Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

Verizon Services Corporation

Verizon Services Organization Inc.

Marcelo D Lechner

Harpal Singh Bassali

Michael Patrick Ruffini

Armando Paul Stettner

Glenn Altchek

Aakash Chokshi

Raul I Aldrey

Ataqurahman Patil

Shashank Shekhar Sharma

Nosherwan Minwalla

Siddharth Chitnis

Srinivas Anumala

Kristopher T Frazier

Dongchen Wang

Lily F Chen

Christina Lynn Fyock

Yuriy Bolyukh

Robert Beckwith

Rory W Britt

Yehuda Kaplovitz

Daniel S Elias

Mansey K Amin

Brent Simon

Rick Utley

Stella Alvo

Jason L Malamud

Erin Flood

Harpal S Bassali

A device may receive content data identifying television schedules for content to be provided for viewing in a first geographic location and a second geographic location, and may identify a first available time slot for content in the first geographic location and a second available time slot for content in the second geographic location. The device may identify a first set of content for the first available time slot and a second set of content for the second available time slot, and may assign values to the first and second sets. The device may determine whether the values assigned to the first and second sets satisfy a threshold value, and may cause, when a value of content in the first set fails to satisfy the threshold value, a first client device, in the first geographic location, to obtain replacement content with a value that satisfies the threshold value.

Systems and methods for value-based provision of television content in a hybrid quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)/internet protocol (IP) content delivery environment

A device may receive content data identifying television schedules for content to be provided for viewing in a first geographic location and a second geographic location, and may identify a first available time slot for content in the first geographic location and a second available time slot for content in the second geographic location. The device may identify a first set of content for the first available time slot and a second set of content for the second available time slot, and may assign values to the first and second sets. The device may determine whether the values assigned to the first and second sets satisfy a threshold value, and may cause, when a value of an content in the first set fails to satisfy the threshold value, a first client device, in the first geographic location, to obtain a replacement content with a value that satisfies the threshold value.

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for identifying, by an ad insertion device, at least one prospect for inserting a selected ad via a set of hidden channels during a target programming timeslot based on ad schedules for a plurality of networks; determining based on hidden channel usage data for a programming timeslot corresponding to the target programming timeslot, that a likelihood of availability of at least one hidden channel of the set of hidden channels during the target programming timeslot exceeds a first threshold level; and sending an instruction to an interface device to insert the selected ad via the at least one hidden channel during the target programming timeslot.

Channel usage management in terrestrial distribution systems

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for receiving ad schedules for an upcoming programming timeslot for a network lineup; identifying an opportunity to insert a selected ad via a set of hidden channels during the upcoming programming timeslot based on the ad schedules; retrieving, based on the identifying, stored hidden channel usage data for previous programming timeslots that correspond to the upcoming programming timeslot; determining whether an availability likelihood of a hidden channel during the upcoming programming timeslot exceeds a threshold; retrieving, when the threshold is exceeded, ad insertion collision data for the previous programming timeslots; determining, based on the collision data, whether a likelihood of a collision occurring on the hidden channels during the upcoming programming timeslot exceeds another threshold; and sending, when the other threshold is not exceeded, an instruction to a user interface device to insert the selected ad via the hidden channel during the upcoming programming timeslot.

One or more devices send, over a network, an advertisement for presentation by a video client, where the advertisement includes a trigger for secondary advertising content that is presented, within a hotspot designated in the primary advertisement, as part of the primary advertisement. The one or more devices receive, via the network, a notification from the video client that a user has selected the trigger and determine, based on the notification, particular secondary advertising content to be presented to the user. The one or more devices send, over the network, instructions to the video client to retrieve the particular secondary advertising content for presentation to the user.

Advertisements within television advertisements

An exemplary method includes a digital advertisement insertion optimization system accessing data that indicates a playback return position at which playback of a media program is to be resumed following insertion of an advertisement in the media program when a first media file comprising the media program encoded in a first media format is used for playback of the media program, analyzing a second media file comprising the media program encoded in a second media format to identify a set of key frames within the second media file, selecting a key frame from the identified set of key frames; and generating data that indicates a new playback return position at which playback of the media program is to be resumed following insertion of an advertisement when the second media file is used for playback of the media program.

