U.S. patent application number 15/218351 was filed with the patent office on 2016-11-17 for television audience measurement method and apparatus.
The applicant listed for this patent is ISPOT.TV, INC.. Invention is credited to Ewan GODLEY, Scott HAPPELL, Sean MULLER.
Application Number | 20160337695 15/218351 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55456128 |
Filed Date | 2016-11-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160337695 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MULLER; Sean ; et
al. |
November 17, 2016 |
TELEVISION AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS
Abstract
Television transmissions are received at multiple locations
across a large area. Advertisements are identified, harvested and
tagged from within in the television transmissions. The
advertisements are made into smaller representations
("fingerprinted") and are assigned identifiers and media plans are
determined for the advertisements. Smart TVs use the advertisement
representations to identify advertisements in television content
received by the smart TVs. The smart TVs report the advertisement
identifiers and identifiers of shows in the television content
received by the smart TVs. The television content and
advertisements as rendered by the smart TVs are categorized as
live, timeshifted, on-demand, over-the-top, and the like. The
advertisements are categorized as occurring in national or regional
ad slots. The data from the smart TVs is used to determine ad
impressions, gross rating points, and target rating points.
Inventors: |
MULLER; Sean; (Bellevue,
WA) ; HAPPELL; Scott; (Redmond, WA) ; GODLEY;
Ewan; (Renton, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ISPOT.TV, INC. |
Bellevue |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
55456128 |
Appl. No.: |
15/218351 |
Filed: |
July 25, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14489359 |
Sep 17, 2014 |
9402111 |
|
|
15218351 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/812 20130101;
H04N 21/25883 20130101; H04N 21/25891 20130101; H04N 21/44008
20130101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101; H04N 21/44209 20130101; H04N
21/6582 20130101; H04N 21/4621 20130101; H04N 21/25841 20130101;
G06Q 30/0276 20130101; H04N 21/44222 20130101; H04N 21/44218
20130101; H04N 21/2668 20130101; H04N 21/252 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/442 20060101
H04N021/442; H04N 21/658 20060101 H04N021/658; H04N 21/44 20060101
H04N021/44; H04N 21/81 20060101 H04N021/81 |
Claims
1. A method of measuring an audience for advertisements executed on
a computer comprising a memory, which method comprises the
following steps: determining a media plan for a first
advertisement; receiving a set of viewing data from and related to
a set of smart TVs, the set of viewing data comprising smart TV
identifiers and, with respect to content rendered by the smart TVs,
show identifiers, and advertisement identifiers; categorizing
whether the content rendered by the smart TVs was at least one of
live, timeshifted, on-demand, and over-the-top; categorizing
insertion instances of the first advertisement in the content
rendered by the smart TVs as being at least one of national,
regional, and dynamic; and for the first advertisement, determining
ad impression volume according to the media plan, the set of
viewing data, and the categorizations.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/489,359, filed Sep. 17, 2014. U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/489,359 is incorporated herein, in its
entirety, for all purposes; the benefit of the filing date of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/489,359 is claimed for all subject
matter disclosed therein.
FIELD
[0002] This disclosure relates to a method and system for measuring
the audience size of television commercials.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The following description includes information that may be
useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an
admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art
or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any
publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0004] Television audience measurement technologies use
human-completed paper logs, somewhat automated "People Meters",
and, more recently, more automated "Portable People Meters" and
analysis of "Set-Top Box" data. Paper logs are notebooks in which
research subjects record what television broadcast channels and
shows they watch and at what time. The paper logs are criticized
for being imprecise or inaccurate, for under-reporting daytime and
late-night viewing, for failing to record channel "surfing"
(rapidly changing channels), and for only measuring audience
behavior during relatively few periods during the year. People
Meters have buttons, generally one for each research subject in a
residence. The research subject presses a button to indicate that
they are watching the television and the People Meter records what
frequency the television is tuned to. By cross-referencing the time
of day with a broadcast schedule for the channel utilizing the
frequency, it is possible to determine the program which the
research subject was probably watching (assuming there were no
deviations from the schedule).
[0005] People Meters also allow non-research subjects to input
their age and other demographic information (via buttons), so that
non-research subjects may also provide information. Paper logs and
People Meters are criticized for requiring active engagement by the
research subject, for the selection and distribution of research
subjects across the population, for only being used inside of
residences, for not measuring audience behavior with Respect to
non-traditional media rendering devices (smart phones, tables,
laptop and desktop computers, and the like), and for the inexact
connection between program schedule and what programs and
advertisements were actually viewed. Portable People Meters ("PPM")
are devices worn on or carried by a research subject. The PPM
detects inaudible information encoded in the airchain and transmits
the decoded information to the research organization. The decoded
information identifies the media which the research subject was
exposed to.
[0006] Set-Top Box data from cable converter boxes and the like has
been used more recently to measure audience sizes and
characteristics. Set-Top Boxes have a large installed base, the
data is easily accessible and there is readily available
demographic data at the household level. However, one of the major
weaknesses in Set-Top Box data is the inability to verify whether
the television screen is actually on and whether the content is
being viewed since many people turn off their televisions without
turning off the Set-Top Box. This leaves measurement companies
guessing and creating algorithms to guess what was actually viewed.
The second issue with Set-top Box data is not knowing definitively
what advertisements ran during a program and requires matching of
external "as-run ad logs" to determine what ads may have been
viewed. This is further complicated by certain advertisement types
that are locally inserted, operator inserted, dynamically inserted,
or inserted into an "over-the-top" program transmission (program
transmission on Netflix, Hulu, and the like is referred to herein
as an "over-the-top" or "on" transmission). The tracking of
advertisements in on-demand Programming, on programming, and other
types of advertisements is virtually impossible via Set-Top Box
data.
[0007] Existing audience measuring systems are very dependent on
the accuracy of a media plan, which is used to determine what the
research subject was exposed to. Furthermore, existing audience
measuring systems are slow, do not record many forums and devices
in which and by which media is rendered, and are oriented around
shows and show audiences, rather than advertisements and
advertisement audiences.
