Distribution support device, distribution support method, and program

Abstract

To provide a distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program, capable of presenting, to a distributor in an easily understandable manner, viewer comments to be referred.SOLUTION: There is provided a distribution support device 100 for supporting distribution of a movie in which a distributor introduces a product. The distribution support device 100 includes: an acquisition part 101 that acquires viewer comments posted by viewers who are viewing the distributed movie; an extraction part 103 that extracts, from the acquired viewer comments, each viewer comment that is not similar to skip target comments to be skipped by the distributor, as a candidate comment that is a candidate of a comment to be referred to by the distributor in distribution; a presentation part 105 that presents the extracted candidate comment to the distributor; a detection part 106 that detects that the presented candidate comment is selected as an adopted comment; and a setting part 107 that sets the detected adoption comment as the skip target comment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technology for realizing live commerce, which uses online videos to introduce and sell products. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a server device that monitors viewer comments input via user terminals during the distribution of live videos, and when a keyword related to ordering a product is extracted, outputs information related to ordering the product to the user terminal that input the keyword. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 106034 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In this type of live commerce, in order to respond to questions from viewers during the broadcast, the broadcaster must check viewer comments while introducing the product and decide which comments to mention. This places a heavy burden on the broadcaster, and there is a risk that they may overlook viewer comments that should be mentioned during the broadcast.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide a distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program that can clearly present viewer comments that should be mentioned to the distributor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a distribution support device according to the present invention comprises: A distribution support device that supports a distributor in distributing a video introducing a product, an acquisition unit that acquires viewer comments made by viewers watching the broadcast; an extraction unit that extracts, from the viewer comments acquired by the acquisition unit, viewer comments that are not similar to skip target comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; a presentation unit that presents the candidate comments extracted by the extraction unit to the distributor; a detection unit that detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as an adopted comment; a setting unit that sets the accepted comment detected by the detection unit as the skip target comment; Equipped with. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program that can present viewer comments that should be mentioned to a distributor in an easy-to-understand manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a distribution support system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a broadcaster screen displayed on a broadcaster terminal. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a broadcaster screen displayed on the broadcaster terminal. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the functional configuration of a distribution support device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of time series data of sales figures, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing an example of time series data of viewer comments, for past live videos. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a physical configuration of the information processing device. [Figure 7]10 is a flowchart of a utility calculation process performed by the distribution support device. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart of a presentation process performed by the distribution support device. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart of a skip target comment update process performed by the distribution support device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a broadcaster screen displayed on a broadcaster terminal according to a modified example. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a broadcaster screen displayed on a broadcaster terminal according to a modified example. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a broadcaster screen displayed on a broadcaster terminal according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, identical or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. This embodiment is for illustrative purposes only and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art may employ embodiments in which each or all of these elements are replaced with equivalents, and these embodiments are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0010] A distribution support device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described using an example in which it is applied to a distribution support system 1 shown in Fig. 1. The distribution support system 1 is a system that distributes live videos introducing and selling products, extracts candidate comments that are candidates for viewer comments that the distributor should mention in the distribution from viewer comments input by viewers during the distribution, and presents the candidate comments to the distributor.

[0011] The distribution support system 1 includes a distribution support device 100, a distribution server 200, a distributor terminal 300, and a viewer terminal 400, and the distribution support device 100, distribution server 200, distributor terminal 300, and viewer terminal 400 are connected via a communication network 500 such as the Internet. Note that, although one distributor terminal 300 and one viewer terminal 400 are shown in FIG. 1, there may be a plurality of distributor terminals 300 and a plurality of viewer terminals 400.

[0012] Distribution support device 100 is a server device that receives viewer comments entered by viewers during distribution of a live video from viewer terminal 400, extracts candidate comments from the received viewer comments that are candidates for viewer comments that the distributor should mention in the distribution, and presents the extracted candidate comments to distributor terminal 300. The method of presenting the candidate comments is arbitrary; for example, only the extracted candidate comments may be displayed on the display screen of distributor terminal 300, or all or part of the received viewer comments may be displayed on the display screen with the candidate comments highlighted.

[0013] The distribution support device 100 also detects that the presented candidate comment has been selected as a comment to be mentioned or a comment that has been mentioned in the distribution (hereinafter referred to as an accepted comment). The distribution support device 100 sets the detected accepted comment as a comment to be skipped, thereby preventing viewer comments similar to an accepted comment that has been mentioned once from being presented again as candidate comments in the same distribution.

