Systems and Methods for Collecting Media Broadcast Audience Participation Data

Abstract

Systems and methods for collecting viewership data of television and radio broadcast programs. The methods include receiving an AV signal of a broadcast program and supplementary content which contains a tag identifying the broadcast program. The supplementary content is combined with the AV signal to form a data-augmented signal which is subsequently modulated with a carrier signal to form a transmit signal for broadcasting to receivers. Each receiver includes a decoder for extracting the supplementary content and recording the tag identity and time the tag is received. The recorded information is subsequently output to an electronic device or sent directly to a viewership data collection entity.

1 . A monitoring method comprising:
 receiving a transmit signal at a receiver, the transmit signal containing a program and a supplementary content associating therewith;   demodulating the transmit signal to provide a data-augmented signal;   recovering the supplementary content from the data-augmented signal at substantially the same time the program is rendered at the receiver; and   keeping a record upon successfully recovering the supplementary content.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein recovering the supplementary content comprises outputting the data-augmented signal to a decoder where the supplementary content is extracted, the supplementary content having a data portion and a meta-data portion containing a tag identifying the program. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein keeping the record comprises recording the tag identity and time the tag is detected. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising sending the record to a data collection entity. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein sending the record comprises arranging the record in a pre-determined format prior to sending the same to the data collection entity. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein sending the record comprises automatically sending the record to the collection entity at a specified time. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein sending the record comprises sending the record to the collection entity in response to a request. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein sending the record comprises sending the record to an electronic device and thereafter to the data collection entity using a communication infrastructure of the electronic device. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8  further comprising providing the electronic device with an application for editing the record before sending the same to the data collection entity. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 combining the supplementary content with an AV signal of the program to provide the data-augmented signal, wherein the supplementary content is inserted into a non-program portion of the AV signal, the supplementary content having a data portion and a meta-data containing a tag identifying the program; and   modulating the data-augmented signal with a carrier signal to provide the transmit signal for broadcasting.   
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein combining the supplementary content comprises inserting the supplementary content into the non-program portion of the AV signal at a regular interval. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein combining the supplementary content comprises inserting different supplementary contents into non-program portions corresponding with different program segments, each of the supplementary contents having at least a different tag in the meta-data for identifying the different program segments. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein each supplementary content further includes information relating to the different program segments. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the AV signal comprises a television signal having a vertical or horizontal blanking interval for use as the non-program portion and the receiver comprises a television. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the AV signal comprises a digital audio broadcasting signal having a program associated data channel for use as the non-program portion and the receiver comprises a digital radio. 
   
   
       16 . A monitoring system comprising:
 a receiver for receiving a transmit signal and demodulating the same to provide a data-augmented signal, the transmit signal containing a program and a supplementary content relating thereto, the supplementary content including a data portion and a meta-data portion having at least a tag for identifying the program; and   a decoder coupled to the receiver for receiving the data-augmented signal and recovering the supplementary content therefrom, the decoder including a monitoring application for keeping a record upon successfully recovering the supplementary content.   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the record comprises the tag identity and the time the tag is detected. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising a communication means for sending the record to a data collection entity. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising an electronic device coupled to the decoder for receiving the record and sending the record to a data collection entity using communication means of the electronic device. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the electronic device is a printer and the communication means is a fax machine connected to a telephone line for sending the record printed out using the printer to the data collection entity. 
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the electronic device comprises one of a mobile phone, PC, and a PDA and the communication means comprises at least one of a cellular network, Internet connection, and a cable link. 
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the electronic device includes an editing application for editing the record before sending the same to the data collection entity. 
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising:
 an inserter for combining the supplementary content with an AV signal of the program to provide the data-augmented signal; and   a modulator for modulating the data-augmented signal with a carrier signal to provide the transmit signal for broadcasting.   
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 23  further comprising a content server for storing and providing the supplementary content to the inserter. 
   
   
       25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the content server comprises a synchronizing signal between the content sever and the inserter for coordinating the combining process.