[0008] Needed is a system and method to accurately measure and
verify the exposure and make-up of audiences of television
advertisements, whether the advertisements are in linear
television, on-demand, on or played via the Internet (e.g. via
Chromecast or the like).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a network and device diagram illustrating
exemplary computing devices configured according to embodiments
disclosed in this paper.
[0010] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary iSpot
Server computing device and some data structures and/or components
thereof.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary iSpot
Server Datastore.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary Smart
TV computing device and some data structures and/or components
thereof.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary Smart
TV Datastore.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of an Ad Harvester routine.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Media Plan Determiner routine.
[0016] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Viewing Data Collector routine.
[0017] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Smart TV Data Collector routine.
[0018] FIGS. 10A and 10B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary
embodiment of an Ad Insertion Type Determiner routine.
[0019] FIGS. 11A and 11B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary
embodiment of a New Ad Identifier routine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The following Detailed Description provides specific details
for an understanding of various examples of the technology. One
skilled in the art will understand that the technology may be
practiced without many of these details. In some instances,
structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail
or at all to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the
examples of the technology. It is intended that the terminology
used in the description presented below be interpreted in its
broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in
conjunction with a detailed description of certain examples of the
technology. Although certain terms may be emphasized below, any
terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner
will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed
Description section.
[0021] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout
the description and the claims, the words "comprise," "comprising,"
and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed
to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense
of "including, but not limited to." As used herein, the term
"connected," "coupled," or any variant thereof means any connection
or coupling, either direct or indirect between two or more
elements; the coupling of connection between the elements can be
physical, logical, or a combination thereof. Additionally, the
words, "herein," "above," "below," and words of similar import,
when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a
whole and not to particular portions of this application. When the
context permits, words using the singular may also include the
plural while words using the plural may also include the singular.
The word "or," in reference to a list of two or more items, covers
all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items
in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of
one or more of the items in the list.
[0022] Multiple instances of certain components are labeled with an
element number and letter; all such component instances are
equivalent within normal ranges. Multiple instances of otherwise
identical components can control, be controlled, or communicate
separately through assignment of unique or distinguishing
identifiers. Such components may be referred to herein only by
element number, without a letter in conjunction therewith, in which
case the reference is to any of such components.
[0023] As used herein, "TV" is an abbreviation for
"television".
[0024] As used herein, "on-demand programming" means audio and/or
video content which a user selects; the on-demand programming is
typically selected and viewed in real-time, though the programming
may also be downloaded or otherwise recorded (by a computing device
proximate to the end user or at a server remote from the end user)
for later viewing or rendering.
[0025] As used herein, "linear television" means television
programming which is broadcast on a pre-established schedule to a
large audience.
[0026] As used herein, "Smart TV" is a television or set-top box
with an integrated computer and Internet services. Smart TVs can
access and render broadcast television programming as well as
online interactive media, Internet TV, on content, and network
accessible content, typically through a downloaded or pre-installed
software application or "app". Smart TVs are computers comprising a
memory, an operating system, and applications for receiving and
rendering broadcast television programming and content obtained
through apps.
[0027] As used herein, "Operator" is an organization which provides
content via TV Distribution Media. Operators may aggregate content
from multiple Television Networks, each of which may be assigned a
"channel" or equivalent in the Broadcast Media.
[0028] As used herein, "TV Distribution Media" is a one-to-many
communication medium which generally utilizes electro-magnetic
radiation to transmit information; examples of TV Distribution
Media include radio and television terrestrial broadcast media,
satellite broadcast media, and cable systems.
[0029] As used herein, "TV Network" is a distributor of linear
television content, generally allocated one or more "channels" in
TV Distribution Media. TV Networks commonly, though not
exclusively, distribute linear television content through
Operators, such as through a cable company. TV Networks may
distribute linear television content directly through certain types
of TV Distribution Media, such as through terrestrial broadcast
media.
[0030] As used herein, "Pod" means a cluster of consecutive
commercials or spot Announcements within a television show.
[0031] As used herein, "Ad Slot" means a portion of a Pod in which
an advertisement may be inserted. A Pod generally comprises
multiple Ad Slots.
[0032] FIG. 1 is a network and device diagram illustrating
exemplary computing devices configured according to embodiments
disclosed in this paper. Illustrated is iSpot Server 200 computer,
which iSpot Server 200 connects to Smart TV 400 and Media Rendering
Device 120 via network 199.
[0033] Smart TV 400 and Media Rendering Device 120 are illustrated
within Location 175. Location 175 may be, for example, a house, an
apartment building, or the like. Smart TV 400 and Media Rendering
Device 120 do not have to be collocated (as illustrated in FIG. 1,
within Location 175), but may be located in different locations.
iSpot Server 200 may comprise or be connected to iSpot Datastore
300 (discussed further below). Illustrated within Media Rendering
Device 120 are examples of Media Rendering Device 120, such as
Computer 124 (which may be a laptop, desktop, tower computer and
similar) and Mobile Device 122 (which may be a smart phone, mobile
phone, tablet computer, wearable computer, and similar). Media
Rendering Device 120 illustrates computers and/or equipment which
users may utilize to render television and other content obtained
from TV Distribution Media 180 and from Network 199. Media
Rendering Device 120 also interacts with the iSpot Server 200 (as
described further herein).
[0034] Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is Smart TV 400 and Smart TV
Datastore 500, discussed further below.
[0035] Also illustrated in FIG. 1 are Operator 160, TV Network 185,
and TV Distribution Media 180. These terms are defined above.
[0036] Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is iSpot TV Monitor 110. iSpot TV
Monitor 110 connects to TV Distribution Media 180 across a wide
geographic area, analyses linear television content distributed on
TV Distribution Media 180, and transmits information to iSpot
Server 200. iSpot TV Monitor 110 may perform some or all of the
routines attributed to iSpot Server 200; for example, some or all
of Ad Harvester 600 routine may be performed by iSpot TV Monitor
110.