[0014] The distribution server 200 is a server device that distributes live video captured by the distributor terminal 300 to the viewer terminal 400. Specifically, the distribution server 200 distributes video information showing live video introducing a product by streaming.

[0015] The distributor terminal 300 is a computer used by a distributor to distribute live video, and includes, for example, information terminals such as a smartphone, tablet, or PC (Personal Computer). The distributor installs a live video distribution app on the distributor terminal 300, launches the live video distribution app, and uses the live video distribution service. The distributor terminal 300 uploads video captured by a video camera connected to the distributor terminal 300 to the distribution server 200 in real time.

[0016] The broadcaster terminal 300 also displays a broadcaster screen, which is a screen for the broadcaster to use to broadcast live videos, on the display screen. An example of the broadcaster screen 310 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the broadcaster screen 310 includes a video area 320 that displays the live video and a comment area 330A that displays candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C extracted by the broadcasting support device 100. The video area 320 displays a live video in which the broadcaster introduces a bag. The video area 320 also includes an icon 350 indicating the number of viewers watching the live video and an icon 360 indicating the number of favorites added by viewers. The icons displayed in the video area 320 are not limited to these icons, and any other icons may be used. For example, various icons may be displayed, such as an icon indicating the number of viewer comments sent by viewers, an icon indicating the video broadcast time, or an icon indicating the number of product purchases.

[0017] The comment area 330A displays candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C extracted by the distribution support device 100 as candidates for comments to be mentioned in the distribution. Hereinafter, the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C are collectively referred to as candidate comments 340. In the illustrated example, three candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C are displayed, but the number of candidate comments 340 to be displayed can be set as desired. The distributor reviews the candidate comments 340 displayed in the comment area 330A and determines whether to select them as accepted comments to be mentioned in the distribution or as accepted comments that have been mentioned. For example, the distributor may tap one of the accepted comment registration icons 370 located on each of the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C to set the candidate comment 340 corresponding to the tapped accepted comment registration icon 370 as the accepted comment. The candidate comment 340 selected as the accepted comment is deleted from the comment area 330A. It is not necessary to provide comment area 330A on screen for distributor 310, and video area 320 may be displayed on the entire screen for distributor 310, with candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C superimposed on the live video.

[0018] 3 shows an example of a distributor screen 310 that displays all viewer comments 380 entered by viewers and candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C extracted by the distribution support device 100. In the example shown, the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C extracted by the distribution support device 100 are displayed in the video area 320, superimposed on the live video. In addition, the comment area 330B displays all received viewer comments 380 in a scrollable manner. Note that, hereinafter, the comment areas 330A and 330B are collectively referred to as the comment area 330.

[0019] 1, viewer terminal 400 is a computer used by a viewer to view live video, and includes, for example, information terminals such as a smartphone, tablet, PC (Personal Computer), etc. Viewer terminal 400 receives video information from distribution server 200 and presents the live video to the viewer using display means, audio means, etc.

[0020] In addition, the viewer terminal 400, in accordance with the viewer's operations, performs procedures to order or purchase products introduced in the live video being distributed, and sends comments on the live video being distributed to the distribution support device 100 and the distribution server 200.

[0021] Communications network 500 may include various types of networks, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a wireless network, a public switched network, a satellite network, a cellular network, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a private network, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, an optical fiber-based network, etc., and / or combinations of these or other types of networks.

[0022] (Functional configuration of distribution support device) 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the functional configuration of the distribution support device 100. The distribution support device 100 includes an acquisition unit 101, a skip target comment DB (database) 102, an extraction unit 103, an estimation unit 104, a presentation unit 105, a detection unit 106, and a setting unit 107.

[0023] The acquisition unit 101 acquires viewer comments 380 input by viewers during distribution of a live video. Specifically, the acquisition unit 101 receives the viewer comments 380 from the viewer terminal 400.

[0024] The skip target comment DB102 stores skip target comments that should not be mentioned by the broadcaster in the broadcast, among the viewer comments acquired by the acquisition unit 101. Specifically, the skip target comment DB102 includes any unit of character information, such as words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs, and includes, for example, comments that include expressions related to personal information, expressions that offend others, expressions that violate social morals, and comments that have little relevance to the product introduced in the live video. The skip target comment DB102 also stores viewer comments 380 that are selected as accepted comments by the broadcaster during the live video broadcast.

