Audience Measurement via Media Data Pair Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The advent of new streaming devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Google Chromecast has made it difficult for media monitoring services to accurately identify streaming media on media presentation devices due to encrypted network traffic data, which lacks clear representation of the media being streamed, leading to challenges in associating demographics with user access to streaming media.
Innovation Solution
An audience measurement entity uses a combination of media presentation device meters and network meters to extract media data pairs, including identifiers and timestamps, and determines the probability of association with known demographics, enabling accurate identification of demographics even without user-identifying information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If encrypted network traffic data is used to monitor streaming media, then user privacy is protected, but media identification accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces media presentation device meters as intermediary components that capture media identification data at the presentation device level, bypassing the need to decrypt network traffic. These meters act as mediators between the encrypted network data and the monitoring system, providing accurate media identification while preserving encryption.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system is segmented into multiple independent components: network meters for traffic monitoring, media presentation device meters for accurate media identification, and central facilities for data correlation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specialized function without requiring decryption of network traffic.
2Measurement precision
If multiple types of meters are deployed (media presentation device meters and network meters), then media identification accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central facility performs multiple functions: receiving data from different meter types, correlating media data pairs, determining probability of association, and generating demographic information. This multi-functionality consolidates complexity into a single coordinating component rather than requiring complex interactions between multiple specialized systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses probability determination as a feedback mechanism to validate associations between media data pairs and demographic information. By calculating and thresholding probability values, the system automatically verifies data quality and association accuracy, reducing the need for manual system configuration and troubleshooting.
3Measurement precision
If probability-based association methods are used to link media data with demographics, then association accuracy is improved, but data processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates probability of association for only the most relevant media data pairs based on preliminary matching criteria, rather than exhaustively analyzing all possible associations. This partial action approach achieves sufficient association accuracy while significantly reducing processing time compared to complete probability calculation for all data pairs.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed for determining the demographics of users. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, instructions, and processor circuitry to at least one of execute or instantiate the instructions to extract a first media data pair from first media presentation data from a media provider, identify a second media data pair in second media presentation data based on a comparison of the first media data pair and the second media presentation data, the second media data pair generated in response to a meter accessing streaming data associated with a second media presentation device accessing the streaming media, identify a panelist associated with the second media data pair, and, in response to identifying the panelist, cause a server to associate the second media data pair and demographic data associated with the panelist included in a report by transmitting the report to the server.