[0037] Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is 3rd Party Computer 150. 3rd
Party Computer 150 represents multiple parties, corporations, and
the like who may be sources of information, such as program
schedules for linear television distributed on TV Distribution
Media 180, census data, and the like.
[0038] Network 199 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises computers,
network connections among the computers, and software routines to
enable communication between the computers over the network
connections. Examples of the Network 199 comprise an Ethernet
network, the Internet, and/or a wireless network, such as a GSM,
TDMA, CDMA, EDGE, HSPA, LTE, LTE-Advanced or other network provided
by a wireless service provider. Connection to the Network 199 may
be via a wireless or wireline connection. More than one network may
be involved in a communication session between the illustrated
devices. Connection to the Network 199 may require that the
computers execute software routines which enable, for example, the
seven layers of the OSI model of computer networking or equivalent
in a wireless phone network.
[0039] This paper may discuss a first computer or computer process
as connecting to a second computer or computer process (such as the
Smart TV 400 connecting to the iSpot Server 200) or to a
corresponding datastore (such as to iSpot Datastore 300); it should
be understood that such connections may be to, through, or via the
other of the two components (for example, a statement that Smart TV
400 connects with or sends data to the iSpot Server 200 should be
understood as saying that the computing device may connect with or
send data to the iSpot Datastore 300). References herein to
"database" should be understood as equivalent to "Datastore."
Although illustrated as components integrated in one physical unit,
the computers and databases may be provided by common (or separate)
physical hardware and common (or separate) logic processors and
memory components. Though discussed as occurring within one
computing device, the software routines and data groups used by the
software routines may be stored and/or executed remotely relative
to any of the computers through, for example, application
virtualization.
[0040] In overview (described in greater detail, below), iSpot
Server 200 executes Ad Harvester 600 routine (potentially in
conjunction with or using iSpot TV Monitor 110) to identify
advertisements in linear television and to save information
regarding the advertisements.
[0041] iSpot Server 200 also executes Media Plan Determiner 700
routine to determine a media plan for advertisements based on data
from Ad Harvester 600 routine, and, with data from iSpot TV Monitor
110, to categorize Ad Slots and Advertisements in television shows
as "national", "regional", "local" and/or "dynamically
inserted".
[0042] In overview, Smart TV 400 (defined above) is owned or
possessed by a television viewer. Smart TV 400 executes Viewing
Data Collector 800 to collect information regarding Smart TV 400,
itself, as well as regarding linear television transmitted via TV
Distribution Media 180. The information collected by Smart TV 400
regarding the Smart TV 400, itself, comprises identifiers of the
Smart TV 400 and of an IP Address or the like assigned to Smart TV
400 and the Designated Market Area ("DMA") in which the Smart TV
400 is located. The information collected by Smart TV 400 regarding
linear television transmitted via TV Distribution Media 180
comprises a channel which Smart TV 400 received and rendered, a
network call sign which may be associated with the channel, a show
identifier of a show rendered by Smart TV 400 on the channel, and
an iSpot Ad ID of an advertisement in the show rendered by Smart TV
400.
[0043] In overview, iSpot Server 200 also executes Smart TV Data
Collector 900 to collect data from Viewing Data Collector 800, to
execute Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000, to determine the number
of advertisement impressions which occur in the advertisement
insertion type categories determined by Ad Insertion Type
Determiner 1000, and to determine the GRP and TRP for
advertisements. Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 categorizes
content rendered by Smart TV 400 as being live or time shifted,
categorizes non-national advertisement insertions as being regional
or dynamic, and categorizes programming sources as being on-demand,
OTT, or Internet.
[0044] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary iSpot
Server 200 computing device and some data structures and/or
components thereof. iSpot Server 200 comprises at least one
Processing Unit 210, iSpot Server Memory 250, Display 240 and Input
245, all interconnected along with Network Interface 230 via Bus
220. Processing Unit 210 may comprise one or more general-purpose
Central Processing Units ("CPU") 212 as well as one or more
special-purpose Graphics Processing Units ("GPU") 214.
[0045] The components of Processing Unit 210 may be utilized by
Operating System 255 for different functions required by routines
executed by iSpot Server 200. Network Interface 230 may be utilized
to form connections with Network 199 or to form device-to-device
connections with other computers. iSpot Server Memory 250 generally
comprises a random access memory ("RAM"), a read only memory
("ROM"), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive
or SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random-access memory). iSpot Server
Memory 250 stores program code for software routines, such as, for
example, Ad Harvester 600, Media Plan Determiner 700, Smart TV Data
Collector 900, Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000, as well as, for
example, browser, email client and server routines, client
applications, and database applications (discussed further below).
Additional data groups for routines, such as for a webserver and
web browser, may also be present on and executed by the iSpot
Server 200. Webserver and browser routines may provide an interface
for interacting with the other computing devices illustrated in
FIG. 1 or with other computing devices not illustrated in FIG. 1,
for example, through webserver and web browser routines (which may
serve and respond to data and information in the form of webpages
and html documents or files). The browsers and webservers are meant
to illustrate user- and machine-interface routines generally, and
may be replaced by equivalent routines for serving and rendering
information to and in an interface in a computing device (whether
in a web browser or in, for example, a mobile device application,
or an API call to a server, a library, or the like).
[0046] In addition, iSpot Server Memory 250 also stores Operating
System 255. These software components may be loaded from a
non-transient Computer Readable Storage Medium 295 into iSpot
Server Memory 250 of the computing device using a drive mechanism
(not shown) associated with a non-transient Computer Readable
Storage Medium 295, such as a floppy disc, tape, DVD/CD-ROM drive,
memory card, or other like storage medium. In some embodiments,
software components may also or instead be loaded via a mechanism
other than a drive mechanism and Computer Readable Storage Medium
295 (e.g., via Network Interface 230).
[0047] The iSpot Server 200 may also comprise hardware supporting
input modalities, Input 245, such as, for example, a touchscreen, a
camera, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a stylus, motion
detectors, and a microphone. Input 245 may also serve as Display
240, as in the case of a touchscreen display which also serves as
Input 245, and which may respond to input in the form of contact by
a finger or stylus with the surface of Input 245. Input 245 and
Display 240 may physically be part of iSpot Server 200 and/or may
be a component(s) of another device, such as of Imager-Sorter
100.
