Contextual Clip Delivery for Mid-Stream Live Content Catch-Up

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems fail to provide a solution for users who want to view live broadcast or distribution content in real-time but need to begin viewing at a mid-point, while avoiding exposure to spoiler information about events that have already occurred.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for presenting contextual clips that summarize key events of the content prior to the user's tune-in point, using metadata and real-time analysis to generate and deliver clips that provide context to the viewer.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If users begin viewing live content at a mid-point, then they can start watching immediately without missing the beginning, but they are exposed to spoiler information about events that have already occurred

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetime to start viewing contentVSAvoidcontextual information about prior events
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the live content into discrete events with associated metadata, allowing selective delivery of contextual information. When a user joins at a mid-point, the system identifies and delivers only the relevant prior events as contextual clips, rather than requiring the user to watch from the beginning or risk spoilers from general discussion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis of the live content to identify key events and generate contextual clips in advance. When a user joins the broadcast, these contextual clips are already prepared and can be immediately delivered to provide background context without delaying the user's entry into the content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Loss of information

If users watch the entire content from a recording, then they avoid exposure to spoilers, but they lose the real-time viewing experience and social discussion timing

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection from spoiler informationVSAvoidreal-time content consumption efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of requiring users to watch the entire recording from the beginning, the system delivers only the partial content needed - specifically the contextual clips of prior events. This provides just enough information to understand the current broadcast context without the time investment of watching the full recording, enabling real-time viewing while protecting from spoilers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Loss of information

If users start viewing from the beginning of recorded content, then they gain complete contextual information, but they waste time watching content they have already missed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontextual understanding of contentVSAvoidtime spent viewing already-missed content
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential contextual events from the live content stream and delivers them as targeted clips to users who join at a mid-point. This extraction approach removes the unnecessary portions of content that users have already missed, providing only the critical contextual information needed to understand the current broadcast state.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3404921B1System and method for presenting contextual clips for distributed content
Publication Date: 2025.11.12 NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC
  • EP3404921B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3404921B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3404921B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Systems and methods for presenting contextual clips for distributed content are disclosed. Some embodiments include receiving an input for presenting content while the content is currently being distributed at a first distribution time point within the content, transmitting a request for contextual content prior to the first distribution time point, receiving information for displaying a plurality of contextual content clips distributed prior to the first distribution time point, wherein each of the plurality of contextual content clips corresponds to an event depicted in the content, displaying the plurality of contextual content clips using the received information, and displaying the content at a second distribution time point after all of the plurality of contextual content clips have been displayed.