[0025] The extraction unit 103 extracts candidate comments 340 that are candidates for comments that the broadcaster should mention in the broadcast, from among the viewer comments 380 acquired by the acquisition unit 101. Specifically, when the acquisition unit 101 acquires viewer comments 380, the extraction unit 103 references the skip target comment DB 102 and extracts viewer comments 380 that are not similar to the skip target comments. Furthermore, the extraction unit 103 extracts candidate comments 340 from the extracted viewer comments 380, based on the utility of each comment calculated by the estimation unit 104. Details of the processing by the extraction unit 103 will be described later.

[0026] The estimation unit 104 estimates the utility of a viewer comment 380 that the extraction unit 103 has determined not to be similar to a comment to be skipped. Here, utility can refer to, for example, the likelihood of a product being purchased or the increase in the number of purchases after a broadcaster mentions a certain viewer comment 380. The estimation unit 104 calculates the number of product purchases and the growth rate of the number of purchases when the viewer comment 380 is mentioned in a broadcast, and determines that the utility is greater the greater the calculated number of purchases and the growth rate.

[0027] The estimation unit 104 has constructed a trained model 1401 trained using training data including, for example, time-series data on the number of product purchases per unit time in past live video distributions, as illustrated in FIG. 5(a), and time-series data including accepted comments actually mentioned in the distribution and the times at which the accepted comments were mentioned, as illustrated in FIG. 5(b). The estimation unit 104 inputs a viewer comment 380 determined by the extraction unit 103 to be not similar to a skip target comment into the trained model 1401, thereby deriving a utility corresponding to the input viewer comment 380. That is, the trained model 1401 has learned the subsequent change in the number of purchases depending on the content of the accepted comment. Therefore, by inputting a viewer comment 380 received during a live video distribution into the trained model 1401, it is possible to derive utility, such as the number of product purchases and the growth rate of the number of purchases, when the viewer comment is mentioned.

[0028] Returning to Fig. 4, the presentation unit 105 presents the candidate comments 340 extracted by the extraction unit 103 to the broadcaster. Specifically, the presentation unit 105 outputs the candidate comments 340 to the broadcaster terminal 300 and displays them in the comment area 330A of the broadcaster screen 310 illustrated in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the presentation unit 105 displays the candidate comments 340 visibly superimposed on the live video in the video area 320 of the broadcaster screen 310 illustrated in Fig. 3.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 4 , the detection unit 106 detects whether the candidate comment 340 presented by the presentation unit 105 has been selected as an adopted comment. Specifically, for example, when the detection unit 106 detects that one of the adopted comment registration icons 370 arranged for each of the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C in the comment area 330A of the broadcaster screen 310 illustrated in FIG. 2 has been tapped, the detection unit 106 detects that the candidate comment 340 corresponding to the tapped adopted comment registration icon 370 has been selected as an adopted comment. Note that the detection method by the detection unit 106 is not limited to these. For example, when the detection unit 106 recognizes that one of the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C has been read aloud by voice recognition, it may detect that the candidate comment 340 has been selected as an adopted comment mentioned in the broadcast.

[0030] Returning to FIG. 4 , the setting unit 107 sets the accepted comment detected by the detection unit 106 as a skipped comment that the broadcaster should skip in the same broadcast thereafter. Specifically, the setting unit 107 adds the accepted comment detected by the detection unit 106 to the skipped comment DB 102. As a result, in the same broadcast thereafter, viewer comments 380 similar to the detected accepted comment will no longer be extracted as candidate comments 340. Therefore, the broadcaster can refrain from repeatedly mentioning similar viewer comments 380.

[0031] (Hardware configuration of information processing device) 6 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of information processing device 10, which realizes distribution support device 100, distribution server 200, distributor terminal 300, and viewer terminal 400. Information processing device 10 includes CPU 11 that executes processing according to a program, RAM 12 which is a volatile memory, ROM 13 which is a nonvolatile memory, storage medium 14 that stores data, input device 15 that accepts input of information, output device 16 that outputs information, and communication device 17 that transmits and receives information, all of which are connected via internal bus 99.

[0032] The CPU 11 controls the overall operation of the information processing device 10, is connected to each component, and exchanges control signals and data with each other. The CPU 11 executes various processes by reading a program stored in the storage medium 14 into the RAM 12 and executing the program. The CPU 11 executes each process by the extraction unit 103, the estimation unit 104, the presentation unit 105, the detection unit 106, and the setting unit 107 as the main functions provided by the program.

[0033] The RAM 12 is used to temporarily store data and programs, and stores programs and data read from the storage medium 14, as well as other data necessary for communication. The RAM 12 is used as a work area for the CPU 11.

