System and method for associating content to at least one viewer profile in video audiences

Abstract

A system and method for associating content to one or more viewer profile in video audiences is provided. The method includes obtaining a first set of targeted ratings, wherein the targeted ratings provide a percentage of viewer profiles that consumed content; obtaining a second input set, wherein the second input set contains data showing which of one or more of the viewer profiles are associated with which of one or more set top boxes within the network; and performing operations to identify which of the viewer profiles associated with one or more of the set top boxes from the second input set consumed one or more content that is included in the first set.

1 . A method of associating content to one or more viewer profile in video audiences, comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a first input set containing data of at least one set top box signature, wherein the data of the at least one set top box signature further comprises a processed zapping log containing information summarizing viewing habits of at least one set top box within the network;   obtaining a second input set, wherein the second input set contains data showing which of one or more viewer profiles are associated with which one or more set top boxes within the network; and   processing the first input set and the second input set by performing at least one operation on the at least one set top box signature and the association of one or more viewer profile to one or more set top box, wherein the operation performs the steps of:
 using set top boxes that are consistent to both the first input set and the second input set, wherein these set top boxes are referred to as consistent set top boxes; and 
 performing calculations to identify which of the profiles associated with each of the consistent set top boxes consumed each content that is included in the set top box signatures of the first set that are associated with the consistent set top boxes. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set top box signatures are selected from the group consisting of viewing signatures, time signatures, and high-resolution time signatures. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one operation is a mathematical operation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second input set is received from an external source. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second input set is derived by performing a learning step and an identification step, the learning step comprising using set top box signatures with a list of set top boxes and viewer profiles to provide knowledge of how to associate at least one viewer profile to a set top box of the list of set top boxes within the network, and the identification step comprising recognizing at least one viewer profile as being associated with a set top box, of the list of set top boxes, based on results of the learning step. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the learning step further comprises the steps of:
 receiving a zapping log and a broadcast schedule, wherein the zapping log includes records of set top box zapping signatures for at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network;   deriving set top box signatures from the zapping log and broadcast schedule;   clustering viewer profiles into groups of viewer profiles using the set top box signatures; and   associating at least one set top box within the network with at least one viewer profile.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein an optimization algorithm is used to perform the step of clustering. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the learning step further comprises the steps of:
 receiving a data sample, wherein the data sample provides an association of viewer profiles to a sample of the set top boxes within the network, wherein a sample of the set top boxes includes one or more of the set top boxes within the network;   receiving a zapping log and a broadcast schedule, wherein the zapping log includes records of set top box zapping signatures for at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network;   deriving set top box signatures from the zapping log and broadcast schedule;   using the set top box signatures with the sample of the set top boxes to derive an association rule of viewer profiles to set top boxes within the network; and   applying the association rule to the set top box signatures to determine a subset of viewer profiles of the viewer profiles associated with a specific set top box of the set top boxes within the network.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the set top box signatures comprise at least one signature for each set top box in the network. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein if the network covers more than one region and information on the regions in which different set top boxes in the network reside is available, the method further comprises the step of calculating a regional targeted rating. 
     
     
         11 . A method of associating content to one or more viewer profile in video audiences, comprising the steps of:
 obtaining a first set of targeted ratings, wherein the targeted ratings provide a percentage of viewer profiles that consumed content;   obtaining a second input set, wherein the second input set contains data showing which of one or more of the viewer profiles are associated with which of one or more set top boxes within the network; and   performing operations to identify which of the viewer profiles associated with one or more of the set top boxes from the second input set consumed one or more content that is included in the first set.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the operations involve providing a relationship between a set A, a set B, and a set C, where the set C is derived by associating set A to set B, where A represents a set of parameters representing the association of at least one viewer profile to set top boxes, B represents an aggregation of targeted rating values of each of the viewer profiles per each content watched by at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network for which the zapping log contains records of set top box zapping signatures, and C is an aggregation of the set top box signatures. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the operations involve providing a relationship between a matrix A, a matrix B, and a matrix C, where matrix A multiplied by matrix B approximates matrix C, where A represents a set of parameters representing the association of at least one viewer profile to set top boxes, B represents an aggregation of targeted rating values of each of the viewer profiles per each content watched by at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network for which the zapping log contains records of set top box zapping signatures, and C is an aggregation of the set top box signatures. 
     
     
         14 . A system for associating content to one or more viewer profile in video audiences of a network, wherein the system comprises a head end having a computer and means for communicating therein, wherein the computer has a management application stored therein, and wherein the management application further comprises:
 logic configured to obtain a first input set containing data of at least one set top box signature, wherein the data of the at least one set top box signature further comprises a processed zapping log containing information summarizing viewing habits of at least one set top box within the network;   logic configured to obtain a second input set, wherein the second input set contains data showing which of one or more viewer profiles are associated with which one or more set top boxes within the network; and   logic configured to process the first input set and the second input set by performing at least one operation on the at least one set top box signature and the association of one or more viewer profile to one or more set top box, wherein the operation performs the steps of:
 using set top boxes that are consistent to both the first input set and the second input set, wherein these set top boxes are referred to as consistent set top boxes; and 
 performing calculations to identify which of the profiles associated with each of the consistent set top boxes consumed each content that is included in the set top box signatures of the first set that are associated with the consistent set top boxes. 
   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the set top box signatures are selected from the group consisting of viewing signatures, time signatures, and high-resolution time signatures. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the operations are mathematical operations. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the second input set is received from an external source. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the second input set is derived by performing a learning step and an identification step, the learning step comprising using set top box signatures with a list of set top boxes and viewer profiles to provide knowledge of how to associate at least one viewer profile to a set top box of the list of set top boxes within the network, and the identification step comprising recognizing at least one viewer profiles as being associated with a set top box, of the list of set top boxes, based on results of the learning step. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the learning step further comprises the steps of:
 receiving a zapping log and a broadcast schedule, wherein the zapping log includes records of set top box zapping signatures for at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network;   deriving set top box signatures from the zapping log and broadcast schedule;   clustering viewer profiles into groups of viewer profiles using the set top box signatures; and   associating at least one set top box within the network with at least one viewer profile.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein an optimization algorithm is used to perform the step of clustering. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the learning step further comprises the steps of:
 receiving a data sample, wherein the data sample provides an association of viewer profiles to a sample of the set top boxes within the network, wherein a sample of the set top boxes includes one or more of the set top boxes within the network;   receiving a zapping log and a broadcast schedule, wherein the zapping log includes records of set top box zapping signatures for at least a portion of the set top boxes of the network;   deriving set top box signatures from the zapping log and broadcast schedule;   using the set top box signatures with the sample of the set top boxes to derive an association rule of viewer profiles to set top boxes within the network; and   applying the association rule to the set top box signatures to determine a subset of viewer profiles of the viewer profiles associated with a specific set top box of the set top boxes within the network.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the set top box signatures comprise at least one signature for each set top box in the network. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein if the network covers more than one region and information on the regions in which different set top boxes in the network reside is available, the method further comprises the step of calculating a regional targeted rating. 
     
     
         24 . A system for associating content to one or more viewer profile in video audiences of a network, wherein the system comprises a head end having a computer and means for communicating therein, wherein the computer has a management application stored therein, and wherein the management application further comprises:
 logic configured to obtain a first set of targeted ratings, wherein the targeted ratings provide a percentage of viewer profiles that consumed content;   logic configured to obtain a second input set, wherein the second input set contains data showing which of one or more of the viewer profiles are associated with which of one or more set top boxes within the network; and   logic configured to perform operations to identify which of the viewer profiles associated with one or more of the set top boxes from the second input set consumed one or more content that is included in the first set.