Storing and retrieving unused advertisements

A method, comprising:

• receiving a request for a first media content item from a user device;
• transmitting to the user device a first portion of a first content stream including a first portion of the first media content item;
• determining that a second portion of the first content stream is to include multiple advertisements;
• selecting one or more advertisements to include in the first portion of the first content stream from a database, wherein the database includes a set of advertisements that were previously removed from a further content stream item previously provided to a further user device and an indication that the set of advertisements were previously removed from the further content stream;
• inserting the one or more advertisements into the first portion of the first content stream;
• and
• transmitting the second portion of the first content stream to the user device, wherein the second portion includes the one or more advertisements.

A server, comprising:

• a communication interface configured to provide a first content stream to a user device;
• and
• a processor configured to perform operations, comprising:
• receiving a request for the first content stream from the user device;
• transmitting a first portion of the first content stream to the user device in response to the request;
• determining that a second portion of the first content stream is to include at least one advertisement;
• selecting from a database a first advertisement to be include in the second portion of the first content stream, wherein the database includes a set of advertisements that were previously removed from one or more further content streams;
• inserting the first advertisement into the second portion of the first content stream;
• and
• transmitting the second portion of the first content stream to the user device.