US 8,819,718 B2 · Methods and apparatus for monitoring and/or collecting viewership statistics

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for collecting program viewership information are described. A viewership monitoring module is provided access to decrypted program content allowing program information to be recovered without having to capture output program content using a microphone or camera. The monitoring module is loaded onto a secure device, e.g., a home network device, such as a router used to deliver content to a secure playback device. Alternatively the secure device which performs the monitoring maybe the secure playback device. Since a user of the secure device or a company implementing the viewership monitoring process loads the monitoring module onto the secure device, the network used to deliver the secure content need not be informed of which network customers are contributing to the viewership information which is being collected.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of collecting presentation information, comprising:

receiving, at a secure device, encrypted program content including audio or video information identifying the program content;
operating the secure device to decrypt the encrypted program content to produce decrypted digital program content;
operating the secure device to process the decrypted digital program content to recover the information identifying the program content;
receiving default viewer information corresponding to a playback device prior to the playback device outputting the program content;
and
generating viewership statistics from the recovered information identifying the program content, said step of generating viewership information including:
including in said generated viewership information a default number of viewers corresponding to the playback device in the absence of a user providing viewership information corresponding to said program content.

4 more elements

A secure device, comprising:

an interface including a receiver to receive encrypted program content including audio or video information identifying the program content;
a decryption module to decrypt the encrypted program content to produce decrypted digital program content;
a processing module to process the decrypted digital program content to recover the information identifying the program content;
wherein said receiver receives default viewer information corresponding to a playback device prior to said playback device outputting said program content;
and
a viewership monitoring module to generate viewership statistics from the recovered information identifying the program content, said viewership monitoring module to include in said generated viewership information a default number of viewers corresponding to the playback device in the absence of a user providing viewership information corresponding to said program content.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Methods and apparatus for monitoring and/or collecting viewership statistics

Life of this patent

Methods and apparatus for monitoring and/or collecting viewership statistics

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20