[0048] The iSpot Server 200 may also comprise or communicate via
Bus 220 with iSpot Datastore 300, illustrated further in FIG. 3. In
various embodiments, Bus 220 may comprise a storage area network
("SAN"), a high speed serial bus, and/or via other suitable
communication technology. In some embodiments, the iSpot Server 200
may communicate with the iSpot Datastore 300 via Network Interface
230. The iSpot Server 200 may, in some embodiments, include many
more components than those shown in this Figure. However, it is not
necessary that all of these generally conventional components be
shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment.
[0049] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary iSpot
Server Datastore 300. The illustrated components of the iSpot
Datastore 300 are data groups used by routines and are discussed
further herein in the discussion of other of the Figures.
[0050] The data groups used by routines illustrated in FIG. 3 may
be represented by a cell in a column or a value separated from
other values in a defined structure in a digital document or file.
Though referred to herein as individual records or entries, the
records may comprise more than one database entry. The database
entries may be, represent, or encode numbers, numerical operators,
binary values, logical values, text, string operators, joins,
conditional logic, tests, and similar.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary Smart
TV 400 computing device and some data structures and/or components
thereof. Smart TV 400 comprises at least one Processing Unit 410,
Smart TV Memory 450, Display 440 and Input 445, all interconnected
along with Network Interface 430 via Bus 420. Processing Unit 410
may comprise one or more general-purpose Central Processing Units
("CPU") 412 as well as one or more special-purpose Graphics
Processing Units ("GPU") 414.
[0052] The components of Processing Unit 410 may be utilized by
Operating System 455 for different functions required by routines
executed by Smart TV 400. Network Interface 430 may be utilized to
form connections with Network 199 or to form device-to-device
connections with other computers. Smart TV Memory 450 generally
comprises a random access memory ("RAM"), a read only memory
("ROM"), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive
or SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random-access memory). Smart TV
Memory 450 stores program code for software routines, such as, for
example, Viewing Data Collector 800, as well as, for example,
browser, email client and server routines, client applications, and
database applications (discussed further below). Additional data
groups for routines, such as for a webserver and web browser may
also be present on and executed by the Smart TV 400. Webserver and
browser routines may provide an interface for interacting with the
other computing devices illustrated in FIG. 1 or with other
computing devices not illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, through
webserver and web browser routines (which may serve and respond to
data and information in the form of webpages and html documents or
files). The browsers and webservers are meant to illustrate user-
and machine-interface routines generally, and may be replaced by
equivalent routines for serving and rendering information to and in
an interface in a computing device (whether in a web browser or in,
for example, a mobile device application, or an API call to a
server, a library, or the like).
[0053] In addition, Smart TV Memory 450 also stores Operating
System 455. These software components may be loaded from a
non-transient Computer Readable Storage Medium 495 into Smart TV
Memory 450 of the computing device using a drive mechanism (not
shown) associated with a non-transient Computer Readable Storage
Medium 495, such as a floppy disc, tape, DVD/CD-ROM drive, memory
card, or other like storage medium. In some embodiments, software
components may also or instead be loaded via a mechanism other than
a drive mechanism and Computer Readable Storage Medium 495 (e.g.,
via Network Interface 430).
[0054] The Smart TV 400 may also comprise hardware supporting input
modalities, Input 245, such as, for example, a touchscreen, a
camera, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a stylus, motion
detectors, and a microphone. Input 445 may also serve as Display
440, as in the case of a touchscreen display which also serves as
Input 445, and which may respond to input in the form of contact by
a finger or stylus with the surface of Input 445. Input 445 and
Display 440 may physically be part of Smart TV 400 and/or may be a
component(s) of another device.
[0055] Smart TV 400 may also comprise or communicate via Bus 420
with Smart TV Datastore 500, illustrated further in FIG. 5. In
various embodiments, Bus 420 may comprise a storage area network
("SAN"), a high speed serial bus, and/or via other suitable
communication technology. In some embodiments, the Smart TV 400 may
communicate with the Smart TV Datastore 500 via Network Interface
430. Smart TV 400 may, in some embodiments, include many more
components than those shown in this Figure. However, it is not
necessary that all of these generally conventional components be
shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment.
[0056] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary Smart
TV Datastore 500. The illustrated components of the Smart TV
Datastore 500 are data groups used by routines and are discussed
further herein in the discussion of other of the Figures.
[0057] The data groups used by routines illustrated in FIG. 5 may
be represented by a cell in a column or a value separated from
other values in a defined structure in a digital document or file.
Though referred to herein as individual records or entries, the
records may comprise more than one database entry. The database
entries may be, represent, or encode numbers, numerical operators,
binary values, logical values, text, string operators, joins,
conditional logic, tests, and similar.
[0058] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of an Ad Harvester 600 routine. Ad Harvester 600 may be executed by
iSpot Server 200 and/or by iSpot TV Monitor 110. Multiple
television signal receivers may be present in such devices and such
devices or signal receivers thereof may be distributed across a
large geographic area, such as in multiple cities, in multiple
states, and the like, connecting to multiple different TV
Distribution Media 180 to obtain linear television from many
sources and to execute Ad Harvester 600 with respect to the
multiple linear television sources.
[0059] Blocks 605 to 695 iterate over each TV Distribution Medium
180 to which the computer hardware executing the Ad Harvester 600
routine can connect. Blocks 610 to 690 iterate over each "channel"
which the computer hardware executing the Ad Harvester 600 routine
can receive. "Channels" are commonly understood as dividing the
communication spectrum used by TV Distribution Medium 180, though
"channels" are now often a logical division, not a physical or
electro-magnetic division of spectrum. For this reason, blocks 610
to 690 are labeled in relation to a "call sign" for each "channel".
"Call signs" are commonly assigned to "channels"; examples of "call
signs" include NBC, ABC, CNN and the like. Call signs may be
recorded in iSpot Datastore 300 as Call Sign 340 records.
