MXPA00011217A - Interactive television program guide system for determining user values for demographic categories - Google Patents

Abstract

An interactive television program guide system for determining user input values for demographic categories is provided. The system includes user television equipment (44) having a receiver for receiving program guide information for the interactive television program guide, a user input receiver (62) for receiving user input from user interface, such as a remote control (54), a microprocessor which utilizes the user input received to determine user values for demographic categories, and memory for storing the user values determined. In one illustrative use of the system for targeting advertisements to a user of the interactive television program guide, the receiver also receives advertisements, where the advertisements have preselected values for specified demographic categories. The user television equipment, preferably using microprocessor, compares the preselected values for the specified demographic categories associated with the advertisements with values of corresponding demographic categories stored in memory to determine which advertisements should be displayed. Those advertisements determined to be displayable based upon the comparison are then displayed.

Description

INTERACTIVE TELEVISION PROGRAMMING GUIDE SYSTEM TO DETERMINE USER VALUES FOR DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to interactive television programming guides, and more particularly to an interactive television programming guide system for determining user values for demographic categories, so that the determined values can be used for specific uses, such as for directing advertisements. Cable, satellite and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. (Hendicks et al., U.S. Patent 5,559.5 9 provides an analysis of the various emissions that are related to the increased programming capability of television program delivery systems.) Traditionally, the viewers have consulted printed television programming calendars to determine the programs that are being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television programming guides have been developed that allow information about the TV shows will be shown on a television viewer's television. The interactive programming guides are typically implemented in boxes that are placed on the television (set-top boxes). Such programming guides allow users to view the advertisements with data of the programs in different formats of visual presentation. For example, a user may instruct the programming guide to display an announcement grid with program data organized in the form of a list sorted by channel or ordered by schedules. Users can also search and categorize program listings by topic (for example, movies, sports, etc.) or by title (ie alphabetically). A user can obtain additional information about a program by placing a highlight region on the advertisement of a desired program and pressing an "info" button.The user can buy a paid program from the programming guide by placing the highlighting region on the advertisement of a program and pressing an "OK" button.Some systems allow the user to select a program to record by placing the highlighting region on the advertisement of a program and pressing a "record" button.The user's interactions with the programming guide are indicative of the interests of the user.

