Personalized Broadcast Guide Using Affinity Data for Faster Discovery

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional Electronic Program Guides (EPGs) for satellite radio receivers require significant user interaction, making it difficult for drivers and others with limited attention to discover and access diverse and personalized broadcast content efficiently.

Innovation Solution

An enhanced EPG system that utilizes user preferences and broadcast affinity data to automatically recommend personalized content subsets, highlighting programs of interest and suggesting related channels or topics, reducing the need for manual search.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If a traditional EPG provides comprehensive program listings across all channels, then content information completeness is improved, but user interaction complexity and time required to find interesting content increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent information completenessVSAvoidtime to find interesting content

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-calculates and stores affinity data between channels and topics before user queries occur. When a user views content on one channel, the system has already prepared related content recommendations based on pre-computed affinities, eliminating the need for real-time computation and reducing user wait time while maintaining comprehensive content coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary recommendation layer between the comprehensive EPG data and the user interface. This intermediary processes the complete content information and transforms it into personalized recommendations, allowing users to access filtered, relevant content without being overwhelmed by the full breadth of available programs

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If a traditional EPG requires manual searching through multiple channels, then content discovery thoroughness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent discovery thoroughnessVSAvoidease of content access

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs automatic content recommendation without requiring manual user search. By monitoring user viewing behavior and automatically generating personalized recommendations based on affinity data, the system serves itself in curating content, thereby improving ease of operation while maintaining thorough content discovery through algorithmic exploration

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback loops where user viewing behavior is continuously monitored and fed back into the recommendation engine. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt recommendations to user preferences over time, achieving both ease of operation through automated personalization and thorough content discovery through iterative learning

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If the EPG displays all available channels and programs, then content variety is improved, but device complexity and interface complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent varietyVSAvoidinterface complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by providing different interface experiences for different user needs. The main interface displays personalized recommendations with simplified information, while the complete EPG data remains available in the background. This allows the interface to maintain simplicity while the system preserves access to comprehensive content variety

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Productivity

If the system provides personalized recommendations based on user behavior, then user engagement is improved, but data processing requirements and system complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser engagementVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-computes affinity data between channels and topics before runtime user interactions occur. This preliminary action stores pre-analyzed relationships in accessible formats, reducing the complexity of real-time data processing while enabling sophisticated personalized recommendations that improve user engagement

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12526484B2Method and apparatus for providing enhanced electronic program guide with personalized selection of broadcast content using affinities data and user preferences

Publication Date: 2026.01.13 SIRIUS XM RADIO INC

AI summary

Apparatuses and methods are provided to inform a user of a broadcast stream, which has multiple, concurrently received channels of program content, about recommendations of a subset of the content currently playing across the available channels or to be played within a selected future time period. The subset of content is selected based on user preferences and system data (e.g., program topic and channel affinities among the broadcast content and channels) to recommend a more diverse subset of content than would be discovered if only user preferences were employed to make the selection of recommended content.