Broadcast signal receiving device and broadcast signal receiving method

Abstract

To provide a broadcast signal receiving device and a broadcast signal receiving method that replace a CM inserted into a broadcast program received by the broadcast signal receiving device with an appropriate addressable advertisement (replacement CM) and display the addressable advertisement.SOLUTION: The broadcast signal receiving device of the present embodiment is a broadcast signal receiving device that receives a program transmitted by broadcast signals and connects to a server; the broadcast signal receiving device comprises: a display unit that displays the program; and a control unit that acquires, from the broadcast signals, a first broadcast start time and a first broadcast time length or the first broadcast start time and a first broadcast end time of a first advertisement in the program, and acquires a second advertisement having a second broadcast time length from the server. When the second broadcast time length of the second advertisement matches the difference between the first broadcast time length or the first broadcast start time and the first broadcast end time, the control unit displays the second advertisement.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a broadcast signal receiving device and a broadcast signal receiving method. [Background technology]

[0002] Some broadcast signal receiving devices that can be connected to a network are equipped with a function to display addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) that display advertisements that are optimally tailored to the attributes of the viewer. Such a function to display addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) makes it possible to provide unique services to each viewer of the broadcast signal receiving device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-37935 A [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] "Standard for Media Transport Method using MMT in Digital Broadcasting" ARIB STD-B60 Version 1.13, revised October 11, 2018, Association of Radio Industries and Businesses [Non-Patent Document 2] "Advanced Wideband Satellite Digital Broadcasting Operational Guidelines" ARIB TR-B39 Version 1.9 Revised October 11, 2018, Association of Radio Industries and Businesses Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a broadcast signal receiving device, in order to replace advertisements (CMs, commercial messages) inserted in programs transmitted via broadcast signals with addressable advertisements (replacement CMs) and provide this accurately to each viewer, it is necessary to perform appropriate control depending on the CMs (also called commercials) inserted in the programs.

[0006] Therefore, an embodiment of the present invention provides a broadcast signal receiving device and a broadcast signal receiving method that acquires information regarding the time of commercials transmitted in broadcast signals, in order to replace and display appropriate addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) that are inserted in broadcast programs received by the broadcast signal receiving device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one embodiment, a broadcast signal receiving device that receives a program transmitted by a broadcast signal and is connected to one or more servers via a network includes: a display unit for displaying the program; A first broadcast start time and a first broadcast duration of a first advertisement to be inserted during a broadcast time period of the program. A means for acquiring information indicating the length from the broadcast signal; an advertisement replacement processing unit including a control unit that acquires a second advertisement having a second broadcast duration from the server and stores the second advertisement in a storage device; and an analysis unit that has a function of estimating a viewer who is viewing the program being displayed on the display unit; The control unit is a means for generating a CM list for the first advertisement using CM time slot information described in an EIT (Event Information Table) defined in a broadcasting standard, and storing the CM list in the storage device; means for inquiring of the analysis unit as to whether a second advertisement that can be displayed as a replacement exists in the CM list of the first advertisement; means for replacing the first advertisement with the second advertisement and displaying the second advertisement on the display unit from the first advertisement start time when the first advertisement length matches the second advertisement length in the storage device and the inquiry result indicates that the advertisement can be displayed; A broadcast signal receiving device is provided, which includes a means for not presenting the second advertisement on the display unit when the analysis unit determines that the second advertisement is not optimal for the estimated viewer. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an addressable advertisement system including an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device). [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a broadcast signal receiving device (means) including an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an overview of a process performed by an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention to replace a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial). [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B shows an example of the format of a CM time slot information descriptor acquired by the advertisement replacement processing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4D] FIG. 4D is a diagram showing an example of a CM list created by the control unit of the advertisement replacement processing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4E] FIG. 4E is a processing flow showing an example of a process of replacing with an addressable advertisement (replacement CM) performed by the advertisement replacement processing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an addressable advertisement system including an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The addressable advertising system includes a broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device) 100, a broadcast signal receiving device 140, and a CM distribution server 120. The broadcast signal receiving device 140 receives programs broadcast by the broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device) 100, and includes an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The broadcast station 100 and the broadcast signal receiving device 140 are connected to the CM distribution server 120 via a network 130.