[0034] The ROM 13 stores a control program executed by the CPU 11 for the basic operation of the information processing device 10, a BIOS (Basic Input Output System), and the like.

[0035] The storage medium 14 includes a hard disk drive, a flash memory, etc., and stores the programs executed by the CPU 11 and various data used when the programs are executed. The storage medium 14 functions as the skip comment DB 102.

[0036] The input device 15 includes an input device such as a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a camera, an optical scanner, etc. The input device 15 receives an operation input from a user of the information processing device 10 and outputs a signal corresponding to the received operation input to the CPU 11.

[0037] The output device 16 includes a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a backlight, and an audio output device such as a speaker. The output device 16 outputs, for example, data output from the CPU 11 under the control of the CPU 11.

[0038] The communication device 17 is a network termination device or a wireless communication device connected to a network, and a serial interface or a LAN (Local Area Network) interface connected to them. The information processing device 10 communicates with other information processing devices, etc. via the communication device 17. The communication device 17 functions as an acquisition unit 101.

[0039] (Utility calculation process) Next, the operation of the distribution support device 100 will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the utility calculation process for extracting viewer comments 380 that are not similar to skippable comments from among the viewer comments 380 transmitted from the viewer terminal 400 during live video distribution and calculating the utility of the extracted viewer comments 380 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The utility calculation process starts when distribution of a live video introducing a product is started by the distribution server 200.

[0040] The distribution support device 100 accepts viewer comments 380 (step S101). Specifically, the viewer operates the input device 15 of the viewer terminal 400 to input comments about the distribution they are viewing. The viewer terminal 400 transmits the input viewer comments 380 to the distribution support device 100.

[0041] When the distribution support device 100 determines that the viewer comment 380 has been received (step S102; Yes), the distribution support device 100 transmits the received viewer comment 380 to the extraction unit 103.

[0042] On the other hand, if the distribution support device 100 determines that the viewer comment 380 has not been received (step S102; No), the process returns to step S101 and the viewer comment 380 is accepted.

[0043] Next, the extraction unit 103 determines whether the viewer comment 380 received in step S102 is similar to the skip target comment (step S103). Specifically, for example, the extraction unit 103 determines whether the viewer comment 380 is similar to each of the skip target comments stored in the skip target comment DB 102 using a known method. As an example, the extraction unit 103 performs morphological analysis on each of the viewer comment 380 and the skip target comment, and calculates the similarity between them by a method such as vector digitization using a known method such as BOW (Bag Of Words), TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency), or distributed representation, and then calculating the cosine similarity. The extraction unit 103 determines that the similarity is similar if the similarity is equal to or greater than a preset threshold (step S103; Yes), and determines that the similarity is not similar if the similarity is lower than the threshold (step S103; No).

[0044] If the extracting unit 103 determines in step S103 that the viewer comment 380 is not similar to any of the skip target comments (step S103; No), the extracting unit 103 transmits the viewer comment 380 to the estimating unit 104.

[0045] Next, the estimation unit 104 estimates the utility of the viewer comment 380 received in step S103 (step S104). Specifically, the estimation unit 104 inputs the viewer comment 380 received in step S103 into the trained model 1401 and calculates the utility. The estimation unit 104 stores the calculated utility in the storage medium 14 in association with the viewer comment 380 received in step S103.

[0046] On the other hand, returning to step S103, if the extraction unit 103 determines that the viewer comment 380 is similar to any of the skip target comments (step S103; Yes), it determines not to calculate the utility of the viewer comment 380. Next, returning to step S101, the acquisition unit 101 accepts the viewer comment 380.

[0047] (Presentation process) Next, the presentation process executed by the distribution support device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The presentation process is a process of extracting candidate comments 340 that are candidates for comments to be mentioned in the distribution, and presenting the extracted candidate comments 340 to the distributor.

[0048] The presentation unit 105 determines whether a presentation condition regarding the timing for presenting the candidate comment 340 to the broadcaster is satisfied (step S201). Specifically, the presentation unit 105 has preset presentation conditions, such as presenting the candidate comment 340 to the broadcaster when, for example, no viewer comments 380 are sent for a certain period during live video distribution or when no product is purchased for a certain period. When the acquisition unit 101 does not receive viewer comments 380 for a certain period, or when product purchase status is received in real time from an EC (Electronic Commerce) server (not shown) and there is no product purchase history for a certain period, the presentation unit 105 determines that the presentation condition is satisfied (step S201; Yes), and determines whether any candidate comment 340 has been presented on the broadcaster screen 310 (step S202). On the other hand, when the presentation unit 105 determines that the presentation condition is not satisfied (step S201; No), the process returns to step S201.

