Advertisement subgroups for digital streams

Abstract

A targeted advertising system based on subgroups. Different subgroups are formed based on one or more subscriber characteristics, and different targeted advertisements transmitted to the different subgroups. In the Internet-environment, the subgroups are formed by utilizing multicast addresses. In cable-based and satellite-based systems, the subgroups are formed by node configurations. The targeted advertisements are inserted in the program streams at a centralized distribution point such as a router or a cable television head-end. An apparatus is presented which receives m program streams, n advertisements, and creates p presentation streams containing targeted advertisements, where p is greater than m.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 568,084, filed on May 10, 2000, and entitled “Advertisement Subgroups for Digital Video Streams”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 133,398, filed on May 10, 1999, and entitled “Advertisement Subgroup Multicasting”, each of the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The development of compression and transmission techniques for digital video and audio signals coupled with the advent of the Internet have resulted in an ability to transmit audio and video programming to subscribers from a multitude of locations. Reception areas are no longer limited to the reception area of a radio or television transmitting tower, a cable TV head end, a telephone central office or another geographically determined location. Instead, the subscribers of programming may be distributed over a ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] In one implementation, different presentation streams are formed for different subgroups created within a multicast group. First, different advertisements or different versions of the same advertisements are selected. Then a plurality of presentation streams are created by multiplexing the program content...

Problems solved by technology

Thus, even though prior art advertising schemes try to match the program contents and the advertisements that are displayed within the program contents, such advertisement schemes are not fully effective.

What is lacking in these advertising schemes is the idea of targeted advertising, i.e., presenting different advertisements to different subscribers based on one or more subscriber characteristics or different versions of the same advertisement to different subscribers based on one or more subscriber characteristics.

Images