[0010] The broadcast station 100 is a station that organizes programs and broadcasts the organized programs by broadcast signals to the broadcast signal receiving device 140. The broadcast station 100 is also called a broadcast signal transmitting device. The broadcast station 100 has a commercial management server 101 that stores and manages commercials produced by an advertising agency 110. The broadcast station 100 inserts commercials (Commercial Messages) stored in the commercial management server 101 into the middle of a program to be broadcast, organizes the commercials, and broadcasts (transmits) the commercials as a series of video and audio streams to a broadcast signal receiving device 140 via a broadcast signal. The advertising agency 110 produces advertisements at the request of an advertiser 111 based on a contract, for example, and registers the produced commercials in the commercial management server 101 of the broadcast station 100.

[0011] The broadcast station 100 also has a function of connecting to a network 130 , and is connected to a CM distribution server 120 via the network 130 . The broadcast station 100 also transmits a broadcast signal including an SI signal. The SI signal will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The broadcast station 100 transmits the SI signal including information (called CM time slot information) regarding the time of a CM required for an advertisement replacement processing unit included in the broadcast signal receiving device 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention to replace a CM inserted in a broadcast program with an addressable advertisement (replacement CM). The broadcast station 100 generates the CM time slot information, for example, as a CM time slot information descriptor. An example of the format of the CM time slot information descriptor created by the broadcast station 100 is shown in FIG. 4B.

[0012] The CM distribution server 120 is a server that stores addressable advertisements (replacement CMs) sent from the CM management server 101 connected via the network 130, and distributes the stored addressable advertisements (replacement CMs) in response to a request from the broadcast signal receiving device 140.

[0013] Broadcast signal receiving device 140 is a receiving device that receives a program broadcast by a broadcast signal from broadcast station 100. Broadcast signal receiving device 140 also has a function of connecting to network 130, and is connected to CM distribution server 120 via network 130. Broadcast signal receiving device 140 stores addressable advertisements (replacement CMs) distributed from CM distribution server 120 in recording medium 160 that it manages.

[0014] Furthermore, the broadcast signal receiving device 140 includes an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The broadcast signal receiving device 140 has a function of selecting an optimal addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) from among the addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) stored in the recording medium 160 according to the processing result by the advertisement replacement processing unit, and displaying it on the display screen. The broadcast signal receiving device 140 selects an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) with content optimal for the viewer from among the addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) whose length matches the time slot of the commercial inserted in the program, and displays it in accordance with the time slot of the commercial inserted in the program, thereby providing a different advertisement for each viewer watching the program.

[0015] 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a broadcast station (broadcast signal transmission device) 100. The broadcast station (broadcast signal transmission device) 100 encodes (also called encodes) video data, audio data, and the like of a program organized with CMs inserted, which is stored in a CM management server 101, and transmits the encoded data as a broadcast signal.

[0016] The data broadcasting encoder 210 has a function of encoding data of a data broadcasting related to a scheduled program. The data broadcasting encoder 210 encodes the data of a data broadcasting. The video encoder 211 has a function of encoding video data of a scheduled program. The video encoder 211 encodes the video data of a scheduled program.

[0017] The audio encoder 212 has a function of encoding audio data of a scheduled program. The audio encoder 212 encodes the audio data of a scheduled program. The subtitle encoder 213 has a function of encoding the subtitle data of a scheduled program. The subtitle encoder 213 encodes the subtitle data of a scheduled program.

[0018] The control information generating means 214 has a function of generating TLV packets and MMT control information. The control information of the TLV packets is control information (also called TLV-SI) related to multiplexing of IP packets, and provides information for channel selection and information on the correspondence between IP addresses and services. The control information of the MMT is control information (also called MMT-SI) related to the configuration of MMT packages and broadcast services. The control information generating means 214 generates signals of TLV packets and MMT control information including control information related to programs to be encoded by the audio encoder 212 and the video encoder 211.