For example, if the user buys a paid movie (which you have to pay to see), making that purchase shows that the user is interested in movies of that type. The search for ads for programs in the "sports" category indicates that the user is interested in sports. Although the user's interactions with the programming guide indicate the interests of the user, previously known programming guide systems did not monitor or use this information. In the patent application No. 09 / 034,939, jointly assigned and also pending, filed on March 4, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, a programming guide system is described to determine the interests of a user monitoring the user's interactions with the programming guide. The application? 939 also describes the use of the user's interests to present advertisements or execute actions in the programming guide. It would be convenient to be able to provide a systematic criterion to categorize information about the user into demographic categories that could then be used for specific purposes, such as to direct advertisements or execute certain actions in the programming guide. As used throughout the present application, "demographic categories" means categories of information about the user, such as income, age, hobbies, etc., which serve as a basis for identification and selection. The advantages that would be offered by such systematic criteria include greater effectiveness and lower cost to achieve a specified purpose. For example, to direct advertisements, the use of demographic categories means more effectively directing advertisements and consequently lower costs. Advertisers could select demographic categories to ensure that advertisements are directed only to those users who would be most likely interested in the products or services that these advertisers offer. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a programming guide system that categorizes, in demographic categories, the information obtained from the interaction of a user with the programming guide. Another object of the invention is to determine user values for the demographic categories. Still another object of the invention is to provide an interactive television programming guidance system that determines user values for the demographic categories, so that advertisers can select specific demographic categories from importance, to ensure that the products or services they offer are targeted to those users who are most likely to be interested in buying the products or services SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This and other objects of the invention are achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention by means of an interactive television programming guide system for determining data values entered by users, for demographic categories. The system includes the television equipment of the user who has a receiver to receive information from the programming guide referred to the interactive television programming guide, a receiver of inputs (data entry) by the user to receive entries made by the user from the user interface, such as a remote control, a microprocessor that uses the received data input, made by the user, to determine the user values for demographic categories, and memory to store the determined user values In an illustrative use of the system to direct advertisements to a user of the programming guide interactive television, the receiver receives also advertisements, where the advertisements have pre-selected values for specified demographic categories. The user's television equipment, which preferably uses a microprocessor, compares the preselected values for the specified demographic categories associated with the advertisements, with values of the corresponding demographic categories stored in the memory, to determine which advertisements should be displayed. Those advertisements that are determined to be displayed, based on the comparison, are then displayed. Other features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a diagram of an illustrative system for directing advertisements to a user of an interactive television programming guide in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 is a list of ten demographic and emplificatory categories and their values, as well as preselected values for two advertisements received by the television equipment of the user of Figure 1, in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 is a table showing four inputs and emplificativas effected by the user, and their predetermined weighted values to be used by the television equipment of the user of Figure 1, to determine values for demographic categories, in accordance with the present invention . Figure 4 is a table showing demographic and emplificatory categories and a preselected value and weighting factor for each of the channels to be used by the television equipment of the user of Figure 1, to determine values of demographic categories, in accordance with with the present invention. Figure 5 is a flow diagram showing the intervening steps in the display of advertisements based on the demographic information, in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An illustrative programming guide system 30 is shown in Figure 1 for use in directing advertisements to specified users in accordance with the present invention. Although it is illustratively shown that the specific purpose for which the demographic information of the user is going to be used to direct advertisements, it will be evident to someone who is knowledgeable in the art that the demographic information of the user can also be used for other specific purposes. A main installation 32 includes a database of the programming guide, 34, to store information of the programming guide such as data of the billboards of the television programming guide, information on orders of paid programs, promotional information on television programs, etc. The main installation 32 also includes an advertising database, 36, for storing advertising information. The information of the databases 34 and 36 can be transmitted to a television distribution facility, 38, through the communication link 40. There are typically numerous television distribution facilities 38 to which information is transmitted in parallel from the main installation 32, although in Figure 1 only one such television distribution facility 38 is shown to avoid complicating the drawings too much. The link 40 can be a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or any other means of communication. adequate communication. If it is desired to transmit on the link 40 video signals (for example, for advertising and promotional videos), in addition to the data signals, a relatively high bandwidth link such as a satellite link is generally preferred, rather than a Link bandwidth relatively ba or such as a telephone link. The television distribution facility 38 is an installation for distributing television signals to users, such as a cable system terminal, a broadcast television distribution facility, or a satellite television distribution facility. The information of the programming guide transmitted by the main installation 32 to the television distribution facility 38 includes data of the announcements of the television programs such as schedules of programs, their channels, titles, descriptions, etc. The transmitted program information also includes data from paid programs such as price information for individual programs and channels with subscription, time windows to request programs and channels, telephone numbers for ordering that can not be made by pulses, etc. The advertising information transmitted by the main facility 32 to the television distribution facility 38 includes advertisements with text, graphics, video and / or other forms (eg audio) for various products and services. As will be described in more detail below, the advertising information may also include preselected values for demographic categories associated with each advertisement. If desired, some information on programming and advertising guides can be supplied using data sources located in facilities other than the main facility 32. For example, the data relating to the processing of orders of paid programs (for example billing data and the like ) can be generated by an order processing and billing system that is separate from the main facility 32 and separate from the television distribution facility 38. Similarly, the advertising information can be generated by an advertising facility that is separate from the main installation 32 and the television distribution facility 38. Regardless of its source, the advertising information may be maintained on a server 42 within the television distribution facility 38, if desired. The server 42 may be able to handle text, graphics and video.