[0049] Next, if the presenting unit 105 determines that there are no presented candidate comments 340 (step S202; No), it transmits an instruction signal to the extracting unit 103 to extract candidate comments 340, and proceeds to step S203. On the other hand, if the presenting unit 105 determines that there are presented candidate comments 340 (step S202; Yes), it returns to step S201.

[0050] In step S203, the extraction unit 103 extracts candidate comments 340 to be presented to the broadcaster (step S203). Specifically, the extraction unit 103 identifies viewer comments 380 whose utility is equal to or exceeds a preset standard from among the viewer comments 380 stored in the storage medium 14 by the utility calculation process described above, and extracts a set number of viewer comments 380 with the highest utility from the top. For example, if the set number is 3, the extraction unit 103 extracts the top three candidate comments 340 with the highest utility, and transmits the extracted three candidate comments 340 to the presentation unit 105.

[0051] Next, the presenting unit 105 presents the candidate comments 340 extracted by the extracting unit 103 to the broadcaster (step S204). Specifically, the presenting unit 105 outputs the candidate comments 340 extracted by the extracting unit 103 to the broadcaster terminal 300, and displays the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C in order of decreasing utility from top to bottom in the comment area 330A of the broadcaster screen 310, together with an adopted comment registration icon 370. Furthermore, for example, the presenting unit 105 visibly displays the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C in the video area 320 of the broadcaster screen 310, together with the adopted comment registration icon 370, superimposed on the live video, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0052] (Skip comment update process) Next, the skipped comment update process executed by the distribution support device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The skipped comment update process is a process that detects that a candidate comment 340 displayed on the distributor screen 310 of the distributor terminal 300 has been selected as an accepted comment, and registers and updates the detected accepted comment in the skipped comment DB 102. The skipped comment update process starts when the above-mentioned presentation process is started, and is executed in parallel with the presentation process.

[0053] The detection unit 106 receives selection information indicating that the candidate comment 340 has been selected as an adopted comment (step S301). Specifically, when, for example, an adopted comment registration icon 370 arranged on the candidate comment 340A displayed in the comment area 330A of the distributor screen 310 illustrated in FIG. 2 is tapped, the distributor terminal 300 generates selection information indicating that the candidate comment 340A corresponding to the tapped adopted comment registration icon 370, "What is the material of the bag?", has been selected as an adopted comment, and transmits the selection information to the distribution support device 100.

[0054] When the detection unit 106 receives the selection information from the broadcaster terminal 300 (step S302; Yes), it transmits the selection information to the setting unit 107 and the presentation unit 105. On the other hand, when the detection unit 106 does not receive the selection information from the broadcaster terminal 300 (step S302; No), it returns to step S301 and accepts the selection information.

[0055] Next, the setting unit 107 registers the detected accepted comment in the skip target comment DB 102, and the presentation unit 105 deletes the detected accepted comment from the broadcaster screen 310 (step S303). Specifically, the setting unit 107 reads the received selection information and acquires the candidate comment 340A, “What is the material of the bag?”, selected as the accepted comment. The setting unit 107 updates the skip target comment DB 102 by newly registering the accepted comment, “What is the material of the bag?”, in the skip target comment DB 102. As a result, if a new viewer comment 380 is received subsequently in the same broadcast, in step S103 of the utility calculation process, it is determined whether the viewer comment 380 is similar to the skip target comment stored in the updated skip target comment DB 102. Therefore, in the same broadcast thereafter, viewer comments similar to “What is the material of the bag?” will not be extracted as candidate comments 340 by the extraction unit 103.

[0056] Furthermore, the presenting unit 105 deletes the detected accepted comment from the screen 310 for the distributor.

[0057] As described above, the distribution support device 100 extracts viewer comments 380 that are not similar to the skip target comments stored in the skip target comment DB 102 from among the viewer comments 380, extracts viewer comments 380 with estimated high utility as candidate comments 340, and displays them on the distributor terminal 300. This allows the distributor to easily identify comments that should be mentioned in the distribution. Furthermore, the distributor can avoid the effort of extracting comments that should be mentioned from various viewer comments 380, thereby reducing the burden on the distributor.

[0058] Furthermore, the distribution support device 100 sets a comment mentioned in a distribution or an accepted comment selected as a comment mentioned in a distribution as a skipped comment. Therefore, in subsequent distributions, comments similar to the accepted comment will not be presented as candidate comments 340. This prevents the distributor from repeatedly mentioning comments similar to comments already mentioned, enabling the distributor to introduce products more efficiently.