[0019] Furthermore, the control information generating means 214 generates a CM time slot information descriptor as MMT-SI. The scrambler 215 has a function of scrambling the encoded audio data output from the audio encoder 212 and the encoded video data output from the video encoder 211 in cooperation with the CAS module 216 .

[0020] The CAS module 216 is a module that generates a key used by the scrambler 215 when scrambling. The multiplexer 217 has a function of multiplexing, in the MMT-TLV format, the data broadcasting stream generated by the data broadcasting encoder 210 through encoding, the video stream generated by the video encoder 211 through encoding of video data, the audio stream generated by the audio encoder 212 through encoding of audio data, the subtitle stream generated by the subtitle encoder 213 through encoding of subtitle data, and the control information generated by the control information generating means 214. The multiplexer 217 generates a TLV stream in which the audio stream, video stream, TLV packets, and MMT control information are multiplexed.

[0021] The transmission means 218 has a function of transmitting a broadcast signal consisting of a TLV stream as a broadcast wave. The transmission means 218 performs transmission line coding processing such as modulation such as 16APSK and error correction coding on the TLV stream generated by the multiplexer 217, and transmits it as a broadcast wave.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a broadcast signal receiving device (means) 140 including an advertisement replacement processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The broadcast signal receiving device 140 includes a basic function 341 which is a receiving function for receiving a broadcast signal, and a control means 342 . The basic functionality 341 includes a broadcast tuner 301 , a demultiplexer 302 , a descrambler 303 , a CAS module 304 , a data broadcast engine 305 , a video decoder 306 , an audio decoder 307 , a subtitle decoder 308 , a control information analysis means 309 , a GUI 320 , and a synthesizer 326 .

[0023] The tuner 301 has a function of receiving a broadcast signal (TLV stream) transmitted by broadcast waves. The broadcast signal received by the tuner 301 is input to the demultiplexer 302. The demultiplexer 302 has a function of separating the multiplexed TLV stream into a data broadcasting stream, a video stream, an audio stream, a subtitle stream, and control information. The demultiplexer 302 inputs the separated data broadcasting stream, video stream, audio stream, data broadcasting stream, and subtitle stream to the descrambler 303, and inputs the SI signal, which is control information, to the control information analysis means 309.

[0024] The descrambler 303 has a function of descrambling the input data broadcasting stream, video stream, audio stream, and subtitle stream in cooperation with the CAS module 304. The descrambler 303 inputs the descrambled data broadcasting stream to the data broadcasting engine 305, the video stream to the video decoder 306, the audio stream to the audio decoder 307, and the subtitle stream to the subtitle decoder 308.

[0025] The CAS module 304 has a function of generating a key used when the descrambler 303 performs descrambling. The data broadcasting engine 305 has a function of receiving and processing the input data broadcasting stream. The data broadcasting engine 305 converts the received data broadcasting stream into data to be displayed on the display means 350 and sends it to the synthesizer 326. The data for data broadcasting sent to the synthesizer 326 is synthesized with video data, etc., and displayed on the display means 350.

[0026] The video decoder 306 has a function of decoding the input video stream. The video decoder 306 decodes the video stream and generates a signal to be displayed on the display means 350. The audio decoder 307 has a function of decoding the input audio stream. The audio decoder 307 decodes the audio stream and generates a signal to be output to the speaker 351.

[0027] The subtitle decoder 308 decodes the subtitle stream and generates a signal to be displayed on the display means 350 . The decoded video signal, subtitle signal, and data broadcast signal are mixed by mixer 326 and output to display means 350. The decoded audio signal is output to speaker 351.

[0028] The control information analysis means 309 analyzes the SI signal, which is control information of the broadcast signal. After analyzing the SI signal, the control information analysis means 309 sends the analysis result to the control means 342. The control information analysis means 309 analyzes the SI signal sent from the demultiplexer 302 and extracts a CM time slot information descriptor. The control information analysis means 309 sends the extracted CM time slot information descriptor to the control means 342.

[0029] The control means 342 controls the overall operation of the broadcast signal receiving device 140. The control means 342 also has an advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention built therein, and controls the advertisement replacement processing unit 330. The control means 342 also controls a network I / F 331 which is an I / F with the network 130, and an external input I / F 332 which is an I / F for connecting to an external device.

