Iheartmedia Management Services, Inc.

Daniel N MacTiernan

Jeffrey Lee Littlejohn

David C Jellison, Jr

Jeffrey James Bengel

Amit Aggarwal

Lasse Hamre

Richard D Wooden

Jeffrey D Zigler

Jacqueline J Lockhart

Kevin R Lockhart

Thomas Dacre Drapeau

Pablo Calamera

Brian Kaminsky

Patricia D Roberts

Kathleen Brougham

Jeffrey Joseph Augustyn

Todd Louis Goldberg

James Liao

Evan Samuel Schwartz

Michael R Moss

Tamala Edmonds

A traffic-and-billing system imports a chronological schedule from a media automation system. The schedule includes media and advertisement spots allocated in accordance with a content allocation prediction, which allocates a portion of the advertisement spots to general content and a portion to local content. The traffic-and-billing system stores information associated with general advertisement content and generates a content listing based on the content allocation prediction. A general advertisement system receives, an update request that indicates at least one item of the general advertisement content is to be removed from the content listing. The general advertisement system plays out general advertisement content items included in the general advertisement content listing in response to receiving a playout request from the media automation system.

Dynamic media allocation

A transfer time, at which control of automatically inserting advertisements into a broadcast is to be passed from a first advertisement management system to a second advertisement management system, is scheduled to occur within a spot break. During a first portion of the spot break controlled by the first advertisement management system, a determination is made that playout of a final advertisement scheduled for broadcast during the first portion of the spot break cannot be completed prior to the transfer time. A run-last-spot parameter indicating whether the first advertisement management system is permitted to pass control of automatically inserting advertisements into the broadcast prior to the transfer time is obtained. Control of automatically inserting advertisements into the broadcast is conditionally passed from the first advertisement management system to the second advertisement management system based on the run-last-spot parameter.

Split control of spot breaks

A script creation system obtains both current user-specified attributes to be used in generating a new media creative, and historical data including historical user-specified attributes associated with previously generated media creatives. The script creation system generates a set of creative parameters specifying content characteristics of the new media creative based on the user-specified attributes and the historical data. The set of creative parameters are transmitted from the script creation system to a media creative generation system. The script creation system receives the new media creative generated by the media creative generation system, and provides the new media creative to an end user system associated with an end user. The script creation system receives feedback associated with the new media creative, and stores the feedback, the set of creative parameters, and the current user-specified attributes as historical data.

Automated generation of creative parameters based on approval feedback

A log file including prediction information specifying a local advertisement content allocation amount and a general advertisement content allocation amount over a predetermined duration of time is received. A chronological schedule designating media content spots and advertising spots for the predetermined duration of time is also received. It is determined that a sold amount of local advertisement content during a particular time period, which is less than the predetermined duration of time, is insufficient to fill the local allocation during that time period, A portion of the local allocation is reallocated to the general allocation for the particular time period, while leaving the local and general allocation amounts unchanged over the predetermined duration of time. A program log is generated in accordance with the prediction information and the reallocating.

Adjusting inventory allocations at discrete times without adjusting overall inventory allocations

A media stream includes multiple spot blocks representing portions of time assigned to particular media content, where some of the plurality of spot blocks include primary media content, and others include advertising content. The media stream also includes a contextual marker embedded in at least one of the spot blocks. The contextual marker includes information used by a media player to transmit a tracking call in response to reading the contextual marker.

Media stream including embedded contextual markers

A first server controls insertion of media content into a media stream, and transmits the media stream from the first server to a media player. The first server also transmits, to a second server, information linking a particular consumer to both a third-party service and to the media player. Control of inserting media content into the media stream is passed from the first server to the second server. The second server receives consumer-specific content associated with the particular consumer from the third-party service, and maps the consumer-specific content to the media player based, at least in part, on the information linking the particular consumer to both the third-party service and to the media player. The second server then inserts the consumer-specific content into the media stream during a time period the second server is in control of inserting media content into the media stream.

Passing control of inserting third-party content into a media stream

Total advertising inventory of a broadcast station can be dynamically allocated between local, or station-sold, inventory and general, or network, inventory. The portion of total inventory allocated to local inventory or network inventory can be adjusted based on feedback from an advertising service, and a broadcast log can be generated based on the adjusted allocation. The broadcast log can be delivered to a media automation system associated with a media station which plays out local inventory in accordance with the broadcast log. When the broadcast log indicates that general/network inventory is to be broadcast, the media automation system stops playing-out local inventory, and allows the advertisement system to broadcast network inventory for a period of time indicated by the broadcast log. Broadcast of local inventory can be resumed early, before the time period indicated in the broadcast log has expired.