[0059] (Variation) In the above embodiment, the detection unit 106 detects whether the candidate comment 340 presented by the presentation unit 105 has been selected as an accepted comment in the skipped comment update process illustrated in Fig. 9, and sets the detected accepted comment as a skipped comment, but this is not limited thereto. The detection unit 106 may also detect that the candidate comment 340 presented by the presentation unit 105 has been selected as a rejected comment that will not be mentioned in the distribution, and set the detected rejected comment as a skipped comment.

[0060] Specifically, for example, when the broadcaster selects candidate comment 340A on the broadcaster screen 310 illustrated in FIG. 2 and flicks it left, the broadcaster terminal 300 determines that candidate comment 340A is a rejected comment that will not be mentioned in the broadcast. The broadcaster terminal 300 then generates selection information indicating that the flicked candidate comment 340A has been selected as an accepted comment and transmits the selection information to the broadcast support device 100. In step S302, the setting unit 107 reads the received selection information, acquires the rejected comment, and newly registers the acquired rejected comment in the skip comment DB 102. As a result, in subsequent broadcasts, viewer comments 380 similar to the newly registered rejected comment will not be extracted as candidate comments 340 by the extraction unit 103.

[0061] Furthermore, presenting unit 105 deletes candidate comment 340A detected as a rejected comment from comment area 330A. Thereafter, when candidate comment 340C is selected as an accepted comment from candidate comment 340B and candidate comment 340C presented in comment area 330A, candidate comment 340C is deleted from comment area 330A, and only candidate comment 340B is presented in comment area 330A.

[0062] Furthermore, the method of presenting the candidate comments 340 is not limited to the examples shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , and the candidate comments 340 may be displayed in any display format. Here, FIG. 10 shows another example of the broadcaster screen 310. As shown in the figure, in the comment area 330B that displays all viewer comments 380, the candidate comment 340A may be highlighted by, for example, making the text and frame thicker than those of the other viewer comments 380. Note that the highlighting format may be arbitrary, and the comment area 330B may be displayed in a display format that highlights the candidate comment 340A by changing the text size, text color, text thickness, background color, frame color, frame size, or a combination thereof from those of the other viewer comments 380. In the example shown in the figure, when an operation such as tapping on the candidate comment 340A displayed in the video area 320 is performed, the presentation unit 105 may automatically scroll from the location of the latest viewer comment 380 to the location of the candidate comment 340A in the comment area 330B. This allows the distributor to know who sent candidate comment 340A displayed in video area 320 from the display in comment area 330B. Furthermore, tapped candidate comment 340A may be fixed and displayed at a predetermined position, such as the bottom of comment area 330B.

[0063] Furthermore, the presentation unit 105 may switchably display, in the comment area 330, a comment area 330A that displays only the candidate comments 340 and a comment area 330B that displays all the viewer comments 380. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 11 , a close icon 20 that hides the display of the comment area 330A that displays only the candidate comments 340 is placed in the comment area 330A. When the close icon 20 is tapped, the presentation unit 105 displays the comment area 330B that displays all the viewer comments 380 in the comment area 330A. Thereafter, for example, when a process of presenting a new candidate comment 340 is executed in step S204 of FIG. 8, the comment area 330B may be switched to the comment area 330A. This allows the broadcaster to check other viewer comments 380, for example, if the broadcaster decides not to select any of the candidate comments 340 currently presented in the comment area 330A as the accepted comment.

[0064] Furthermore, the presentation unit 105 may present the candidate comments 340 extracted by the extraction unit 103 together with the utility derived by the estimation unit 104. Specifically, as illustrated in Fig. 12, the presentation unit 105 may display numerical information 390A, 390B, and 390C, such as the expected growth rate of the number of purchases, together with the candidate comments 340A, 340B, and 340C on the broadcaster screen 310, or may display the information together with any icon indicating the calculated degree of utility. This allows the broadcaster to, for example, preferentially mention candidate comments 340 with high estimated utility, thereby more efficiently introducing products.

[0065] Furthermore, the presentation unit 105 may present to the broadcaster that a different product will be introduced if the utility of the candidate comment 340 extracted by the extraction unit 103 is less than a predetermined standard. Specifically, if the presentation unit 105 determines in step S203 that there is no viewer comment 380 whose calculated utility is equal to or greater than the standard, it may execute a process of displaying a message introducing a different product on the broadcaster screen 310 without extracting the candidate comment 340.