[0060] At block 615, the linear television received via the
then-current Call Sign 340 may encoded and/or transcoded from the
source signal (which may be analog or digital) obtained from the TV
Distribution Medium 180. The encoding and/or transcoding may be
into or according to one or more codecs and at a variety of frame
or other rates.
[0061] At block 620, samples from the transcoded output of block
615 may be selected. For example, the samples may comprise 30
frames per second of video and/or 7 chunks per second of audio,
which may be a subset of the transcoded data of block 615. The
samples and the encoded and/or transcoded data of block 615 and/or
a hash or fingerprint thereof may be saved in, for example, Sample
385 record or the like. Samples, hashes, or fingerprints may be
referred to herein as a "representation".
[0062] At block 625, Ad Harvester 600 may receive a program
schedule for Call Sign 340 in the TV Distribution Medium 180. The
program schedule may be received from, for example, 3rd Party
Computer 150. The program schedule may be stored in, for example,
Program Schedule 345 record.
[0063] At block 630, Ad Harvester 600 may identify the then-current
show in the Program Schedule 345 for Call Sign 340 at the
then-current time. The show may be recorded in, for example, Show
ID 350 record.
[0064] Blocks 635 to 685 iterate for each Show ID 350 record of
block 630. Blocks 640 to 680 iterate for each Sample 385 of block
620. The processing of blocks 640 to 680 may be in relation to
video and/or audio samples in Sample 385 records.
[0065] At block 645 a determination may be made whether the
then-current Sample 385 or a hash thereof matches a Sample 385 of
or a hash thereof associated with an existing iSpot Ad ID 320. If
not, then at block 1100, a determination may be made regarding
whether the Sample 385 meets criteria for being an advertisement.
This determination is discussed further in relation to FIG. 11.
[0066] If affirmative at block 1100, then at block 655 the start
and stop of the advertisement may be determined. The start and stop
of the advertisement may be determined according to for example,
characteristic lengths of advertisements in the TV Distribution
Medium and Call Sign, when a scene change occurred in Samples 385
preceding the current Sample 385, when a blank or black frame
occurred in Samples 385 preceding the current Sample 385, when a
change in volume occurred relative to Samples 385 preceding the
current Sample 385, relative to the passage of time as may have
been evaluated at block 1155, relative to other advertisements as
may have been evaluated at block 1165, the length of other
instances of known and unknown content in which the Sample 385
occurs, and according to other criteria, including those evaluated
in New Ad Identifier 1100.
[0067] At block 655 the Samples 385, such as the present Sample
385, and/or a hash, fingerprint, or representation for the
advertisement may also be stored or may be labeled to be stored
after all Samples 385 in the advertisement have been processed.
[0068] At block 660, the advertiser in the advertisement may be
identified, such as through identification of products, logos,
trademarks, text, images, and the like which are associated with a
known advertiser. The identified advertiser may be stored in, for
example, an Advertiser 390 record.
[0069] At block 665, the advertisement may be assigned an iSpot Ad
ID 320 and, at block 670, which may follow block 645 if affirmative
at block 645, data regarding the occurrence of the advertisement
may be recorded, such as in or in association with iSpot Ad ID 320,
which data may comprise information such as a timestamp or
timestamps for the advertisement (such as timestamps for different
time zones), the iSpot Ad ID and the Show ID in which the
advertisement occurred, the Pod number, commercial break number, or
Ad Slot within the show (which may be recorded as Pod 355 and/or as
Ad Slot 395), the market in which the ad was shown (such as a DMA
365), the Operator 160 and TV Distribution Media 180 of the show
and advertisement, a confidence score which may have been generated
in block 1100 to determine whether the Sample 385 is an
advertisement or which may have been used in block 645 to determine
that the Sample 385 was a match with an existing iSpot Ad ID 320,
the type of advertisement or the Ad Slot in which the advertisement
appeared (as may be determined by, for example, Ad Insertion Type
Determiner 1000), the estimated spending by the Advertiser 390 on
the advertisement ("Estimated Spend"), a hash or representation of
the Sample, and the like. The Estimated Spend may be determined
according to, for example, a process such as that outlined in U.S.
application Ser. No. 14/276,920, filed May 13, 2014.
[0070] At block 675, which may follow block 1100 if 1100 is not
affirmative, the Sample 385 may be identified as not being an
advertisement and may be identified as a sample of a TV show, such
as of Show ID 350 record of block 630 or otherwise according to
Program Schedule 345, Call Sign 340 and the then-current time. If
not already performed, Show ID 350 may be assigned to the Sample
385 and the Sample 385 may be stored and/or hashed or fingerprinted
and stored (which may be referred to herein as a "representation").
Information regarding the Sample 385 may also be stored, such as
the time from the start of the show, a name of the show, the market
(such as a DMA), the Operator, to TV Distribution Media, and the
like.
[0071] Following recordation of data regarding the advertisement or
following block 675, Ad Harvester 600 may return to iterate over
the next Sample 385, Show, Call Sign, and TV Distribution
Medium.
[0072] At block 699, Ad Harvester 600 may conclude or return to a
process which spawned Ad Harvester 600.
[0073] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Media Plan Determiner 700 routine. Media Plan Determiner 700
may be executed by, for example, iSpot Server 200. Media Plan
Determiner 700 may be executed to determine the media plan for an
advertisement. A media plan for an advertisement is a record of
which shows an advertisement appeared in, on what days and at what
times, in what Pods and Ad Slots, on what TV Distribution Media, in
what markets, and the like. Advertisements are often placed by
marketing companies with only general guidance from the underlying
advertiser; multiple parties may be involved in selecting which
advertisements appear when and where. As a result, the media plan
for advertisements is seldom known in advance and precise media
plans developed after the fact-prior to the disclosure herein-may
be expensive to compile and may be based on sampling and
extrapolations, which can be prone to error.
[0074] Block 705 to 735 iterates for each advertisement assigned an
iSpot Ad ID 320 and with respect to which ad occurrence data was
recorded, such as in block 670 of Ad Harvester 600.
