IP Library Granted Patent US 11,722,709
Granted Patent B2
US 11,722,709 · App. 17/516,356 · Granted Aug 8, 2023

Methods and apparatus for identification of local commercial insertion opportunities

Inventors: Justin Fahnestock (Tampa, FL); Ronan Heffernan (Wesley Chapel, FL)
Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
H04N21/23424G10L19/018H04N21/2407H04N21/8358H04N21/4394
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,722,709
App. No.
17/516,356
Granted
Aug 8, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for identification of local commercial insertion opportunities. Example apparatus for identification of local commercial insertion opportunities include a media comparator to compare respective instances of media conveyed in respective ones of a plurality of broadcast signals associated with affiliates of a national broadcaster to identify a broadcast interval having different media conveyed among at least some of the broadcast signals. The example apparatus also include an insertion opportunity identifier to determine whether the broadcast interval is associated with a local advertisement insertion opportunity based on a characteristic of the broadcast interval.

Claims (45)

1. An apparatus comprising:

at least one memory;

instructions; and

processor circuitry to execute the instructions to at least:

compare identifiers of respective instances of media, the respective instances of the media conveyed in respective ones of a plurality of broadcast signals associated with corresponding different affiliates of a national broadcaster, the respective instances of the media associated with a time segment;

identify the time segment as a non-matching interval of the plurality of broadcast signals in response to at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals including a different instance of media than other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment; and

determine whether the non-matching interval is associated with a local advertisement insertion opportunity based on a characteristic of the non-matching interval.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the identifiers include at least one of watermarks or signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and the processor circuitry is to at least one of:

decode the watermarks from the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals; or

generate the signatures based on the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is to access the identifiers from a remote device, the identifiers having been at least one of decoded or generated at receivers in geographic locations associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the identifiers include watermarks and signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and the processor circuitry is to determine whether a first output of a first comparison of the watermarks is in agreeance with a second output of a second comparison of the signatures.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the characteristic includes at least one of (1) a count of the plurality of broadcast signals that include different instances of media during the non-matching interval or (2) a duration of the non-matching interval.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is to determine whether the at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes the different instance of media than the other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment based on whether a count of different ones of the identifiers exceeds a threshold indicative of an allowable amount of difference between the identifiers for the respective instances of the media to be considered similar.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry is to:

determine a first one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes a local insertion opportunity indicator; and

exclude the first one of the plurality of broadcast signals from the plurality of broadcast signals.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

compare identifiers of respective instances of media, the respective instances of the media conveyed in respective ones of a plurality of broadcast signals associated with corresponding different affiliates of a national broadcaster, the respective instances of the media associated with a time segment;

identify the time segment as a non-matching interval of the plurality of broadcast signals in response to at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals including a different instance of media than other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment; and

determine whether the non-matching interval is associated with a local advertisement insertion opportunity based on a characteristic of the non-matching interval.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the identifiers include at least one of watermarks or signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and the instructions cause the machine to at least one of:

decode the watermarks from the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals; or

generate the signatures based on the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the machine to access the identifiers from a remote device, the identifiers having been at least one of decoded or generated at receivers in geographic locations associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the identifiers include watermarks and signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and the instructions cause the machine to determine whether a first output of a first comparison of the watermarks is in agreeance with a second output of a second comparison of the signatures.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the characteristic includes at least one of (1) a count of the plurality of broadcast signals that include different instances of media during the non-matching interval or (2) a duration of the non-matching interval.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the machine to determine whether the at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes the different instance of media than the other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment based on whether a count of different ones of the identifiers exceeds a threshold indicative of an allowable amount of difference between the identifiers for the respective instances of the media to be considered similar.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions cause the machine to:

determine a first one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes a local insertion opportunity indicator; and

exclude the first one of the plurality of broadcast signals from the plurality of broadcast signals.

15. A method comprising:

comparing, by executing an instruction with at least one processor, identifiers of respective instances of media, the respective instances of the media conveyed in respective ones of a plurality of broadcast signals associated with corresponding different affiliates of a national broadcaster, the respective instances of the media associated with a time segment;

identifying the time segment as a non-matching interval of the plurality of broadcast signals in response to at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals including a different instance of media than other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment; and

determining, by executing an instruction with the at least one processor, whether the non-matching interval is associated with a local advertisement insertion opportunity based on a characteristic of the non-matching interval.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the identifiers include at least one of watermarks or signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and further including at least one of:

Decoding the watermarks from the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals; or

generating the signatures based on the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

17. The method of claim 15 , further including accessing the identifiers from a remote device, the identifiers having been at least one of decoded or generated at receivers in geographic locations associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the identifiers include watermarks and signatures associated with the respective instances of the media conveyed in the respective ones of the plurality of broadcast signals, and further including determining whether a first output of a first comparison of the watermarks is in agreeance with a second output of a second comparison of the signatures.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the characteristic includes at least one of (1) a count of the plurality of broadcast signals that include different instances of media during the non-matching interval or (2) a duration of the non-matching interval.

20. The method of claim 15 , further including determining whether the at least one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes the different instance of media than the other ones of the plurality of broadcast signals during the time segment based on whether a count of different ones of the identifiers exceeds a threshold indicative of an allowable amount of difference between the identifiers for the respective instances of the media to be considered similar.

21. The method of claim 15 , further including:

determining a first one of the plurality of broadcast signals includes a local insertion opportunity indicator; and

excluding the first one of the plurality of broadcast signals from the plurality of broadcast signals.

Assignments (4)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 8, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 063574/0632 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Apr 28, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063561/0381 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 31, 2023
From: GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; GRACENOTE, INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.
Reel/Frame 063560/0547 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 5, 2022
From: FAHNESTOCK, JUSTIN; HEFFERNAN, RONAN
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 058900/0503 →