Technique for effectively delivering targeted advertisements through a communications network having limited bandwidth

摘要

When an advertisement break is detected on a program channel stream, demographic data is obtained which is descriptive of the subscribers who are currently watching material from the program channel stream, and one or more streams containing substitute advertisements are generated based on the demographic data. The substitute advertisements in each stream, thus generated, are targeted at a different demographic group of the subscribers. The number of substitute advertisement streams corresponds to the number of unused transmission channels allocated for transmission of such streams. Groups of subscribers' set-top terminals (STTs) are directed to tune to the allocated transmission channels during the advertisement break to receive the substitute advertisement streams, respectively. Consequently, the subscribers are shown the substitute, targeted advertisements instead of the regularly-scheduled advertisements.

主权项

1. A method for delivery of programming content to a plurality of user terminals over a communications network, comprising:
detecting an indicator at a first time during playback of particular programming content indicative of an advertising event therein, the advertising event comprising a first advertisement directed to a first demographic associated with the particular programming content for substitution with a targeted advertising content directed to a second demographic different than the first demographic; in response to the detection of the indicator, generating a list of individual ones of the plurality of user terminals currently tuned to the particular programming content; obtaining the second demographics data descriptive of at least one group of members of the list; at the first time during the playback of the particular programming content, generating in real time the targeted advertising content based at least on the second demographics data; and providing, to the at least one group, the targeted advertising content in lieu of at least a portion of the first advertisement during the advertising event at the first time via an unused transmission channel; wherein the unused transmission channel is identified by determining a difference between a total number of assigned channels and a total number of channels.