Method and system for Internet video and rich media behavioral measurement

Abstract

This disclosure describes methods and systems to quantify and understand the behavior and consumption patterns of audiences with respect to Internet video and rich media applications. In operation, an end user video player or a rich media application (such as an interactive advertisement built with Flash or other method) is instrumented to capture data. The data is collected by a service provider and made available for viewing by customers of a video experience and rich media behavior measurement service.

Having described our invention, what we now claim is set forth below. 
     
         1 . A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable medium to measure end user viewing experience with respect to an Internet Protocol (IP)-delivered video, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions executed in one or more hardware processors, the computer program instructions comprising:
 program code operative to receive and store data generated as a result of end users each viewing and interacting with the video using a video player that receives and renders the video, wherein the data represents interaction events that are tracked at the video player, the interaction events representing end user interactivity with the video other than viewing of the video, the end user interactivity being one of: scrubbing, stopping, pausing, re-watching and abandoning, and wherein at least first and second end users view and interact with the video asynchronously from one another;   program code operative to generate interaction data that associates the interaction events with a timeline of the video; and   program code operative to use at least some of the interaction data to display, in at least one network-accessible content element, a visualization of end user viewer engagement with the video.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the program code displays the interaction data with respect to a given segment of the video. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization represents a total number of views. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization represents a cumulative time all viewers spend viewing the video. 
     
     
         5 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization represents how often viewers watch the video to its end. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization identifies a portion of the video that has a higher popularity as compared to other portions of the video. 
     
     
         7 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization identifies a portion of the video that has a lower popularity as compared to other portions of the video. 
     
     
         8 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization identifies a proportion of end users that initiate playback that is continued uninterrupted to a location in the timeline. 
     
     
         9 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization identifies a proportion of end users that abandon uninterrupted playback of the video at a location in the timeline. 
     
     
         10 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the viewer engagement is a function of one of: (i) a captive viewing time, and (ii) a combination of captive viewing time and an intensity of an interaction with the video. 
     
     
         11 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization illustrates a spread metric. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization illustrates a velocity metric that represents a measure of spread over a unit time. 
     
     
         13 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization illustrates a momentum metric that quantifies a velocity at which the video is gaining or losing consumption. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the visualization illustrates an impact metric that quantifies a rate of change in momentum over time of video consumption. 
     
     
         15 . The computer program product as described in  claim 1  wherein the content element is a web page.