Iheartmedia Management Services, Inc.

Jeffrey James Bengel

Jeffrey Lee Littlejohn

David C Jellison, Jr

Daniel N MacTiernan

Todd Louis Goldberg

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 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

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 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 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

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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Springboro, OH, United States of America

Jeffrey James Bengel