[0075] At block 710, the ad occurrence data, such as of block 670
of Ad Harvester 600, and the show information, such as of block 675
of Ad Harvester, may be compiled or tabulated to determine a media
plan for then then-current iSpot Ad ID 320. The media plan may be
stored as, for example, Media Plan 315. A sample Media Plan 315 may
contain columns such as, for example, Brand, Brand ID, Ad Title,
iSpot Ad ID, Call Sign, Show Name, Show Episode, Show Type, Show
Genre, Show Sub Genre, New Episode, Air Time
Pacific/Central/Mountain/Eastern, Day of Week, Day Part, Pod and/or
Slot Identifier, Airing Type (national, national satellite,
regional, etc.), Market (DMA), Platform (TV Distribution Media),
Operator, Duration, Parent iSpot Ad ID, Sample Hash ID, Industry,
Sub Industry, Product Categories, Products, Estimated Spend, and
the like.
[0076] At block 715, the Media Plan 315 across time zones and
across Operators 160 may be compared. This may be by comparison of
Media Plans 315 specific to each or within one Media Plan 315 which
spans time zones and Operators 160.
[0077] At block 720, a determination may be made regarding whether
for the same show, such as by Show ID 350, whether the same iSpot
Ad ID 320 appears in the same Ad Slot 395 within Show ID 350. If
affirmative at block 720, then Ad Slot 395 for Show ID 350 may be
categorized as a "national" Ad Slot 395 and the iSpot Ad ID 320 may
be categorized as a "national" ad. National Ad Slots are Ad Slots
which are controlled by a party with national reach, such as TV
Network 185, and national Advertisements are advertisements which
are placed in national Ad Slots.
[0078] If negative at block 720, then at block 730 Ad Slot 395 for
Show ID 350 may be categorized as a "not national" Ad Slot or as a
"regional/local/dynamic" Ad Slot. Regional Ad Slots are Ad Slots
which are sold or allocated to regional operators or advertising
agencies to fill. Regional Ad Slots may be further categorized as
"local" Ad Slots if different advertisements are found in the same
Ad Slot within a region. Dynamic Ad Slots are regional or local Ad
Slots which are filled dynamically by, for example, Operator 160 or
an affiliate, and may be dynamically addressed to individual
households or areas.
[0079] At block 735 Media Plan Determiner 700 may return to iterate
over the next iSpot Ad ID 320.
[0080] At block 799, Media Plan Determiner 700 may conclude or
return to a process which spawned Media Plan Determiner 700.
[0081] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Viewing Data Collector 800 routine. Viewing Data Collector 800
may be executed by, for example, Smart TV 400. Viewing Data
Collector 800 may be loaded in Smart TV 400 by, for example, a
manufacturer or distributor of Smart TV 400 or by a party otherwise
entitled to install software on Smart TV 400.
[0082] At block 805, Viewing Data Collector 800 may receive audio
and/or video samples or hashes or fingerprints or another
representation of advertisements which have been assigned an iSpot
Ad ID 320, the corresponding iSpot Ad IDs 320, samples, hashes, or
fingerprints or another representation of shows, and corresponding
Show IDs 350. The audio and/or video samples, hashes, fingerprints,
or representation of both advertisements and shows may be stored in
Smart TV Datastore 500 as iSpot Sample 505; iSpot Ad IDs 320 may be
stored in Smart TV Datastore 500 as iSpot Ad IDs 510; Show IDs 350
may be stored in Smart TV Datastore 500 as Show IDs 515. The
samples may be or comprise hashes or fingerprints of samples, which
may be referred to herein as "representations".
[0083] At block 810, Viewing Data Collector 800 may obtain a unique
TV identifier of the Smart TV 400, such as a MAC address or the
like, and an IP Address utilized by the Smart TV 400. This data may
be saved in or in association with, for example, a Smart TV Data
520 record.
[0084] At block 815, Viewing Data Collector 800 may obtain the
Designated Market Area ("DMA") in which the Smart TV 400 is
present. This may be obtained from a third party, such as 3rd party
Computer 150, who may map the IP address of Smart TV 400 to a DMA
and may provide this information to Viewing Data Collector 800,
such as in response to a request for the same made by Viewing Data
Collector 800.
[0085] Blocks 820 to 870 may iterate for the then-current channel
or Call Sign being received and rendered by Smart TV 400.
[0086] At block 825, Viewing Data Collector 800 may obtain the Call
Sign of the TV Network 185 of the then-current channel. This may be
obtained from the transmission over TV Distribution Media 180.
[0087] At block 830 a sample of content rendered by Smart TV 400
may be obtained from Smart TV 400 by Viewing Data Collector 800.
The sample may be, for example, 1 frame-per-second of video. This
sample, hash, fingerprint, or representation thereof may be saved
as, for example, Smart TV Sample 530.
[0088] Blocks 835 to 865 may iterate for each Smart TV Sample
530.
[0089] At block 840, a determination may be made regarding whether
Smart TV Sample 530 matches an existing iSpot Ad ID, a Show ID 515,
or whether no match is obtained. This determination may involve a
comparison of Smart TV Sample 530 to iSpot Sample 505, which iSpot
Samples may be associated with a corresponding iSpot Ad IDs 510 and
Show IDs 515. The comparison may be made by, for example, an
Automated Content Recognition ("ACR") algorithm executed by Smart
TV 400 or by Viewing Data Collector 800, which ACR system (or the
like) may use the Smart TV Sample 530 as a reference.
[0090] If at block 840 the match was to a Show ID 515 or if there
was no match, then at block 845, the matched Show ID 515 may be
cross-referenced with Show Schedule 525 to confirm the match or to
identify Show ID 515 if no match was determined. Show Schedule 525
may be obtained from a transmission over TV Distribution Media 180
and/or may obtained from or provided by 3rd Party Computer 150 or
another party as a service. At block 850, the Show ID 515 may be
returned.
[0091] If at block 840 the match was to an iSpot Ad ID 510, then at
block 855 the matching iSpot Ad ID 510 may be returned.