[0030] The control means 342 also sends the commercial time slot information descriptor received from the control information analysis means 309 to the advertisement replacement processing unit 330, and controls the replacement of commercials inserted in the program with addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) output by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 and displaying them on the display means 350.

[0031] The advertisement replacement processor 330 performs processing for replacing advertisements inserted in a program with addressable advertisements (replacement commercials). An overview of the process performed by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 to replace a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) is shown in Fig. 4A. An example of the format of a commercial time slot information descriptor used by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 in the process of replacing a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) is shown in Fig. 4B. An example of the configuration of the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 is shown in Fig. 4C. An example of the process performed by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 to replace a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) using information in the commercial time slot information descriptor is shown in Fig. 4E.

[0032] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an overview of the process performed by advertisement replacement processor 330 to replace a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial). In order to replace a commercial inserted in a program with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial), the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 needs to obtain information about the commercial inserted in the program, such as the time the commercial starts to be displayed and its displayed length (commercial time slot information), and also obtain information about the addressable advertisement to be displayed in place of the commercial inserted in the program, such as the length of time the addressable advertisement is displayed.

[0033] The advertisement replacement processor 330 can obtain CM time slot information contained in the SI signal via the control information analyzer 309 . Furthermore, advertisement replacement processing unit 330 can request an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) at any timing from CM distribution server 120. In response to the transmitted request, advertisement replacement processing unit 330 can receive attribute information, such as the addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) and information on the length for which the addressable advertisement is displayed, sent from CM distribution server 120, and store the information in recording medium 160.

[0034] The method by which the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 requests an addressable advertisement (replacement CM) from the commercial distribution server 120 may be, for example, by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 sending a download request message for the addressable advertisement (replacement CM) to the commercial distribution server 120, and the commercial distribution server 120 receiving the message downloads the addressable advertisement (replacement CM) to the advertisement replacement processing unit 330; alternatively, the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 may send a download request message including, for example, a download start time for the addressable advertisement (replacement CM) to the commercial distribution server 120, and the commercial distribution server 120 receiving the message downloads the addressable advertisement (replacement CM) to the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 when the time included in the message arrives.

[0035] The function by which advertisement replacement processing unit 330 requests an addressable advertisement (replacement CM) from CM distribution server 120 may be provided in advance within broadcast signal receiving device 140, or broadcast signal receiving device 140 may access a specific server (not described) and acquire the function based on information included in control information (TLV-SI or MMT-SI) included in the broadcast signal. In this way, a service called a data content service, or another service, may be used as a form for broadcast signal receiving device 140 to access a specific server (not described) and acquire the function to request an addressable advertisement (replacement CM) from CM distribution server 120 based on information included in control information (TLV-SI or MMT-SI) included in the broadcast signal.

[0036] FIG. 4B shows an example of the format of a CM time slot information descriptor acquired by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The CM time slot information descriptor may be one of the descriptors arranged in an MH-Event Information Table (MH-EIT) described in Non-Patent Document 1, for example.

[0037] 4B(A) shows the format of the MH-EIT described in Non-Patent Document 1. As one of the descriptors placed in Descriptor() 401, a CM time slot information descriptor is placed. FIG. 4B(B) shows an example of the format of the CM time slot information descriptor.

[0038] The descriptor_tag 410 is a tag that identifies the descriptor. The descriptor_length 411 is an area in which the number of data bytes following this field is written. Reference numeral 420 denotes commercial time slot information for commercials inserted into a program. The commercial time slot information includes cm_id 421, start_time 422, duration 423, replace_flag 424, ISO_639_language_code 425, cm_name_length 426, and cm_name_char 427.

[0039] The cm_id 421 is an identifier for identifying a CM within one program (within one event_id). The start_time 422 is the time when the broadcast of the commercial begins. Duration 423 is the length of time the commercial will be broadcast.

[0040] The replace_flag 424 is a flag indicating whether or not replacement is possible for the addressable advertisement (0: not possible, 1: possible). ISO_639_language_code425 is the language code of the CM name. cm_name_length426 is the number of characters in the CM name.