The television distribution facility 38 distributes advertising information and the programming guide to the television set 44 of multiple users, through the communication channels 46. The user's television equipment may include a box that is placed on the television. TV or can be an advanced television receiver or a television with personal computer (PC / TV), if desired. Each communication path 46 may be a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link, a combination of such links, or any other suitable means of communication. The data of the programming guide can be distributed by an out-of-band channel in the communication path 46, in a digital band channel, or any other suitable technique. The advertising information can be distributed using any of a number of suitable techniques. For example, advertisements with text and graphics can be distributed over an out-of-band channel using an out-of-band modulator. Video advertisements can also be distributed in this way, although large amounts of video information can be distributed more efficiently using one or more digital channels on communication channel 46. Such digital channels can also be used to distribute text and graphics. Each user has a receiver unit, which typically consists of a box that is placed on the television, 48, but which can be another suitable television equipment in which the functionality of the box that is placed on the television has been integrated, as will be described here. The data of the programming guide are periodically distributed to the boxes that are placed on the television, 48. The television distribution installation 38 can also periodically interrogate the boxes that are placed on the television, 48, to request certain information ( for example information about the paid programs account or information regarding programs that have been purchased and viewed using locally generated authoritative techniques). Each box that is placed on the television, 48, is typically connected to an optional VCR 50, so that the selected television programs can be recorded. The video recorder 50 is connected to a television 52. To record a program, the box that is placed on the television, 48, tunes to a particular channel and sends control signals to the VCR 50 (for example, using an infrared transmitter) that tell the VCR 50 to start and stop the recording at the appropriate times. An interactive television programming guide is implemented in the user's television equipment 44 (for example, in the box that is placed on the television, 48). During the use of the interactive television programming guide, implemented in the box that is placed on the television, 48, the advertisements with data of the television programs can be displayed on the television 52. Each box that is placed on the television, 48, VCR 50, and TV 52, can be controlled by one or more remote controls 54 or other suitable interface for data entry by the user, such as a wireless keyboard, mouse (mouse), trackball , specialized keypad, etc. The box that is placed on the television, 48, includes a microprocessor 60, a receiver of inputs made by the user, 62, and the memory 64. Other components of the box that is placed on the television, which are necessary to implement a programming guide, are not specifically described herein, since they do not form part of the present invention. The receiver of inputs made by the user, 62, receives the input made by the user from the remote control 54 or other interfaces for entry of data by the user. For example, if the entry performed by the user ^ will be transmitted by an infrared remote control signal, then the user input receiver would be a receiver of infrared signals. As will be described in more detail below, the microprocessor 60 uses the input signals made by the user, received by the receiver 62 of data revenue by the user, to calculate values for different demographic categories.

The microprocessor 60 also compares the values of the demographic categories corresponding to the user, stored in the memory 64, with the preselected values associated with each advertisement received by the channel that is placed on the television, 48, to determine whether the advertisement it will be displayed on the television 52. The memory 64, which is preferably a non-volatile memory, stores values of the user's demographic categories. The memory 64 may also store information necessary to calculate the values of the user's demographic categories. For example, memory 64 may store information such as the likelihood that a viewer watching the ESPN channel will be a sports fan. Such information can also be stored in another memory electrically connected to the microprocessor 60. Figure 2 is a list of samples of the demographic categories and the values of the user's demographic categories, stored in the memory 64 Figure 2 also shows the preselected values for two advertisements received by the channel that is placed on the television, 48. Under the heading of demographic categories, ten exemplary predefined demographic categories are shown. These categories are: (1) sports fan, (2) science fiction fan, (3) father, (4) dog lover, (5) cat lover, (6) annual income greater than 20,000 US $, (7) annual income greater than US $ 30,000, (8) annual income greater than US $ 50,000, (9) women in an age range of 20-35, and (10) man in a range of age of 18-40. The value of each of the demographic categories is 0 to 1. Zero indicates that the user does not fit the demographic category (or the probability that the user fits the category is zero). One indicates that the user fully fits the demographic category (or the probability that the user fits the category is one). Any value between 0 and 1 indicates that the user is partially adjusted to the demographic category, and a higher number indicates a corresponding better assimilation. The selection of this range is not significant, and any other range (e.g., 1-10) or representation of demographic information (e.g., codes, labels, characters or the like), to carry out the objects of the present invention. The determination of the values for the demographic categories will be discounted later. For the exemplary user of Figure 2, the values of the demographic categories indicate that the user is a man in the age group of 18-40, his annual income is greater than 20,000 US $ but not more than 30,000 US $ , is an absolute fan of sports, and is more fond of cats (value 0.7) than lover of dogs (value 0.5). Advertisement # 1, which for purposes of illustration only will be assumed to be for a sport utility vehicle, has preselected values of at least 0.5 for the sports fan demographic category, and 1 for the demographic category of income greater than US $ 30,000. Note that Figure 2 is not necessarily indicative of what a real advertiser of SUVs would select in terms of values or even of demographic categories, but is adequate for the purposes of illustration. The pre-selected value of 0.5 for the sports fan category means that the advertiser wants to direct the # 1 ad to someone who is at least Moderately interested in sports. In addition, the advertiser wants to address someone who earns at least $ 30,000 per year. Since the user of the example of Figure 2 does not fit into the revenue category, advertisement # 1 would not be displayed on the user's television 52. Ad # 2, which for illustrative purposes only will be assumed to be beer, has preselected values of at least 0.7 for the sports fan demographic category, and 1 for the demographic category man of the age group of 16-40. The pre-selected value of 0.7 for the sports fan category means that the advertiser wants to direct the # 2 bill to someone who has at least a fairly significant interest in sports. In addition, the advertiser wants to address someone who is a man in the age group of 18-40. Since the user of Figure 2 fits both categories, as shown by the values, the advertisement # 2 would be displayed on the user's television 52. The value for each demographic category reflects the characteristics of the user. There are many different ways to calculate or determine values for such demographic categories. If desired, it can be used any suitable technique to generate information that represents the demographic characteristics of the user. For example, demographic information about users can be gathered using surveys (online, telephone, at home, by mail, based on the programming guide, etc.), or other type of market research. The following describes a suitable technique to calculate or determine the values for the demographic categories, based on the entries made by the user in the programming guide. The inputs (data entry) received by the user's input receiver, 62, have predetermined weighted values (WV) associated therewith. Figure 3 shows four such exemplary entries of the user, with their corresponding weighted values (the selection of the range of values 0-1 for the weighted values is not significant in and of itself): record a program, with weighted value of 1.0; set a reminder, with a weighted value of 0.5; tune in a program and watch for at least five minutes, with a weighted value of 0.5; and retrieve information about a program, with a weighted value of 0.25. The weighted values are indicative of the effect that the corresponding entries made by the user have on the values of the demographic categories.

