System for modifying and targeting advertising content of internet radio broadcasts

Abstract

A radio station transmits its broadcast audio content, including audible advertisements, to listeners over the Internet via an Internet Hosting Service that provides listener access to radio station content. A computing system at the radio station digitizes the audio, and supplies marking information that identifies the beginning and duration of commercials. The digital marking information is supplied with the radio station's audio to the Internet Hosting Service. The Internet Hosting Service maintains a repository of replacement audio commercials along with information about the commercials including duration. Upon receiving the digital marker indicating the presence of a commercial, the Internet Hosting Service selects a replacement commercial of comparable duration from its repository. The Internet Hosting Service then substitutes the replacement commercial for the original broadcast commercial and produces an edited audio program for delivery to the listeners that carries advertising of higher value than the original advertising.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An interactive method for substituting replacement radio commercials in place of a plurality of broadcast radio commercial streams on an Internet radio program broadcast by a radio station to an Internet hosting service based on user preferences indicating demographic, and personal preferences, comprising the steps of:
 (a) generating a plurality of replacement radio commercial streams of various predetermined time lengths, whereby each replacement radio commercial has an associated time length; 
 (b) digitizing said replacement radio commercial streams and said associated time lengths; 
 (c) storing in an array said digitized replacement radio commercial streams and said associated time lengths, said array stored at an Internet service provider; 
 (d) maintaining user demographic information and user preferences; 
 (e) marking each of said broadcast radio commercial streams with a digital marker by said radio station, said digital marker indicating the start and duration time of said broadcast radio commercial within said Internet radio program; 
 (f) transmitting said marked Internet radio program stream to said Internet hosting service; 
 (g) receiving of said marked Internet radio program stream by said Internet hosting service; 
 (h) examining of said marked Internet radio program stream by said Internet hosting service; 
 (i) detecting a digital marker of a commercial on said received Internet broadcast program stream; 
 (j) reading the duration time, of said commercial, from said detected digital marker; 
 (k) comparing with a processor said read duration time with said associated time lengths stored in said array; 
 (l) selecting from said array a digitized replacement radio commercial having an associated time length equal to said read duration time to match said demographic information and said user preferences with said replacement commercial stream having an associated time length equal to said real duration time; 
 (m) substituting said selected digitized replacement radio commercial stream in place of said broadcast commercial stream; and 
 (n) repeating steps (h) through (l) until the end of said Internet radio program, 
 whereby the listener of said Internet radio program stream receives an edited program stream having one or more replacement radio commercial streams substituted in place of said broadcast radio commercial. 
 
     
     
       2. A method as recited in  claim 1  wherein said marking of broadcast radio commercial streams is performed by a radio station computer system, such as a broadcast automation system. 
     
     
       3. A method as recited in  claim 2  wherein the audio stream of the radio station is digitized into packets bearing sequential serial numbers, and said marking of broadcast commercial streams by marking the start time and duration of the commercial identifies the audio packet serial numbers constituting the beginning and duration of the audio commercial to be replaced. 
     
     
       4. A method as recited in  claim 1  wherein the Internet hosting service maintains commercial type information for targeting ads to consumers, and user demographic information, and matches said user demographics and personal preferences to said commercial type for selecting a commercial targeted to said user. 
     
     
       5. An interactive system for substituting broadcast commercial streams of an Internet radio program stream, with replacement commercial streams, comprising:
 (a) radio station means for marking said broadcast commercial streams of said Internet radio program with a mark, said mark indicating the start and time duration of said broadcast commercial stream; 
 (b) input server means for receiving said marked Internet radio program stream by an Internet hosting service; 
 (c) commercial storage means of said Internet hosting service for storing a plurality of digitized radio commercial streams and user preferences; 
 (d) central processor means for selecting one of said digitized radio commercials from said commercial storage means matching said user preferences; 
 (e) marker decoder means for decoding said mark, said mark being supplied to said central processor; 
 (f) comparison means to select a digitalized radio commercial stream in place of said broadcast commercial stream; 
 (g) central processor mixing means for generating an edited radio program stream by substituting said selected digitized radio commercial streams in place of said broadcast commercial stream; and 
 (h) output server means for transmitting said edited radio program stream to a user. 
 
     
     
       6. A system as recited by  claim 5  wherein said commercial storage means further stores commercial type. 
     
     
       7. A system as recited by  claim 5  further comprising user profile storage means for storing individual user ID and user demographics, whereby said central processor employs said user ID to match said user demographics and said user preferences to said commercial type for selecting a commercial targeted to said user. 
     
