OTT Audience Measurement via IP-to-Household Demographic Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Audience measurement entities face challenges in linking demographics to over-the-top (OTT) device media impressions due to the lack of cookie support on OTT devices, necessitating a cost-effective solution for census-based monitoring without direct demographic information.
Innovation Solution
Associating public IP addresses of OTT devices with household IDs maintained by database proprietors, enabling demographic information retrieval through mapping and estimation, and integrating with audience measurement systems to generate ratings reports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a panel-based approach is used to monitor media content, then demographic information can be directly obtained, but the cost increases significantly due to the large number of panelists required for fragmented viewing platforms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mapping system that connects device identifiers (cookies, device graphs) to demographic information without requiring direct panelist enrollment. This intermediary layer enables census-based monitoring to access demographic data that was previously only available through expensive panel-based approaches, resolving the contradiction between information quality and system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual panel through data copying and mapping techniques. Instead of requiring actual panelists on fragmented platforms, the system copies demographic information from available sources (cookies, device graphs, panel data) and maps it to OTT device identifiers, creating a virtual representation that enables cost-effective census-based monitoring with demographic awareness
2Device complexity
If census-based monitoring is used for OTT devices, then cost-effectiveness improves, but the ability to link demographics to media impressions deteriorates due to lack of cookie support
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the monitoring system universal by implementing a multi-functional mapping architecture that works across different device types and platforms. The system can map various identifier types (cookies from other devices, device graphs, panel identifiers) to OTT device impressions, enabling demographic linkage in census-based monitoring without requiring platform-specific implementations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary mapping tables and device graph structures that bridge the gap between OTT device identifiers and demographic information. These intermediaries enable census-based monitoring to retrieve demographic data that would otherwise be inaccessible due to the lack of cookies on OTT devices, resolving the information loss problem
3Measurement precision
If panel-based monitoring is implemented across all fragmented viewing platforms, then complete demographic coverage is achieved, but the number of required panelists and associated costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using available demographic data from partial sources (cookies from other devices, device graphs, existing panel data) rather than requiring complete panelist enrollment across all platforms. This partial data collection approach achieves sufficient demographic coverage for census-based monitoring while avoiding the excessive costs of universal panel deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter from panelist enrollment rate to data mapping completeness. Instead of measuring success by the number of panelists, the system measures success by the completeness of the mapping between device identifiers and demographic information, enabling cost-effective scaling across fragmented platforms
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus to associate audience members with over-the-top device media impressions. An example audience measurement apparatus includes a reporting message receiver to receive a first reporting message from a client device coupled to a residential gateway having an internet protocol (IP) address. An AME ID determiner is to assign an audience measurement entity (AME) identifier to the IP address provided by the received first reporting message. A redirect instructor is to send a redirect instruction to the client device to cause the client device to send a second reporting message to a database proprietor, the redirect instruction to include the AME identifier and the IP address. A DP message reporting receiver is to receive, in response to the sent redirect instruction, a third reporting message from the database proprietor that includes a database proprietor (DP) identifier.