferences received between a time the second media item was selected for delivery to the user, but prior to a time the second media item was transmitted to an audio server for delivery to the user; and

transmit the replacement first media item and the replacement second media item to be consumed in place of the first media item and the second media item.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to:

receive the plurality of media items from a streaming broadcast chain prior to transmitting the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud-based application.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to:

receive user information from the user of the cloud-based application.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to transmit, to the media automation system, the request for available media items by:

transmitting a request for content block information to a traffic and billing system.

5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to receive the message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items by:

receiving the content block information from the traffic and billing system in response to the request for content block information.

6. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to:

generate the request for the content block information to include a bumped media item notification.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the at least one memory section stores further operational instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to:

generate the request for the content block information to include a ranking threshold as a parameter of the one or more content parameters for selecting a media item of the plurality of media items.

8. A processing system comprising:

a processor;

memory coupled to the processor;

a communications interface coupling the processor to a communications network;

a program of instructions stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the program of instructions configured to implement a cloud-based application, and wherein the program of instructions includes:

at least one instruction to obtain user information associated with a user of the cloud-based application, wherein the user information includes one or more of preferences associated with the user;

at least one instruction to transmit the user information through the communications interface to a media automation system coupled to the communications network;

at least one instruction to transmit a request for available media items through the communications interface to the media automation system, wherein the available media items are to be selected in accordance with the user information and one or more content parameters included in the request;

at least one instruction to receive a message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items, wherein the message identifies a plurality of media items to be delivered to the user of the cloud-based application, wherein the plurality of media items include first media items and second media items and are in a particular order based on the one or more content parameters, and wherein the first media items are updated as time changes to new versions of the first media items, and wherein the second media items remain constant as time changes;

at least one instruction to transmit the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud-based application via the communications interface;

at least one instruction to determine to replace a first media item of the plurality of media items yet to be consumed by the user with a replacement first media item based on an update to the first media item;

at least on instruction to determine to replace a second media item of the plurality of media items with a replacement second media item in response to receiving updated user preferences, the updated user preferences received between a time the second media item was selected for delivery to the user, but prior to a time the second media item was transmitted to an audio server for delivery to the user; and

at least one instruction to transmit the replacement first media item and the replacement second media item to be consumed in place of the first media item and the second media item.

9. The processing system of claim 8 , wherein the program of instructions further includes:

at least one instruction to receive the plurality of media items from a streaming broadcast chain prior to transmitting the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud-based application.

10. The processing system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one instruction to obtain the user information associated with the user of the cloud-based application includes:

at least one instruction to receive the user information from the user of the cloud- based application.

11. The processing system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one instruction to transmit, to the media automation system, a request for available media items, includes:

at least on instruction to transmit a request for content block information to a traffic and billing system.

12. The processing system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one instruction to receive a message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items includes:

at least one instruction to receive the content block information from the traffic and billing system in response to the request for content block information.

13. The processing system of claim 11 , wherein:

the content block information includes a bumped media item notification.

14. The processing system of claim 11 , wherein:

the content block information includes a ranking threshold as a parameter of the one or more content parameters for selecting a media item of the plurality of media items.

15. A method comprising:

obtaining, at a cloud-based application running on a processing system coupled to a communications network, user information associated with a user of the cloud-based application, wherein the user information includes one or more of preferences associated with the user;

transmitting the user information through the communications network to a media automation system coupled to the communications network;

transmitting a request for available media items to the media automation system, wherein the available media items are to be selected in accordance with the user information and one or more content parameters included in the request;

receiving a message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items, wherein the message identifies a plurality of media items to be delivered to the user of the cloud-based application, wherein the plurality of media items include first media items second media items and are in a particular order based on the one or more content parameters, and wherein the first media items are updated as time changes to new versions of the first media items, and wherein the second media items remain constant as time changes;

transmitting at least some of the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud- based application via the communications network;

determining to replace a first media item of the plurality of media items yet to be consumed by the user with a replacement first media item based on an update to the first media item;

determining to replace a second media item of the plurality of media items with a replacement second media item in response to receiving updated user preferences, the updated user preferences received between a time the second media item was selected for delivery to the user, but prior to a time the second media item was transmitted to an audio server for delivery to the user; and

transmitting the replacement first media item and the replacement second media item to be consumed in place of the first media item and the second media item.

16. The method of claim 15 , further including:

receiving the plurality of media items from a streaming broadcast chain prior to transmitting the plurality of media items to the user of the cloud-based application.

17. The method of claim 15 , obtaining the user information associated with the user of the cloud-based application includes:

receiving the user information from the user of the cloud-based application.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

transmitting the request for available media items includes transmitting a request for content block information to a traffic and billing system; and

wherein receiving the message from the media automation system in response to the request for available media items includes receiving the content block information from the traffic and billing system in response to the request for content block information.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein:

the content block information includes a bumped media item notification.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein:

the content block information includes a ranking threshold as a parameter of the one or more content parameters for selecting a media item of the plurality of media items.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (5)

References Cited (38)