[0092] At block 860, the amount of time since the start of the show
may be determined, such as relative to Show Schedule 525.
[0093] At block 865, Viewing Data Collector 800 may return to
iterate over the next Smart TV Sample 530, if any.
[0094] At block 870, Viewing Data Collector 800 may return to block
820 iterate over the next channel, if any.
[0095] At block 875, the information collected by Viewing Data
Collector 800 may be transmitted to iSpot Server 200 as, for
example, Smart TV Data 520 records, Show ID 515 records, and iSpot
Ad ID 510 records. This information may further identify which
iSpot Samples 505 were found, as well as a confidence score
relating to block 840 to 860.
[0096] At block 899, Viewing Data Collector 800 may conclude or
return to a process which spawned Viewing Data Collector 800.
[0097] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a Smart TV Data Collector 900 routine. Smart TV Data Collector
900 may be executed by, for example, iSpot Server 200.
[0098] At block 905, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may receive Smart
TV Data 520, such as from Smart TV 400 and Viewing Data Collector
800.
[0099] At block 1000, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may execute Ad
Insertion Type Determiner 1000, though Ad Insertion Type Determiner
1000 may be executed as an independent process, not as a
subroutine. Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 is discussed in
relation to FIGS. 10A and 10B.
[0100] Blocks 910 to 980 iterate for each iSpot Ad ID in the Smart
TV Data 520 of block 905. Blocks 915 to 935 iterate for each airing
of iSpot AD ID in the Smart TV Data 520 of block 905. Blocks 920 to
930 iterate for each DMA in which occurred airings of iSpot AD
ID.
[0101] At block 925, the number of impressions for each iSpot Ad ID
510 in or associated with the Smart TV Data 520 in the DMA may be
determined by dividing the number of reporting Smart TVs 400 in the
Smart TV Data 520 of block 905 by the number of tracked TVs (which
may be either i) Smart TVs 400 which could potentially report or
ii) all TVs) and multiplying the product of the foregoing by the
number of television households in the DMA.
[0102] Block 930 may return to block 920 to iterate over the next
DMA. Block 935 may return to block 915 to iterate over the next
airing of iSpot Ad ID in Smart TV Data.
[0103] At block 940, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may determine the
total advertisement impressions across geo-political units by
summing, for example, the ad impressions by DMA determined in block
925. This will determine the advertisement impressions for
"national" advertisements (those placed in national Ad Slots 395)
as well as "regional" advertisements (advertisements placed in
regional Ad Slots 395--the national/regional categorization having
been made by, for example, Media Plan Determiner 700).
[0104] At block 945, the Gross Rating Points ("GRP") may be
determined as the reach of an iSpot Ad ID (expressed as a
percentage of the total population) multiplied by the frequency or
average frequency of the occurrence of the advertisement associated
with the iSport Ad ID. The GRP may be saved as, for example, GRP
330 records.
[0105] At block 950, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may obtain
demographics for the Smart TVs 400 providing data at block 905. At
block 955, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may obtain census data
relative to the population possessing Smart TVs 400 which provided
data at block 905.
[0106] At block 960, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may calibrate the
device demographics of block 950 relative to the census data of
block 955.
[0107] Blocks 965 to 975 iterate for each target audience in the
total population, such as an age range, a geographic area, a
gender, and the like, in the total population.
[0108] At block 970, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may determine the
Target Rating Points ("TRP") by multiplying the GRP of block 935 by
the estimated percentage of the target audience in the gross
audience (or total population). The TRP may be saved as, for
example, TRP 335 records.
[0109] Block 975 may return to block 965 to iterate over the next
target audience, if any.
[0110] Block 980 may return to block 910 to iterate over the next
iSpot Ad ID.
[0111] At block 985, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may connect Media
Rendering Devices 120 to Smart TVs 400, such as according to IP
Address or other information, to determine Media Rendering Devices
120 and Smart TVs 400 which occupy a common location, so that data
from one can be ascribed to the other.
[0112] At block 999, Smart TV Data Collector 900 may conclude or
return to a process which spawned it.
[0113] FIGS. 10A and 10B are a flowchart illustrating an exemplary
embodiment of an Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 routine. Ad
Insertion Type Determiner 1000 may be executed by iSpot Server 200
within Smart TV Data Collector 900 as a subroutine or as an
independent process. Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 determines a
type of advertisement insertion for advertisements which have been
given an iSpot Ad ID 320, relative to the advertisement and/or an
Ad Slot into which an advertisement may be inserted.
[0114] Blocks 1004 to 1080 iterate for each show, such as by Show
ID 350, in the Smart TV Data 380 received at, for example, block
905 in Smart TV Data Collector 900. Blocks 1008 to 1076 iterate for
each iSpot Ad ID received at, for example, block 905 in Smart TV
Data Collector 900.
[0115] At block 1012, a determination may be made regarding whether
the Smart TV content and the then-current iSpot Ad ID tracks the
Media Plan 315 determined by Media Plan Determiner 700.
[0116] If affirmative at block 1012, then at block 1044, a
determination may be made regarding whether there is a time
difference between the Smart TV content and the Media Plan 315,
such as according to a timestamp. If negative at block 1044, then
at block 1048 the iSpot Ad ID in the Show may be categorized as
"live", meaning that it was rendered by the reporting Smart TV 400
in real time. If affirmative at block 1044, then at block 1052 a
determination may be made regarding whether the time difference is
greater than three days. If negative at block 1052, then at block
1056, the iSpot Ad ID in the Show may be categorized as
"timeshifted, up to three days." If affirmative at block 1052, then
at block 1060, then iSpot Ad ID in Show may be categorized as
"timeshifted, greater than three days."
[0117] At block 1068, a determination may be made, for
advertisements in a non-national Ad Slot and for a single Operator,
regarding whether or not the advertisement insertion follows a
pattern for local, regional, or dynamic advertisement insertion.