[0041] cm_name_char427 is the name of the CM. The commercial time slot information 420 includes information on all commercial time slots to be inserted into the program indicated by event_id 400. Suppose, for example, that the number of commercials to be inserted into the program indicated by event_id 400 is four. In this case, N in 431 is 4. As a result, the commercial time slot information 420 includes information on all of the four commercials to be inserted into the program indicated by event_id 400.

[0042] 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The advertisement replacement processing unit 330 includes a control unit 330-1 and an analysis unit 330-2. The control unit 330-1 controls the overall operation of the advertisement replacement processing unit 330, and also controls the analysis unit 300-2 to determine an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) to replace a commercial included in a broadcast program, and displays the determined addressable advertisement (replacement commercial) on the display means 350 of the broadcast signal receiving device 140.

[0043] Furthermore, control unit 330-1 acquires a plurality of addressable advertisements that are candidates for replacement commercials from commercial distribution server 120, and stores them on recording medium 160. Control unit 330-1 also creates a commercial list from the acquired commercial time slot information, and stores the list on recording medium 160. An example of the commercial list created by control unit 330-1 is shown in Fig. 4D.

[0044] Analysis section 330-2 analyzes the commercial list stored in recording medium 160, and determines whether or not a commercial listed in the commercial list can be replaced with an addressable advertisement (replacement commercial). FIG. 4D is a diagram showing an example of a CM list created by the control unit 330-1 of the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 330-1 creates a CM list 450 based on CM time slot information acquired via the control information analysis means 309. The CM list 450 includes Event_ID451, which is an identifier of a program (Event), ID452, which is an identifier of a CM, Start_time453, which is the start time when the broadcast of the CM starts, duration454, which is the length of time the CM is broadcast, and enable455, which indicates whether or not replacement with an addressable advertisement is possible. The control unit 330-1 creates Event_ID451 based on event_id400. The control unit 330-1 creates CM_ID451 based on cm_id421. The control unit 330-1 also creates Start_time452 based on start_time422. The control unit 330-1 also creates duration403 based on duration423. Furthermore, control unit 330-1 creates enable 404 based on replace_flag 424.

[0045] For example, 410 has an Event_ID 451 of 22 and a CM_ID 452 of 01. Also, 410 has a Start_time of 20181215201500. The format of Start_time is, for example, the first eight digits 20181215 representing the year, month, and day in the Gregorian calendar (yyyymmdd), and the next six digits 201500 representing the hour, minute, and second (hhmmss). Also, 410 has a duration of 15. Also, 410 has an enable of 0. The CM list may include CM names and the like in addition to those listed in FIG. 4D.

[0046] FIG. 4E is a processing flow showing an example of a process of replacing with an addressable advertisement (replacement CM) performed by the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention. When broadcast signal receiving device 140 starts receiving a broadcast program, advertisement replacement processing unit 330 starts processing for replacing CMs included in the received program with addressable advertisements (S400).

[0047] Control unit 330-1 of advertisement replacement processing unit 330 accesses recording medium 160 in which the CM list is stored, and checks whether an updated CM list exists (S401). If it is determined that an updated CM list exists (Yes in S402), control section 330-1 obtains the updated CM list from recording medium 160 and stores it (S403).

[0048] If the check finds that an updated CM list does not exist (No in S402), control unit 330-1 repeats the check process (S401) continuously or while waiting for a certain period of time until the updated CM list is saved in recording medium 160. Next, control unit 330-1 obtains the start_time of a commercial included in the program being displayed on display means 350 of broadcast signal receiving device 140, i.e., the program being viewed by the viewer, from the commercial list it holds, and checks whether the current time has reached start_time (S404).

[0049] If the confirmation (S404) shows that the current time has reached start_time (Yes in S405), control unit 330-1 queries analysis unit 330-2 to confirm whether there is a replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) that can be displayed in place of the commercial inserted in the program displayed on display means 350 (S406).

