IP Library Granted Patent US 8,701,136
Granted Patent B2
US 8,701,136 · App. 12/350,223 · Granted Apr 15, 2014

Methods and apparatus to monitor, verify, and rate the performance of airings of commercials

Inventors: James Milton Rathburn (Hackensack, NJ); Laurence Blair Miller (Marina Del Rey, CA); Thomas J. Whymark (Bethlehem, PA); Huaiyeu Huey Yu (Branchburg, NJ); Hui-Tung Yang (Berkeley Heights, NJ); Stephen Shindle (Scotch Plains, NJ); Jonathan Chazen (Demarest, NJ); Joseph Kaminski (Denville, NJ)
Assignee: Nielsen Company (US), LLC
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,701,136
App. No.
12/350,223
Granted
Apr 15, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods and apparatus to monitor, verify, and rate the performance of airings of commercials are disclosed. An example method includes receiving an identification of an advertisement that was presented on a media presentation channel at a time, receiving ratings information for the media presentation channel associated with the time period, identifying a buy order for the received identification, receiving a purchased ratings value associated with the buy order, comparing the purchased ratings value to the ratings information, and displaying an indication of whether the ratings information is less than the purchased ratings value.

Claims (47)

1. A method for monitoring advertisements, the method comprising:

receiving an identification of an advertisement that was presented on a media presentation channel during a time period;

selecting a desired ratings provider for ratings information from a plurality of ratings providers;

receiving the ratings information for the media presentation channel associated with the time period, the ratings information being representative of gross ratings points associated with the advertisement;

identifying a buy order for the advertisement identified by the identification;

receiving a purchased ratings value associated with the buy order, the purchased ratings value being representative of desired gross ratings points for the advertisement;

comparing the purchased ratings value to the ratings information; and

displaying an indication of whether the ratings information is less than the purchased ratings value.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a quarter-hour during which the advertisement was presented; and

extracting an achieved ratings value associated with the determined quarter-hour from the ratings information.

3. A method as defined in claim 2 , wherein comparing the purchased ratings value to the ratings information comprises comparing the purchased ratings value to the achieved ratings value.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising storing the ratings information, the purchased ratings value, and the indication in a database.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that data from the ratings provider is not available; and

generating modeled ratings information for the ratings information.

6. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising determining a market in which the advertisement was presented.

7. A method as defined in claim 6 , wherein identifying the buy order for the advertisement includes identifying a buy order that identifies the determined market for the advertisement.

8. A system for monitoring advertisements, the system comprising:

a performance verifier to receive an identification of an advertisement that was presented on a media presentation channel in a time period, receive ratings information for the media presentation channel associated with the time period from a ratings provider, the ratings information being representative of gross ratings points associated with the advertisement, identify a buy order for the received identification, receive a purchased ratings value associated with the buy order, and compare the purchased ratings value to the ratings information, the purchased ratings value being representative of desired gross ratings points for the advertisement; and

a report generator to display an indication of whether the ratings information is less than the purchased ratings value,

wherein the ratings provider is a first ratings provider and the system further includes a second ratings provider, wherein the performance verifier is further to select a desired ratings source from among the first ratings provider and the second ratings provider.

9. A system as defined in claim 8 , wherein the performance verifier is further to:

determine a quarter-hour during which the advertisement was presented; and

extract an achieved gross ratings point value associated with the determined quarter-hour from the gross ratings point information.

10. A system as defined in claim 9 , wherein the performance verifier is to compare the purchased gross ratings point value to the gross ratings point information by comparing the purchased ratings value to the achieved gross ratings point value.

11. A system as defined in claim 8 , wherein the report generator is further to store the gross ratings point information, the purchased gross ratings point value, and the indication in a database.

12. A system as defined in claim 8 , wherein the performance verifier is further to:

determine that the ratings information is not available from the desired ratings source; and

generate modeled ratings information for the ratings information.

13. A system as defined in claim 8 , wherein the performance verifier is further to determine a market in which the advertisement was presented.

14. A system as defined in claim 13 , wherein identifying the buy order for the received identification includes identifying a buy order that identifies the determined market for the advertisement.

15. A tangible machine readable storage device or storage disc comprising machine readable instructions that when executed cause a computer to at least:

identify a buy order for a received identification of an advertisement that was presented on a media presentation channel during a time period;

select a desired ratings provider for ratings information from a plurality of ratings providers, the ratings information representative of gross ratings points associated with the advertisement;

compare a purchased ratings value associated with the buy order to the ratings information for the media presentation channel associated with the time period, the purchased ratings value being representative of a desired gross ratings point for the advertisement; and

display an indication of whether the ratings information is less than the purchased ratings value.

16. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15 , wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the computer to at least:

determine a quarter-hour during which the advertisement was presented; and

extract an achieved ratings value associated with the determined quarter-hour from the ratings information.

17. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 16 , wherein the instructions cause the computer to compare the purchased gross ratings point value to the gross ratings point information by comparing the purchased gross ratings point value to the achieved gross ratings point value.

18. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15 , wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the computer to store the gross ratings point information, the purchased gross ratings point value, and the indication in a database.

19. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15 , wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the computer to at least:

determine that a ratings source is not available; and

generate modeled ratings information for the ratings information.

20. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15 , wherein the machine readable instructions further cause the computer to determine a market in which the advertisement was presented.

21. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 20 , wherein identifying the buy order for the received identification includes identifying a buy order that identifies the determined market for the advertisement.

Assignments (12)
RELEASE (REEL 054066 / FRAME 0064) Recorded May 11, 2023
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC
Reel/Frame 063605/0001 →
RELEASE (REEL 053473 / FRAME 0001) Recorded May 11, 2023
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC
Reel/Frame 063603/0001 →
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 →
RELEASE (REEL 037172 / FRAME 0415) Recorded Oct 13, 2022
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 061750/0221 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE PATENTS LISTED ON SCHEDULE 1 RECORDED ON 6-9-2020 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 053473 FRAME 0001. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SUPPLEMENTAL IP SECURITY AGREEMENT. Recorded Oct 7, 2020
From: A.C. NIELSEN (ARGENTINA) S.A.; A.C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; ACN HOLDINGS INC.; ACNIELSEN CORPORATION; ACNIELSEN ERATINGS.COM; AFFINNOVA, INC.; ART HOLDING, L.L.C.; ATHENIAN LEASING CORPORATION; CZT/ACN TRADEMARKS, L.L.C.; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC; NIELSEN AUDIO, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER INSIGHTS, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE, INC.; NIELSEN FINANCE CO.; NIELSEN FINANCE LLC; NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.; NIELSEN MOBILE, LLC; NMR INVESTING I, INC.; TCG DIVESTITURE INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; VIZU CORPORATION; VNU MARKETING INFORMATION, INC.; NMR LICENSING ASSOCIATES, L.P.; NIELSEN HOLDING AND FINANCE B.V.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY B.V.; VNU INTERNATIONAL B.V.
To: CITIBANK, N.A
Reel/Frame 054066/0064 →
SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 9, 2020
From: A. C. NIELSEN COMPANY, LLC; ACN HOLDINGS INC.; ACNIELSEN CORPORATION; ACNIELSEN ERATINGS.COM; AFFINNOVA, INC.; ART HOLDING, L.L.C.; ATHENIAN LEASING CORPORATION; CZT/ACN TRADEMARKS, L.L.C.; EXELATE, INC.; GRACENOTE, INC.; GRACENOTE DIGITAL VENTURES, LLC; GRACENOTE MEDIA SERVICES, LLC; NETRATINGS, LLC; NIELSEN AUDIO, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER INSIGHTS, INC.; NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE, INC.; NIELSEN FINANCE CO.; NIELSEN FINANCE LLC; NIELSEN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, INC.; NIELSEN MOBILE, LLC; NIELSEN UK FINANCE I, LLC; NMR INVESTING I, INC.; TCG DIVESTITURE INC.; TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC; VIZU CORPORATION; VNU MARKETING INFORMATION, INC.; NMR LICENSING ASSOCIATES, L.P.; NIELSEN HOLDING AND FINANCE B.V.; THE NIELSEN COMPANY B.V.; VNU INTERNATIONAL B.V.
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053473/0001 →
SUPPLEMENTAL IP SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 30, 2015
From: THE NIELSEN COMPANY ((US), LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT FOR THE FIRST LIEN SECURED PARTIES
Reel/Frame 037172/0415 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 26, 2009
From: TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC., A NEW YORK CORPORATION
To: NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, THE
Reel/Frame 023430/0629 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 26, 2009
From: NIELSEN COMPANY (U.S.), INC., THE, A NEW YORK CORPORATION
To: TNC (US) HOLDINGS, INC., A NEW YORK CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 023429/0760 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 4, 2009
From: RATHBURN, JAMES MILTON; MILLER, LAURENCE BLAIR; WHYMARK, THOMAS J.; YU, HUAIYEU HUEY; YANG, HUI-TUNG; SHINDLE, STEVE; CHAZEN, JONATHAN; KAMINSKI, JOSEPH
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US) INC., A NEW YORK CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 023197/0794 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 61019501 · Jan 7, 2008
Related Publication 20090187932A1 · Jul 23, 2009