     
       8. A method for providing individually targeted radio commercials to a user listening to a radio program over the Internet comprising:
 (a) receiving in digitized form, using at least one processor, a plurality of replacement radio commercials of various time lengths;   (b) storing said replacement radio commercials and their respective associated time lengths in machine-readable storage associated with said at least one processor;   (c) obtaining, using said at least one processor, demographic information and preferences of the user;   (d) receiving in digitized form, using said at least one processor, a radio program stream from a radio station, said radio program stream having digital markers therein indicating the start and duration times of original radio commercials within said radio program stream;   (e) examining, using said at least one processor, said marked radio program stream;   (f) detecting, using said at least one processor, at least one of said digital markers in said radio program stream;   (g) reading, using said at least one processor, the duration time of said original radio commercial from said at least one detected digital marker;   (h) comparing, using said at least one processor, said read duration time with said stored associated time lengths;   (i) selecting, using said at least one processor, from said machine-readable storage, one of said digitized replacement radio commercials having the appropriate time length and characteristics targeted to said user demographics and preferences;   (j) substituting, using said at least one processor, said selected digitized replacement radio commercial in place of said original radio commercial in said radio program stream; and   (k) sending, using said at least one processor, said radio program stream containing said replacement radio commercials to the user, whereby each such user receives a radio program stream targeted to such user's individual demographics and preferences, said method being capable of sending to other users, having different demographics and preferences, radio program streams that differ in content from the radio program stream sent to said user.   
     
     
       9. A system for providing individually targeted radio commercials to a user listening to a radio program over the Internet, whereby each such user receives a radio program stream targeted to such user's individual demographics and preferences, said system being capable of sending to other users, having different demographics and preferences, radio program streams that differ in content from the radio program stream sent to said user, comprising:
 (a) at least one processor having at least one machine-readable storage device;   (b) program instructions stored in said at least one machine-readable storage device, said program instructions being adapted to cause said at least one processor to function as means for, respectively;
 (i) receiving in digitized form a plurality of replacement radio commercials of various time lengths; 
 (ii) storing said replacement radio commercials and their respective associated time lengths in said at least one machine-readable storage device; 
 (iii) obtaining demographic information and preferences of the user; 
 (iv) receiving, in digitized form, said radio program stream from a radio station, said radio program stream having digital markers therein indicating the start and duration times of original radio commercials within said radio program stream; 
 (v) examining said marked radio program stream; 
 (vi) detecting at least one of said digital markers in said radio program stream; 
 (vii) reading the duration time of said original radio commercial from said at least one detected digital marker; 
 (viii) comparing said read duration time with said stored associated time lengths; 
 (ix) selecting from said at least one machine-readable storage device one of said digitized replacement radio commercials having the appropriate time length and characteristics targeted to said user demographics and preferences; 
 (x) substituting said selected digitized replacement radio commercial in place of said original radio commercial in said radio program stream; and 
 (xi) sending said radio program stream containing said replacement radio commercials to the user. 
   
     
     
       10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a radio station processor, located in a radio station, said radio station processor adapted to insert in a digitized program stream digital markers indicating the start and duration times of original radio commercials therein, and to transmit said marked digitized radio program stream to said at least one processor of an Internet service provider that makes available said system of claim 9. 
     
     
       11. The system of claim 9, further comprising a user processor of the user, said user processor adapted to provide the user's demographics and preferences to one or more systems on the Internet and to request, on the user's demand, transmission from said system in accordance with claim 9 of a digitized radio program stream targeted to the demographics and preferences of the user. 
     
     
       12. The system of claim 10, wherein said radio station processor comprises a broadcast automation system. 
     
     
       13. The system of claim 10, wherein said radio station processor is adapted to associate ordered identifiers with packets comprising said digitized radio program stream, said identifiers corresponding to the beginning and ending packets of said original radio commercials. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 8, further comprising maintaining, using said at least one processor, commercial type information for said stored replacement radio commercials, and wherein said selecting step is performed by selecting a radio commercial of a commercial type based on the user's demographics and preferences. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing, using said at least one processor, user individual user ID and user demographics, whereby said at least one processor employs said user ID to match said user demographics and said user preferences to said commercial type for selecting a commercial targeted to said user. 
     
     
       16. A method for a radio programming originator to provide individually targeted radio commercials to a user listening to the originator's radio program over the Internet, comprising:
 (a) creating, using a radio station processor, a digitized radio program stream;   (b) marking, using the radio station processor, the radio program stream with digital markers indicating the start and duration time of original radio commercials within the radio program stream;   (c) engaging a service provider to deliver the radio stream to Internet users with individually targeted radio commercials therein, and transmitting, using the radio station processor, the marked radio program stream to the service provider, wherein said service provider undertakes to practice a distribution method comprising:
 (i) receiving in digitized form a plurality of replacement radio commercials of various time lengths; 
 (ii) storing said replacement radio commercials and their respective associated time lengths in machine-readable storage; 
 (iii) obtaining demographic information and preferences of the user; 
 (iv) receiving the originator's digitized radio program stream with said digital markers therein indicating the start and duration times of original radio commercials within the originator's radio program stream; 
 (v) examining said marked radio program stream; 
 (vi) detecting at least one of said digital markers in said radio program stream; 
 (vii) reading the duration time of said original radio commercial from said at least one detected digital marker; 
 (viii) comparing said read duration time with said stored associated time lengths; 
 (ix) selecting from said machine-readable storage, one of said digitized replacement radio commercials having the appropriate time length and characteristics targeted to said user demographics and preferences; 
 (x) substituting said selected digitized replacement radio commercial in place of said original radio commercial in said radio program stream; and 
 (xi) sending said radio program stream containing said replacement radio commercials to the user, whereby each such user receives a radio program stream targeted to such user's individual demographics and preferences, said method being capable of sending to other users, having different demographics and preferences, radio program streams that differ in content from the radio program stream sent to said user.