The greater the vaaifjr of a user's input, the higher are the values of the demographic categories associated with such entry made by the user. Therefore, according to the example in Figure 3, a user who records a program will have higher values for the relevant demographic categories, than those who will have retrieving information about the same program. This is because the act of recording a program usually indicates a higher level of interest in the program, rather than just retrieving information about the program. Each channel and program that have to do with at least one of the demographic categories, can have a preselected value (PV) for each demographic category associated with said channel or program. This preselected value is indicative of the indication of the channel or program about how a user fits into the demographic category. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the ESPN channel may have a preselected value of 0.95 (from the range of 0-1 values) associated with the sports fan demographic category, since there is a probability very strong that an ESPN viewer is a sports fan. However, the ESPN channel may have a preselected value of 0.5 associated with the demographic category of cat lovers, since there is probably no relationship strong between both. The preselected values can be determined from research, surveys, polling, or any other reliable means. Again, it should be noted that the selection of the range of values 0-1 for the preselected values is not significant in and of itself. There is preferably a predetermined value assigned for each demographic category. For example, the demographic category of sports fans can have a default value of 0.5. The default value can represent the value for a "typical" user, and is used to calculate the value of the demographic category for the user, as will be discussed later. Each demographic category can have a period (P), which is the minimum number of necessary entries that the user must make so that the value of the demographic category is considered significant and representative of the user. For example, the demographic category of sports fans can have a period of five. Each channel or program that has a preselected value for an associated demographic category, can have a predetermined weighting factor (WF). For example, the ESPN channel may have a factor of weighting of 2 for the demographic category of sports fans, as shown in Figure 4. The weighting factor represents the importance of the channel or program, with respect to the period of the demographic category. For each entry (data entry) made by the user, which implies a relevant channel or program, the value for a demographic category is: F (|) = (WV * WF * PV) + ((P - (WV + WF )) * Vd (? - \)) Vd (? - 1) is the previous value for the demographic category, and i represents the number of entries made by the user. Where? = L (that is, the first entry made by the user that involves a relevant channel or program associated with the demographic category), the V (? -1) previously used is the default value for the demographic category. It should be noted that to determine values for the demographic categories, in accordance with the present invention, any equation or function that appropriately reflects the interests of the user can be used, based on the entries made by the user in the system. As an example, we describe the determination of the value for the demographic category of fans of sports, with three entries made by the user. Suppose that the three entries made by the user are the following: (1) retrieve information about a sporting event on ESPN; (2) tune in and watch ESPN for at least five minutes; and (3) record an ESPN sporting event. Using the values established in the examples given above and in Figure 3, after the three entries made by the user referred to ESPN, the value of the demographic category of sports fans is 0.7556, which indicates that the user He is very fond of sports. However, since there have only been three entries made by the user that have been received, and the predefined period for the demographic category of sports fans is five, the calculated value may not be significant enough for the purpose of directing advertisements (note that the calculated value can still be used, if desired). If the calculated value is not going to be used for this reason, then the default value can be used instead. It is preferable to direct advertisements to users based on current information about the user. Accordingly, the present invention provides a damping function to "update" the values of the demographic categories of the user periodically, such as every seven days, or based on a specific number of entries by the user. As an example, suppose that the value for the demographic category of sports fans stored in memory 64 is 0.8, and that the buffer function updates the value for the demographic category of sports fans every seven days, during which has not received any entry action. If seven days have passed since the user's last entry was received, related to the demographic category of sports fans, the buffer function will update the value for the sports fan demographic category, to a predetermined value, such as the default value for the demographic category. The damping function can also use the formula of Vd (?) Given above, with different values / parameters. Note that it is preferable that the microprocessor 60 executes the damping function. Figure 2 shows what can be called the threshold criteria for directing advertisements to users. That is, if the value or preselected values of a demographic category for an advertisement, is satisfied by the value of the category Z4 f demographic of the user, then the advertisement is displayed to the user by the programming guide. Another criterion for directing advertisements to users can be called the criterion of best fit or closest proximity. In this criterion, the "proximity" of the preselected values of the demographic categories for an advertisement is determined from the values of the user's demographic categories. This proximity can be determined, for example, by calculating the absolute difference between the preselected value and the user value for each demographic category, and then adding all the absolute differences. The quadratic mean can also be used. The criterion of the best adjustment is particularly useful when you want to select the advertisement (s) to be displayed, based on many advertisements transmitted to the box that is placed on top of the user's television. It should be noted that the values of the demographic categories can be based on information about the user, coming from an external source. For example, if the user's annual income is determined from information available for public use, or from a form filled out by the user, then this information can be transmitted to the box that is placed on the television, and stored in the memory.

