Granted Patent B2

US 12,568,273 · App. 18/244,759 · Granted Mar 3, 2026

Inventor: John Card, II (Denver, CO)

Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.

H04N21/44222G06Q30/0242H04H60/33H04N21/251H04N21/252H04N21/2668H04N21/4532H04N21/4667H04N21/47217H04N21/6582H04N21/812H04N21/8456H04N21/44204H04N21/44213H04N21/466

Abstract

Claims (62)

1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device, an alert over the Internet on a computer network communication channel from a remote server, wherein the alert activates a program for assessing viewer interest on the receiving device to monitor playback modes associated with a media content segment;

receiving, by an indication regarding a content playback mode change occurring during playing of a media content segment;

associating in a database, the content playback mode change with a sub-segment of the media content segment;

repeating the receiving an indication and the associating the content playback mode change, for a plurality of different content playback mode changes performed during or in connection with the sub-segment of the media content segment;

determining a level of interest of a user in the sub-segment of the media content segment based on the plurality of different content playback mode changes; and

determining a category of interest based on the determined level of interest;

wherein:

the media content segment comprises a program for television; and

the sub-segment of the media content segment comprises an advertisement within the same program for television.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a level of interest of the user includes:

determining a lower level of interest of the user in the sub-segment of the media content segment if a specific content playback mode change indicates the user skipped at least a portion of the sub-segment than if the user played the entire sub-segment in normal speed.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a level of interest of the user includes:

determining a higher level of interest of the user in the sub-segment of the media content segment if a specific playback mode change indicates the user started to skip the sub-segment and then rewound to attempt to view the sub-segment than if the specific content playback mode change indicates the user skipped the sub-segment entirely.

4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting the determined level of interest over the Internet on a computer network communication channel to a device associated with a service provider; and

causing, in response to the transmitting the determined level of interest, a connection for receiving selected media content to be enabled via the Internet on the computer network communication channel to the device associated with the service provider and a media viewer application to display, on a display device that is remote from the device associated with the service provider, selected media content based on the determined level of interest.

5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

recording the media content segment before receiving the indication regarding the content playback mode change during playing of the media content segment.

6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the recording includes recording the media content segment in a memory buffer to enable the user to perform a rewind function on the media content segment while viewing a broadcast of the media content segment in real time or while receiving the media content segment as streaming video.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the entire media content segment is previously recorded prior to the playing of the media content segment.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the associating the content playback mode change with a sub-segment of the media content segment includes:

recording a first offset relative to a beginning of the media content segment at which the content playback mode change occurred;

determining a second offset relative to a beginning of the media content segment at which the sub-segment starts or ends;

correlating the first offset and the second offset; and

associating the content playback mode change with a sub-segment of the media content segment based on the correlation.

9 . The method of claim 8 wherein the first offset and the second offset are offsets based on a time count or based on a video frame count.

10 . A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device, an alert over the Internet on a computer network communication channel from a remote server, wherein the alert activates a program for assessing viewer interest on the receiving device to monitor playback modes associated with a media content segment:

receiving an indication regarding a content playback mode change occurring during playing of a media content segment;

associating in a database, the content playback mode change with a sub-segment of the media content segment;

repeating the receiving an indication and the associating the content playback mode change for a plurality of different content playback mode changes performed during or in connection with the sub-segment of the media content segment:

determining a level of interest of a user in the sub-segment of the media content segment based on the plurality of different content playback mode changes; and

determining a category of interest based on the determined level of interest:

wherein:

the media content segment comprises a program for television; and

the sub-segment of the media content segment comprises an advertisement within the same program for television.

11 . The system of claim 10 wherein the association between the content playback mode change and the sub-segment of the media content segment indicates a level of interest of the user who performed the content playback mode change in the sub-segment of the media content segment.

12 . The system of claim 10 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:

communicating the association between the plurality of different content playback mode changes and the sub-segment of the media content segment; and

receiving, in response to the communicated association, selected content for display by the receiving device based on the communicated association.

13 . The system of claim 10 wherein the determining a level of interest of the user includes:

determining a lower level of interest of the user in the sub-segment of the media content segment if a specific content playback mode change indicates the user skipped at least a portion of the sub-segment than if the user played the entire sub-segment in normal speed.

14 . The system of claim 10 wherein the determining a level of interest of the user includes:

determining a higher level of interest of the user in the sub-segment of the media content segment if a specific playback mode change indicates the user started to skip the sub-segment and then rewound to attempt to view the sub-segment than if the content playback mode change indicates the user skipped the sub-segment entirely.

15 . The system of claim 10 wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting the determined level of interest over the Internet on a computer network communication channel to a device associated with a service provider; and

causing, in response to the transmitting the determined level of interest, a connection for receiving selected media content to be enabled via the Internet on the computer network communication channel to the device associated with the service provider and a media viewer application to display, on a display device that is remote from the device associated with the service provider, selected media content based on the determined level of interest.

16 . The system of claim 10 wherein the operations further comprise:

recording the media content segment before receiving the indication regarding the content playback mode change during playing of the media content segment.

17 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing program instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor of a receiving device, cause the receiving device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a receiving device, an alert over the Internet on a computer network communication channel from a remote server, wherein the alert activates a program for assessing viewer interest on the receiving device to monitor playback modes associated with a media content segment;

receiving an indication regarding a content playback mode change occurring during playing of a media content segment;

associating in a database, the content playback mode change with a sub-segment of the media content segment;

repeating the receiving an indication and the associating the content playback mode change for a plurality of different content playback mode changes performed during or in connection with the sub-segment of the media content segment:

determining a level of interest of a user in the sub-segment of the media content segment based on the plurality of different content playback mode changes; and

determining a category of interest based on the determined level of interest;

wherein:

the media content segment comprises a program for television; and

the sub-segment of the media content segment comprises an advertisement within the same program for television.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (5)

References Cited (35)