For example, a single Operator may show the same advertisement
across a region, such as across an MTA (in which case the
advertisement and/or Ad Slot may be categorized as "regional"), or
may show different advertisements within a region (in which case
the advertisement and/or Ad Slot may be categorized as "local"), or
may show different advertisements to many different viewers without
regard to geographic proximity (in which case the advertisement
and/or Ad Slot may be categorized as "dynamic"). Depending on the
determination at block 1068, the advertisement and/or Ad Slot
and/or advertisement insertion type may be categorized as "locally"
or "regionally inserted", such as at block 1072, or the
advertisement and/or Ad Slot may be categorized as "dynamically
inserted", such as at block 1064.
[0118] If negative at block 1012, then, in FIG. 10B at block 1020 a
determination may be made regarding whether the Show in which the
Ad ID occurred is known. If negative at block 1020, then at block
1024, the Ad Slot in which the iSpot Ad ID occurred may be
categorized as "other".
[0119] If affirmative at block 1020, then at block 1028, for the
Show in which the iSpot Ad ID occurred, the lengths of blocks of
advertisements in the Show, the position of advertisements in the
Show, and other characteristics may be measured. Different TV
Distribution Media may have different lengths of blocks of
advertisements in Shows, positions of advertisements in Shows, and
other characteristics. At block 1032, the TV Distribution Media of
the Show and Advertisement may be assigned as a type, such as
on-demand, OTT, or Internet. At block 1036, the source may be
identified, such as according to information in the Smart TV Data
received, for example, at block 905. The source may a subset of or
a particular provider within the type identified at block 1032,
such as an Operator (such as Comcast, Timewarner, DirecTV, and the
like) or an on provider (such as Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and the
like), or an Internet provider (such as YouTube). At block 1040,
the source identified at block 1036 may be assigned as a sub-type.
At circle "C", FIG. 10B may return to block 1076.
[0120] At block 1076, Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 may return
to block 1008 to iterate over the next iSpot Ad ID. At block 1080,
Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 may return to block 1004 to
iterate over the next Show. On
[0121] At block 1099, Ad Insertion Type Determiner 1000 may
conclude or may return to a process which spawned it.
[0122] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment
of a New Ad Identifier 1100 routine. New Ad Identifier 1100
determines whether a Sample 385 which does not match an existing
iSpot Ad ID 320 is an advertisement. New Ad Identifier 1100 may
apply criteria for making this determination. New Ad Identifier
1100 may utilize a scoring system which applies a score (or scores)
to various criteria and may then determine that Sample 385 is an
advertisement if the total score is above a threshold; equivalent
systems for evaluating a list of criteria may be utilized. A list
of examples of criteria for being an advertisement are listed in
FIGS. 11A and 11B. A different set of criteria may be utilized and
the criteria may be utilized in a different order. Evaluation of
the criteria may be terminated upon the occurrence of an event or a
dispositive criteria.
[0123] For example, at block 1105 a determination may be made
regarding whether the Sample 385 represents a scene change relative
to a chronologically preceding Sample 385. The scene change
evaluation may be based on a change in the video data. This
evaluation may be performed by evaluating encoding of frames. For
example, a Sample 385 which uses a preceding frame as a reference
for motion-vector based compression may not be considered a scene
change. This evaluation may also utilize a histogram of pixels in
Sample 385 and a preceding Sample 385. An "earth mover distance" or
other similar algorithm may also be utilized. If affirmative, then
at block 1110, the advertisement score for Sample 385 may be
incremented.
[0124] For example, at block 1115 a determination may be made
regarding whether Sample 385 is preceded by a blank or black frame.
If affirmative, then at block 1120, the advertisement score for
Sample 385 may be incremented.
[0125] For example, at block 1125 a determination may be made
regarding whether there is a change of volume in the Sample 385
relative to a preceded Sample. If affirmative, then at block 1130,
the advertisement score for Sample 385 may be incremented.
[0126] For example, at block 1135 a determination may be made
regarding whether a "ticker" or scrolling text in a preceding
Sample 385 is not present in the then-current Sample 385. If
affirmative, then at block 1140, the advertisement score for Sample
385 may be incremented.
[0127] For example, at block 1145 a determination may be made
regarding whether a "ticker" or scrolling text in a preceding
Sample 385 is not present in the then-current Sample 385. If
affirmative, then at block 1140, the advertisement score for Sample
385 may be incremented.
[0128] For example, at block 1155 a determination may be made
regarding whether an amount of time has elapsed during the current
Show, since the start of the current Show, or since the last
advertisement in the current Show, which amount of time is
associated with an advertisement. If affirmative, then at block
1160, the advertisement score for Sample 385 may be
incremented.
[0129] For example, at block 1165 a determination may be made
regarding whether the current Sample 385, or a time range of
Samples around current Sample 385, is preceded, followed by, or
bracketed by (on both sides) by a Sample which matches an existing
iSpot Ad ID 320. If affirmative, then at block 1170, the
advertisement score for Sample 385 may be incremented.
[0130] For example, at block 1175 a determination may be made
regarding whether the current Sample 385 occurs elsewhere, such as
in other broadcasts by other Call Signs 340 or on other Channels
310, or on other Networks 305. If affirmative, then at block 1180,
the advertisement score for Sample 385 may be incremented.
[0131] At block 1185 a determination may be made regarding whether
the total score for the current Sample 385 is above a threshold. If
it is, then at block 1190 the current Sample 385 may be classified
as an advertisement and New Ad Identifier 1100 routine may, for
example, return to block 655 of FIG. 6. If it is not, then at block
1195 the current Sample 385 may be classified as other than an
advertisement and New Ad Identifier 1100 routine may, for example,
return to block 675 of FIG. 6. New Ad Identifier 1100 routine may
also provide that scores close to but not over the threshold may be
evaluated by a human.
[0132] The above Detailed Description of embodiments is not
intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise
form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples
are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent
modifications are possible within the scope of the system, as those
skilled in the art will recognize. For example, while processes or
blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may
perform routines having operations, or employ systems having
blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be
deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. While
processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in
series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in
parallel, or may be performed at different times. Further, any
specific numbers noted herein are only examples; alternative
implementations may employ differing values or ranges.
* * * * *