Systems and methods for optimizing digital advertisement insertion

Devices, methods, and storage media provide for receiving an airing of a program and a national ad; recording the program and the national ad; identifying an age of the national ad; comparing the age of the national ad to a threshold time period; and obtaining a replacement national ad in response to a comparison indicating that the age of the national ad exceeds the threshold time period.

Ad replacement

A device is configured to receive scheduling information associated with a program. The device is configured to determine a time break, corresponding to an advertisement, associated with the program. The device is configured to receive guide information associated with the program. The device is configured to identify the program based on the guide information and the scheduling information, and generate an advertisement map based on identifying the program and based on the time break. The advertisement map may include information that identifies the time break and the program. The device is configured to provide the advertisement map to a dynamic advertisement insertion system to permit the dynamic advertisement insertion system to replace the advertisement during a subsequent playing of the program.

Dynamic advertisement insertion device

One or more servers may receive, from a first server, a first list of timeslots; receive, from a second server, a second list of timeslots; store the first list of timeslots and the second list of timeslots to form a shared list of timeslots; receive an update to the shared list of timeslots by the first server or by the second server; store the update to the shared list of timeslots; receive a first schedule from the first server; and receive a second schedule from the second server. The first server may generate the first schedule and the second server may generate the second schedule based on information stored by the shared list of timeslots. The one or more servers may provide a particular content file to a user device in accordance with information associated with the first schedule or the second schedule.

Shared scheduling for content delivery systems

A method, a computer program product, and apparatus are provided for delivering information and commands regarding a media program. An advertisement is provided that allows a user to request more information about the media program by clicking on or otherwise selecting the advertisement. The information may be based on the identity of the user. The information may include programming guide information regarding the media program that is available to an associated set top box of the user. The user may also be able to send commands, such as record the media program or set up a reminder about the media program, through a DVR scheduling facility to the set top box. The set top box may be able to send an acceptance of the command or a notice of conflict to the user through the DVR scheduling facility.

Method, computer program product, and apparatus for delivering information and commands regarding a media program

Systems, apparatus, methods and computer readable mediums for efficient and unconstrained information distribution and IP multicasting are provided. An exemplary method may include receiving, from a set top box, information indicative of criteria associated with targeted advertisement; and determining, at a set top box, whether the criteria corresponds to a characteristic of a household at which the criteria is received. The method may also include joining, from a set top box, a multicast group associated with the criteria in the event the criteria is determined to correspond to the characteristic of the household at which the criteria is received. The method may also include receiving, via multicast, at a set top box, the targeted advertisement associated with the criteria; and displaying, at a video display device, the targeted advertisement. The exemplary method may allow efficient and unconstrained information distribution leading to improved application quality and performance.

Systems and methods for efficient messaging and targeted IP multicast advertisement in communication networks

An exemplary method includes processing a first program stream representative of media content having a first resolution and a second program stream representative of the media content having a second resolution, generating a single advertisement stream representative of advertisement content having a third resolution, detecting a transmission lag between the first and second program streams, dynamically synchronizing the first and second program streams to substantially remove the detected transmission lag, transmitting the synchronized first program stream by way of a first content channel, the synchronized second program stream by way of a second content channel, and the advertisement stream by way of an advertisement channel, and directing a media content access device to switch from being tuned to the second content channel to being tuned to the advertisement channel during an advertising break in the media content. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Methods and systems for synchronizing delivery of media content streams having different resolutions

A first game server is configured to provide a game to a first category of user device. A second game server is configured to provide the game to a second category of user device. A game manager is configured to receive a request from a user device for the game application and to assign the request to one of the first game server and the second game server according to whether the user device is included in the first category of user device or the second category of user device.

Cross platform gaming

Media units are stored in a buffer, wherein an importance rating is assigned to each of the media units. At least some of the media units are selectively flushed from the buffer based on the importance rating.

Growing community of inventors

Burlington, MA, United States of America

Marcelo D Lechner