Internet Multimedia Advertisement Insertion Architecture

Abstract

An architecture for inserting listener targeted advertisements into Internet retransmission of terrestrial radio broadcasts is provided. An Internet server provides aggregation of a plurality of radio broadcast programming for dissemination over the Internet to a plurality of listeners/users. Each Internet provided radio broadcast includes advertisements targeted for each individual listener/user based on a demographics profile. The demographics profile for each listener/user provides a basis for the targeted advertisements. A readily scaleable architecture is capable of supporting rapid growth in listeners/users. Scheduling data is used to predict and prestage advertising content. Timestamping of the radio broadcast aids in calculating where in the broadcast data sequence to pick up after an advertisement. Scalability is preferably achieved by a multiplexer in order to support large numbers of listener connections for streaming audio.

1 - 21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . A method for processing broadcast multimedia content and advertisements to provide a composite program data stream including multimedia data content and user targeted advertisements to multiple different users comprising the steps of:
 receiving broadcast multimedia program content from multiple sources;   scheduling a time of insertion of a designated advertisement into selected broadcast multimedia program content;   providing multiple users with individualized composite program datastreams by inserting said designated advertisement into a selected program multimedia program content at a scheduled insertion time to form a composite data stream that the designated advertisement is selected by using user preference information based on prior user program selection history.