[0050] If, as a result of checking by querying analysis unit 330-2 (S406), it is determined that a replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) exists (Yes in S407), control unit 330-1 obtains the corresponding replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) from analysis unit 330-2 and displays it on display means 350 in place of the commercial inserted in the program (S408).

[0051] If it is determined by inquiring of analysis unit 330-2 (S406) that there is no replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) (No in S407), the commercial inserted in the program is displayed as is on display means 350 (S409). If the check (S404) shows that the current time has not reached start_time (No in S405), control unit 330-1 repeats the check process of S404 until the current time reaches start_time.

[0052] The absence of a corresponding replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) may mean, for example, that there is no replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) that matches the duration 403 of a commercial listed in the commercial list 450, or that there is no commercial in the commercial list 400 with enable set to 1 (replaceable).

[0053] In addition, the analysis unit 330-2 may have a function (not shown) of estimating the viewer watching the program being displayed on the display means 350, and may determine that there is no commercial that is optimal for that estimated viewer. Next, control unit 330-1 checks whether the current time has reached the CM display end time (S410). The display end time can be calculated from start_time and duration.

[0054] If the result of the check (S410) indicates that the current time has reached the end time of the commercial (Yes in S411), control unit 330-1 queries analysis unit 330-2 to confirm (S412) whether there is any commercial that continues to be displayed after the commercial that has reached its display end time. As a result of inquiring and confirming with analysis unit 330-2 (S412), if there is a commercial that can be displayed after the commercial whose display end time has been reached (Yes in S413), control unit 330-1 returns to the processing of S406 and inquires as to whether there is a replacement commercial (addressable advertisement) that can be displayed in place of the commercial following the commercial whose display end time has been reached (S406).

[0055] If, as a result of querying and confirming with analysis unit 330-2 (S412), it is determined that there is no commercial to be displayed after the commercial whose display end time has been reached (No in S413), control unit 330-1 queries analysis unit 330-2 to confirm whether a commercial will be displayed at a later time in the program being displayed on display means 350 (S414).

[0056] If the result of checking with analysis unit 330-2 (S414) is that the commercial will be displayed at a later time (Yes in S415), control unit 330-1 returns to the processing of S405 and continues the processing to determine whether a replacement commercial exists for the commercial that will be displayed at a later time.

[0057] If the result of querying and confirming with analysis unit 330-2 (S414) is that the commercial will not be displayed at a later time (No in S415), control unit 330-1 returns to the process of S402 and continues the process of checking whether there is a replacement commercial for the commercial inserted in the new program.

[0058] In this way, by referring to CM list 400, control unit 330-1 checks whether or not there is a replacement CM (addressable advertisement) for every CM inserted in a program being broadcast. Note that the check in S412 as to whether there is a commercial to be continuously displayed means, in the case of commercial list 400 shown in Fig. 4B as an example, checking the commercial with information 413 against the commercial with information 412. The commercial with information 462 and the commercial with information 463 are commercials that are broadcast consecutively (continuously) in the same program as indicated by the Event_ID number, as indicated by the Start_time and duration.

[0059] 4B, the confirmation of whether to display a commercial at a later timing means checking the commercial for information 415 when the display of the commercial for information 414 has finished. The commercial for information 414 and the commercial for information 415 are broadcast in the same program as indicated by the Event_ID number, and the commercial for information 415 is broadcast not consecutively (continuously) to the commercial for information 414 as indicated by Start_time and duration.

[0060] Note that the processing flow shown in FIG. 4E presents a flow for creating and processing a CM list from an EIT and a CM time slot information descriptor, but it is also possible to store the EIT and CM time slot information descriptor tables directly in the recording medium 160, etc., and perform operations while directly referring to them. Although an example of the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to the embodiment of the present invention and an addressable advertisement system including the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 have been described with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

[0061] In the configuration example of the addressable advertising system shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device) 100 transmits broadcast waves multiplexed in the MMT-TLV format, and the broadcast signal receiving device 140 receives broadcast waves multiplexed in the MMT-TLV format. However, the broadcast waves may be multiplexed in the MPEG-2 format. In this case, the CM time slot information descriptor may be one of the descriptors arranged in the EIT (Event Information Table). Alternatively, in the configuration example of the addressable advertising system shown in FIG. 1, the broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device) 100 may distribute program content to the broadcast signal receiving device 140 via the network 130.

