Offer Controller for OTT Content Inspection and Promotion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cable and internet service providers face challenges in promoting their own supplemental services to subscribers who are accessing over-the-top (OTT) content from external sources, as they lack control over the content and transmission infrastructure, making it difficult to offer alternative, improved services.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an offer controller system that differentiates between OTT and non-OTT content, allowing primary service providers to insert offers for their own non-OTT content while subscribers access OTT content, using infrastructure like set-top boxes and cable modems to inspect and match OTT content for relevant non-OTT offerings, and inserting these offers within the OTT content streams.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If primary service providers allow subscribers to access OTT content from external sources, then subscriber content variety and choice are improved, but the ability to promote and control usage of the provider's own supplemental services deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an offer controller as an intermediary component that sits between the OTT content source and the subscriber device. This controller intercepts OTT content requests, analyzes them, and injects targeted offers for the provider's own supplemental services. The intermediary enables the provider to maintain control over service promotion while allowing OTT content access, resolving the contradiction by adding a mediating layer that facilitates both goals.
2Measurement precision
If primary service providers inspect and analyze OTT content streams to identify matching supplemental services, then service matching precision and targeted offering are improved, but processing complexity and computational requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content inspection and offer generation process into distinct functional modules within the offer controller. The controller divides OTT content streams into manageable segments, analyzes them independently, and generates targeted offers for each segment. This segmentation reduces processing complexity by breaking down the complex task of continuous stream analysis into smaller, more manageable operations that can be handled efficiently.
3Productivity
If primary service providers insert offers within OTT content streams, then service promotion effectiveness and subscriber engagement are improved, but insertion complexity and stream management difficulty deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing and categorizing OTT content segments before insertion into the main content stream. The offer controller prepares offer content in advance, matching it with anticipated content segments based on pre-established criteria. This preliminary preparation reduces insertion complexity during live streaming, as the matching and insertion operations can be performed more efficiently with pre-processed data rather than real-time analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
Inspection of over the top (OTT) content to facilitate offering non-OTT content or other content and/or services as an alternative to the OTT content is contemplated. The OTT content may be inspected at an access point configured to provide a broadband or other connection between a device consuming the OTT content and a device sourcing the content. Data packets or other signaling may be added to the OTT content at the access point in order to announce the offer.