[0066] Furthermore, the extraction unit 103 may classify the viewer comments 380 determined in step S103 to be unsimilar to the skip target comment into multiple groups based on the degree of similarity between the comments, and extract the viewer comment 380 with the highest utility in each of the classified groups as the candidate comment 340. For example, in a case where three candidate comments 340 are presented, the top three viewer comments 380 with utilities above a set standard may be extracted as candidate comments 340 from among the viewer comments 380 with the highest utility in each of the classified groups. This makes it possible to prevent viewer comments 380 with similar content from being presented simultaneously as candidate comments 340. Furthermore, when any candidate comment 340 is selected as an accepted comment or an unaccepted comment, the candidate comment 340 and viewer comments 380 classified into the same group as the candidate comment 340 may be newly registered as skip target comments.

[0067] Furthermore, the delivery support device 100 according to the above embodiment can be realized using a normal computer, not a dedicated device. For example, the delivery support device 100 that executes the above-described processes may be configured by installing a program for executing any of the above-described processes on a computer from a recording medium storing the program on the computer. Furthermore, the delivery support device 100 may be configured by multiple computers operating in cooperation with each other.

[0068] Furthermore, when the above-mentioned functions are realized by sharing the functions between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and the application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the medium.

[0069] It is also possible to superimpose the program on a carrier wave and distribute it via a communication network. For example, the program may be distributed through an application store (App Store) or posted on a bulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network and distributed via the network. These programs may then be launched and run under the control of an operating system in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above-described processing to be performed.

[0070] Furthermore, the information stored in the distribution support device 100 may be collectively managed by a cloud server on the network, and the distribution support device 100 may access the cloud server as needed to read and write information. In this case, the distribution support device 100 may not have the skipped comment DB 102. Furthermore, the providing process and the skipped comment update process by the distribution support device 100 may be performed on the cloud using information stored in the cloud server.

[0071] Various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

[0072] (Appendix 1) A distribution support device that supports a distributor in distributing a video introducing a product, an acquisition unit that acquires viewer comments made by viewers watching the broadcast; an extraction unit that extracts, from the viewer comments acquired by the acquisition unit, viewer comments that are not similar to skip target comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; a presentation unit that presents the candidate comments extracted by the extraction unit to the distributor; a detection unit that detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as an adopted comment; a setting unit that sets the accepted comment detected by the detection unit as the skip target comment; A distribution support device comprising:

[0073] (Appendix 2) the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comments, viewer comments whose similarity to the skip target comment is lower than a set threshold value; 2. A distribution support device as described in appendix 1.

[0074] (Appendix 3) The detection unit detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as the adopted comment based on an operation by the distributor on the candidate comment or a voice of the distributor. 3. A distribution support device according to claim 1 or 2.

[0075] (Appendix 4) The detection unit further detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as a rejected comment that will not be mentioned in the distribution, The setting unit further sets the rejected comment detected by the detection unit as the comment to be skipped. 4. A distribution support device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3.

[0076] (Appendix 5) an estimation unit that estimates the utility of a viewer comment that is not similar to the skip target comment being selected as the selected comment; the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comment, the viewer comment whose utility estimated by the estimation unit is equal to or greater than a set standard. 5. A distribution support device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4.

[0077] (Appendix 6) the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comments, a set number of viewer comments from the top of the viewer comments whose utilities estimated by the estimation unit are equal to or greater than a set standard. 6. A distribution support device as described in appendix 5.

[0078] (Appendix 7) the extraction unit classifies viewer comments that are not similar to the skip target comment into a plurality of groups according to the degree of similarity between the comments, and extracts, in each of the plurality of groups, one of the viewer comments whose estimated utility is the maximum and which is equal to or exceeds a set standard, as the candidate comment; 6. A distribution support device as described in appendix 5.

[0079] (Appendix 8) the presentation unit presents the utility of the candidate comment estimated by the estimation unit together with the candidate comment extracted by the extraction unit. 8. A distribution support device according to any one of appendices 5 to 7.

[0080] (Appendix 9) the presentation unit presents to the distributor an offer to introduce a new product when the utilities of all the candidate comments extracted by the extraction unit are below a set standard; 9. A distribution support device according to any one of appendices 5 to 8.

[0081] (Appendix 10) A computer that helps streamers distribute videos introducing products acquiring viewer comments made by viewers watching the broadcast; extracting, from the acquired viewer comments, viewer comments that are not similar to skip comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; presenting the extracted candidate comments to the distributor; Detecting that the presented candidate comment has been selected as a winning comment; setting the detected accepted comment as the comment to be skipped; A distribution support method for carrying out the above.

