IP Library Granted Patent US 12,464,191
Granted Patent B2
US 12,464,191 · App. 18/794,925 · Granted Nov 4, 2025

Methods and apparatus for measuring engagement during media exposure

Inventor: Alexander Topchy (Oldsmar, FL)
Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
H04N21/44218H04N21/4667
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,464,191
App. No.
18/794,925
Granted
Nov 4, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed for measuring engagement during media exposure. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, machine readable instructions, and processor circuitry to at least one of instantiate or execute the machine readable instructions to identify media presented via a media device in a media presentation environment, identify ambient audio detected in the media presentation environment, determine whether the ambient audio is distractive to presentation of the media in the media presentation environment, and adjust a media exposure report based on a determination that the ambient audio is distractive.

Claims (57)

1 . An audience measurement system comprising:

a processor and

a memory having stored thereon machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the audience measurement system to perform operations comprising:

obtaining an instance of an ambient audio in a media presentation environment comprising a media presentation;

generating an attention score indicating that the instance of the ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation, comprising:

classifying, using a machine learning model, the ambient audio as corresponding to a type of activity based on one or more audio noise parameters; and

aligning a first time stamp associated with the media presentation and a second time stamp associated with the instance of the ambient audio; and

storing the attention score in the memory.

2 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the instance of the ambient audio is obtained from a meter device disposed in the media presentation environment, the meter device comprising an audio sensor.

3 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting the attention score to a remote server.

4 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

providing the attention score for output on an output device.

5 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein generating the attention score indicating that the instance of the ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation further comprises:

comparing the instance of the ambient audio to one or more reference audio identifiers, each audio identifier corresponding to a respective type of activity.

6 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the machine learning model is a neural network.

7 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining media identification information from a meter device disposed in the media presentation environment, the media identification information characterizing the media presentation associated with the first time stamp; and

storing the attention score in association with the media identification information in the memory.

8 . The audience measurement system of claim 1 , wherein the ambient audio is a current ambient audio, and wherein generating the attention score indicating that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation further comprises:

obtaining an instance of a preceding ambient audio before obtaining the instance of the current ambient audio;

obtaining an instance of a successive ambient audio after obtaining the instance of the current ambient audio;

determining an audio noise parameter for each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio; and

based on the audio noise parameter of each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio, determining the attention score indicating that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive.

9 . The audience measurement system of claim 8 , wherein determining that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive comprises:

determining that the audio noise parameter of each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio is above a threshold.

10 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a processor, cause performance of operations comprising:

obtaining an instance of an ambient audio in a media presentation environment comprising a media presentation;

generating an attention score indicating that the instance of the ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation, comprising:

classifying, using a machine learning model, the ambient audio as corresponding to a type of activity based on one or more audio noise parameters; and

aligning a first time stamp associated with the media presentation and a second time stamp associated with the instance of the ambient audio; and

storing the attention score in a memory.

11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the instance of the ambient audio is obtained from a meter device disposed in the media presentation environment, the meter device comprising an audio sensor.

12 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting the attention score to a remote server.

13 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

providing the attention score for output on an output device.

14 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein generating the attention score indicating that the instance of the ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation further comprises:

comparing the instance of the ambient audio to one or more reference audio identifiers, each audio identifier corresponding to a respective type of activity.

15 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the machine learning model is a neural network.

16 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

obtaining media identification information from a meter device disposed in the media presentation environment, the media identification information characterizing the media presentation associated with the first time stamp; and

storing the attention score in association with the media identification information in a memory.

17 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the ambient audio is a current ambient audio, and wherein generating the attention score indicating that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation further comprises:

obtaining an instance of a preceding ambient audio before obtaining the instance of the current ambient audio;

obtaining an instance of a successive ambient audio after obtaining the instance of the current ambient audio;

determining an audio noise parameter for each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio; and

based on the audio noise parameter of each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio, determining the attention score indicating that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein determining that the instance of the current ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive comprises:

determining that the audio noise parameter of each of the preceding ambient audio and the successive ambient audio is above a threshold.

19 . A method comprising:

obtaining an instance of an ambient audio in a media presentation environment comprising a media presentation;

generating an attention score indicating that the instance of the ambient audio is distractive or non-distractive to the media presentation, comprising:

classifying, using a machine learning model, the ambient audio as corresponding to a type of activity based on one or more audio noise parameters; and

aligning a first time stamp associated with the media presentation and a second time stamp associated with the instance of the ambient audio; and

storing the attention score in a memory.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the instance of the ambient audio is obtained from a meter device disposed in the media presentation environment, the meter device comprising an audio sensor.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 5, 2024
From: TOPCHY, ALEXANDER
To: THE NIELSEN COMPANY (US), LLC
Reel/Frame 068186/0431 →
Continuity (3)
Continuation 17962335 · Oct 7, 2022
Provisional Application 63295773 · Dec 31, 2021
Related Publication 20240397147A1 · Nov 28, 2024
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