[0062] 1 includes only one broadcast signal receiving device 140, but multiple broadcast signal receiving devices may be included. The addressable advertising system may also include a management server that manages the broadcast signal receiving devices 140 via the network 130 using the device IDs of the broadcast signal receiving devices 140 and provides unique services to each of the broadcast signal receiving devices 140.

[0063] As described above, the broadcast signal receiving device 140 including the advertisement replacement processing unit 330 according to an embodiment of the present invention determines whether all commercials in a program displayed on the display means 350 can be replaced with addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) based on the commercial time slot information in the commercial time slot information descriptor included in the broadcast signal, and can replace commercials that can be replaced with addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) and display them on the display means 350.

[0064] This enables the broadcast signal receiving device of an embodiment of the present invention to appropriately replace commercials inserted in a program with addressable advertisements (replacement commercials) based solely on the commercial time slot information contained in the broadcast signal. Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. Furthermore, the present invention also includes cases in which each component of the claims is expressed by dividing the components, or by combining a plurality of components, or by combining these components. In addition, the device of the present invention is applied even when the claims are expressed as control logic, as a program including instructions to execute a computer, or as a computer-readable recording medium containing the instructions. In addition, the names and terms used are not limited, and other expressions are included in the present invention as long as they have substantially the same content and meaning. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 100: broadcast station (broadcast signal transmitting device), 120: CM distribution server, 140: broadcast signal receiving device, 160: recording medium.

Claims

1. Receives programs sent by broadcast signals and transmits them to one or more stations via a network. A broadcast signal receiving device connected to a plurality of servers, a display unit for displaying the program; A first broadcast start time and a first broadcast duration of a first advertisement to be inserted during a broadcast time period of the program. A means for acquiring information indicating the length from the broadcast signal; an advertisement replacement processing unit including a control unit that acquires a second advertisement having a second broadcast time length from the server and stores the second advertisement in a storage device, and an analysis unit that has a function of estimating a viewer who is viewing the program being displayed on the display unit; Equipped with The control unit is a means for generating a CM list of the first advertisement using CM time slot information described in an EIT (Event Information Table) defined in a broadcasting standard, and storing the CM list in the storage device; means for inquiring of the analysis unit as to whether or not a second advertisement that can be displayed as a replacement exists in the CM list of the first advertisement; means for replacing the first advertisement with the second advertisement and displaying the second advertisement on the display unit from the first advertisement start time when the first advertisement length matches the second advertisement length in the storage device and the inquiry result indicates that the advertisement can be displayed; means for not presenting the second advertisement on the display unit when the analysis unit determines that the second advertisement optimal for the estimated viewer does not exist; Broadcast signal receiving device.

2. Receives programs sent by broadcast signals and transmits them to one or more stations via a network. A broadcast signal receiving method for a broadcast signal receiving device connected to a plurality of servers and controlled by a control means, comprising: Displaying the program on a display unit; A first broadcast start time and a first broadcast duration of a first advertisement to be inserted during a broadcast time period of the program. acquiring information indicating the length from the broadcast signal; A second advertisement having a second broadcast duration is acquired from the server, the second advertisement is stored in a storage device, and an analysis unit estimates a viewer who is viewing the program being displayed on the display unit; moreover, generating a CM list of the first advertisement using CM time slot information described in an EIT (Event Information Table) defined in a broadcasting standard, and storing the CM list in a storage device; means for inquiring of the analysis unit as to whether or not a second advertisement that can be displayed as a replacement exists in the CM list of the first advertisement; means for replacing the first advertisement with the second advertisement and displaying the second advertisement on the display unit from the first advertisement start time when the first advertisement length matches the second advertisement length in the storage device and the inquiry result indicates that the advertisement can be displayed; A broadcast signal receiving method, in which, if the analysis unit determines that the second advertisement appropriate for the estimated viewer does not exist, the second advertisement is not presented on the display unit.

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