Generation of data concerning reception of media content at a communication device

A method of providing data associated with reception of media content, the method comprising:

• receiving media content from a media content receiver, via a content place-shifting device over a communication network, at a communication device;
• outputting the received media content to a user of the communication device;
• generating data based on the received media content in the communication device, wherein the data comprises information identifying a channel selected by the user over which the media content receiver receives the media content, wherein the data comprises information identifying a time period during which the communication device receives the media content, and wherein the data is associated with a user identifier;
• and
• transferring the data to a communication node;
• receiving a plurality of data sets at the communication node from a plurality of communication devices, wherein the plurality of communication devices comprises the first communication device, and wherein at least one of the data sets comprises the data transferred from the first communication device;
• and
• processing the plurality of data sets to generate second data describing consumption of the media content across a plurality of users.

A communication device, comprising:

• a communication interface configured to transfer a user selection of a channel over a communication network to a media content receiver, and to receive media content from the media content receiver via a content place-shifting device over the communication network, wherein the media content receiver is to receive the media content over the selected channel;
• a user interface configured to receive the user selection of the channel, and to present the received media content to the user;
• and
• control circuitry configured to generate data based on the received media content, the data comprising information identifying the selected channel, and information identifying a time period during which the communication device receives the media content via the communication interface, wherein the information is associated with a user identifier, and
• wherein the control circuitry is configured to transfer the data to a communication node.

A communication node, comprising:

• a communication interface configured to receive data regarding media content consumed by a communication device, wherein the data comprises information identifying a channel selected by a user of the communication device, wherein the communication device received the media content from a media content receiver via a content place-shifting device over a communication network, wherein the data comprises information identifying a time period during which the communication device received the media content from the media content receiver, and wherein the data is associated with a user identifier;
• data storage configured to store the data;
• and
• control circuitry configured to:
• receive a request for second information regarding the data;
• process the data in response to the request to yield the second information;
• and
• transfer the requested second information.