[0082] (Appendix 11) A computer that helps streamers distribute videos introducing products. A process of acquiring viewer comments made by viewers watching the distribution; A process of extracting, from the acquired viewer comments, viewer comments that are not similar to skip comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; a process of presenting the extracted candidate comments to the distributor; A process of detecting that the presented candidate comment has been selected as an adopted comment; a process of setting the detected accepted comment as the comment to be skipped; A program that executes the following.

[0083] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0084] The present invention can be suitably adopted in a distribution support device, a distribution support method, and a program that can present viewer comments that should be mentioned to a distributor in an easy-to-understand manner. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] 1 Distribution support system, 100 Distribution support device, 200 Distribution server, 300 Distributor terminal, 400 Viewer terminal, 500 Communication network, 101 Acquisition unit, 102 Skip target comment DB, 103 Extraction unit, 104 Estimation unit, 105 Presentation unit, 106 Detection unit, 107 Setting unit, 1041 Trained model, 310 Distributor screen, 320 Video area, 330, 330A, 330B Comment area, 340, 340A, 340B, 340C Candidate comments, 350, 360 Icon, 370 Adopted comment registration icon, 380 Viewer comment, 390 Numerical information, 11 CPU, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 14 Storage medium, 15 Input device, 16 Output device, 17 Communication device, 20 Close icon, 99 Internal bus

Claims

1. A distribution support device that supports a distributor in distributing a video introducing a product, an acquisition unit that acquires viewer comments made by viewers watching the broadcast; an extraction unit that extracts, from the viewer comments acquired by the acquisition unit, viewer comments that are not similar to skip target comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; a presentation unit that presents the candidate comments extracted by the extraction unit to the distributor; a detection unit that detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as an adopted comment; a setting unit that sets the accepted comment detected by the detection unit as the skip target comment; A distribution support device comprising:

2. the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comments, viewer comments whose similarity to the skip target comment is lower than a set threshold value; The distribution support device according to claim 1 .

3. The detection unit detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as the adopted comment based on an operation by the distributor on the candidate comment or a voice of the distributor.

3. The distribution support device according to claim 1.

4. The detection unit further detects that the candidate comment presented by the presentation unit has been selected as a rejected comment that will not be mentioned in the distribution, The setting unit further sets the rejected comment detected by the detection unit as the comment to be skipped.

3. The distribution support device according to claim 1.

5. an estimation unit that estimates the utility of a viewer comment that is not similar to the skip target comment being selected as the selected comment; the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comment, the viewer comment whose utility estimated by the estimation unit is equal to or greater than a set standard.

3. The distribution support device according to claim 1.

6. the extraction unit extracts, as the candidate comments, a set number of viewer comments from the top of the viewer comments whose utilities estimated by the estimation unit are equal to or greater than a set standard. The distribution support device according to claim 5 .

7. the extraction unit classifies viewer comments that are not similar to the skip target comment into a plurality of groups according to the degree of similarity between the comments, and extracts, in each of the plurality of groups, one of the viewer comments whose estimated utility is the maximum and which is equal to or exceeds a set standard, as the candidate comment; The distribution support device according to claim 5 .

8. the presentation unit presents the utility of the candidate comment estimated by the estimation unit together with the candidate comment extracted by the extraction unit. The distribution support device according to claim 5 .

9. the presentation unit presents to the distributor an offer to introduce a new product when the utilities of all the candidate comments extracted by the extraction unit are below a set standard; The distribution support device according to claim 5 .

10. A computer that helps streamers distribute videos introducing products acquiring viewer comments made by viewers watching the broadcast; extracting, from the acquired viewer comments, viewer comments that are not similar to skip comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; presenting the extracted candidate comments to the distributor; Detecting that the presented candidate comment has been selected as a winning comment; setting the detected accepted comment as the comment to be skipped; A distribution support method for carrying out the above.

11. A computer that helps streamers distribute videos introducing products. A process of acquiring viewer comments made by viewers watching the distribution; A process of extracting, from the acquired viewer comments, viewer comments that are not similar to skip comments that the distributor should skip, as candidate comments that are candidates for comments that the distributor should mention in the broadcast; a process of presenting the extracted candidate comments to the distributor; A process of detecting that the presented candidate comment has been selected as an adopted comment; a process of setting the detected accepted comment as the comment to be skipped; A program that executes the following.

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