VOD Session Identifier Tracking for Cross-Platform Viewership Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for tracking Video on Demand (VOD) viewership are fragmented and platform-specific, making it difficult for third parties to obtain comprehensive and actionable insights across multiple VOD platforms.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for tracking VOD content viewership using a panel of users, capturing session identifiers from user equipment devices to mimic legitimate requests, enabling unified data collection and aggregation across various VOD platforms, including Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), Advertising-based Video on Demand (AVOD), Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD), and Free Video on Demand (FVOD).
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If server-side tracking is used to collect comprehensive viewership data, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases and ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring direct server access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a viewership tracking server as an intermediary that receives session identifiers from VOD client applications and returns viewership information. This mediator enables third-party tracking without requiring direct access to VOD platform servers, resolving the contradiction between comprehensive data collection and ease of operation.
2Ease of operation
If client-side tracking software is embedded in the video player, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to limited data access
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking server is designed to work with multiple VOD platforms and client applications by using a universal interface that accepts session identifiers and returns viewership information. This universal approach maintains ease of operation across different platforms while improving measurement precision by aggregating data from multiple sources.
3Ease of manufacture
If platform-specific tracking methods are used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but adaptability deteriorates as each platform requires separate solutions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal tracking solution where the VOD client application itself performs tracking by capturing session identifiers and communicating with a tracking server. This approach eliminates the need for separate tracking implementations for each platform, achieving both ease of manufacture and cross-platform adaptability.
4Measurement precision
If direct server access is required for tracking, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to credential management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the credential management complexity from the tracking system by having the VOD client application handle authentication and session management. The tracking server only receives session identifiers and returns viewership information, eliminating the need for credential storage and management in the tracking component while maintaining measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for tracking Video on Demand (VOD) content viewership that includes, at a user equipment (UE) device (130) operating a VOD access application for communicating with a VOD server that operates a VOD platform: detecting that the VOD access application communicates with the VOD server; capturing a session identifier used for communication between the VOD access application and the VOD server; sending a request to the VOD server for viewership information, the request comprising the captured session identifier; and receiving from the VOD server the viewership information corresponding to the captured session identifier.