Managing local and general advertisement spot allocations

A planning system obtains an order attribute table associating media advertising orders with flexibility attribute values that indicate scheduling flexibility, and generates an inventory table having cells representing station-daypart combinations. The cells of the inventory table are assigned flexibility attribute values corresponding to the flexibility attribute values of orders booked into corresponding station-daypart combinations. The planning system makes a comparison between a first flexibility attribute associated with an un-booked order and a second flexibility attribute associated with a booked order already booked in a particular station-daypart combination, where the comparison shows that the un-booked order has less scheduling flexibility than the booked order. In response to the comparison, an association between the booked order and the particular station-daypart combination is replaced with an association between the un-booked order and the particular station-daypart combination. A plan lineup is then generated based on the inventory table.

Dynamic assignment of media advertising orders to broadcast inventory

An ad proxy generates a playback manifest for delivery to a destination platform via a content distribution network (CDN). The playback manifest provided to the destination device includes hosted locations, such as network addresses, of both primary media files and advertising content. The playback manifest can also include tracking-calls. The destination platform receives normalized media files associated with the network addresses included in the playback manifest, and plays out those normalized media files during execution of the playback manifest. Tracking-calls can be fired, in accordance with the playback manifest, when part or all of a normalized media file has been played out. The tracking-calls can be used to facilitate calculation of impressions. The destination device need not be capable of differentiating between primary media content and advertising content, thus allowing even limited capability platforms, e.g. integrated automotive platforms, to provide targeted advertising.

Media delivery to limited capability platforms

A processing system receives device registration information from a registered user of a website. The device registration information includes a registered telephone number assigned to a mobile communications device. The processing system receives a request for a homepage of the website from a requesting mobile communications device coupled to the processing system via a mobile carrier communications system. The Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the request is obtained, and the processing system obtains a telephone number currently associated with the IP address from a mobile carrier communications system. The processing system attempts to automatically login the requesting mobile communications device to the website by matching the telephone number currently associated with the IP address to the registered telephone number, and conditionally transmits different versions of the homepage based on whether the requesting mobile communications device has been automatically logged in to the website.

Automatic mobile device website login

A first advertisement management system assumes control of inserting advertisements into a spot break for a first, pre-allocated portion of the spot break, which has a duration and a scheduled conclusion. The first advertisement management system makes a first determination, based at least in part on a number of advertisements available for insertion into the first pre-allocated portion of the spot break by the first advertisement management system. The first determination indicates whether control of inserting advertisements into the spot break is to be passed to a second advertisement management system at the scheduled conclusion of the first pre-allocated portion of the spot break, prior to the scheduled conclusion of the first pre-allocated portion of the spot break, or later than the scheduled conclusion of the first pre-allocated portion of the spot break. The first advertisement management system passes control to the second advertisement management system in accordance with the first determination.

Split spot breaks

A media automation system generates multiple instances of a media broadcast stream, which includes core content common to each of the instances of the media broadcast stream, and multiple spot blocks interspersed within the media broadcast stream. Each stream instance is associated with a particular media playout device. A user notification is received and a packaged user notification is generated for inclusion in a particular instance of the media broadcast stream. Packaging the user notification includes obtaining first account information associated with a media delivery platform account of a user associated with a particular media playout device, and second account information associated with a consumer notification service account of the user. The user notification is mapped to the particular media playout device based on the first and second account information, and the packaged user notification is inserted into a first available spot block of the particular instance of the media broadcast stream.

Mapping user notifications to specific media streams

A streaming media server inserts contextual markers into a media stream being delivered to an end user device for play out to an end user. The contextual markers can be inserted in-band into spot blocks, and can be used to identify media items included in the spot block. When the contextual markers trigger the end-user device to send a message identifying the media content, e.g. a particular show, included in the spot block to a data management platform (DMP). The DMP uses the messages triggered by the contextual markers to attribute the end user to the media content. If a threshold number of attributions is received, and if the attributions are sufficiently recent, the end user can be a associated with an audience segment. The attribution and association information can be delivered to an ad server, which uses that information to select targeted advertisements to air during the show.

Attributing users to audience segments

A planning system can receive media advertising orders including flexibility attributes indicating whether the orders are flexible with regard to various different circumstances. The planning system can obtain both booked an unbooked inventory from a traffic and billing system, and determine associations or re-associations between the advertising orders and the booked and unbooked inventory based on the flexibility attributes. The planning system can then generate a non-guaranteed order including the associations or re-associations, and transmit the order to media delivery system. The planning system can obtain feedback and/or real time data that can be used to reassess existing associations, and in some cases adjust the flexibility attribute values.

Control of a single spot break (or all spot breaks within a predefined time period) can be dynamically split between different ad management servers, and between universal and targeted advertisements. Put another way, the particular type of process used to deliver advertisements (e.g. one-to-many or one-to-one) can be varied within a single spot break. Each portion of a split spot break can be dynamically adjusted in near-real time. If run time of advertisements inserted by an ad management server is either too long or not long enough, control can be passed to the next ad server late, or early, as appropriate. A single spot break (or group of spot breaks) can be split different ways for different stations, or for different tiers of spot breaks. Different spot breaks on the same station can be split differently.

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Ocean City, NJ, United States of America

Daniel N MacTiernan