In the illustrative programming guide system, 30, of Figure 1, the channel that is placed on the television, 48, calculates values for the demographic categories, stores the calculated values and other information necessary to calculate the values, and compares the values of the relevant demographic categories of the user with the preselected values associated with each advertisement, to determine if the advertisement is going to be displayed. The programming guide system of the present invention can be modified in an obvious manner for those skilled in the art who read the present description, in such a way that any of these operations executed in the box that is placed on the television can be executed in the television distribution facility, 38, or in the main facility 32, or elsewhere (which is not shown in Figure 1). Figure 5 shows the steps involved in the display of advertisements based on demographic information. In step 66, the demographic category information for the user is determined using an appropriate technique such as a survey, or monitoring the user's actions with the programming guide, and calculating the demographic category information based on the user's actions Y to the preselected information stored in the memory. In step 68, the demographic category information that is representative of the user's demographic profile is stored in the user's television set 44. In step 70, the advertisements with associated demographic category information (representative of the audiences a which advertisers wish to direct advertisements), are distributed to the user's television equipment (for example, by transmission from the main facility 32 and distribution through the television distribution facility 38). In step 72, the programming guide determines which advertisements will be displayed to the user, comparing the demographic category information associated with the advertisement, with the demographic category information of the user. The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention, and various modifications may be introduced by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Claims (18)

1. CLAIMS 1 A system for directing advertisements to a user of an interactive television programming guide, characterized by comprising a main facility that has a database of advertising notices for the interactive television programming guide, the advertisements are associated with a plurality of demographic categories, where each advertisement is assigned preselected values for the demographic categories associated with that advertisement, and a user's television team, in which the interactive television programming guide is implemented, where the The user's television is configured to receive the advertisements and their associated pre-selected values from the main installation, use the user input for the interactive television programming guide to determine the user values for the plurality of demographic categories, store the values of the user and compare the preselected values for the demographic categories associated with the advertisements with the stored user values of the corresponding demographic categories to determine which advertisements should be shown in the programming guide interactive television The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment comprises a memory in which user values are stored 3.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment comprises a remote control with which the user transmits the user input for the interactive television programming guide to the user's television equipment.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment comprises a microprocessor for determining the user values of the user input and for comparing the preselected values with the user values.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment is further configured to utilize preselected demographic category data associated with each channel and television program that have a presence on at least one of the plurality of demographic categories for determine user values.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein each user input that is received by the user's television equipment has a corresponding weighted value that is used to determine the values of user.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment is further configured to use default values associated with the demographic categories when determining user values.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein each demographic category is associated with a period, wherein the period is a minimum number of necessary user entries before the user value determined by the user's television equipment for that period.
8. Demographic category is judged as significant and reflective of the user.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the user's television equipment is further configured to periodically refresh the user values for the demographic categories to a predetermined refresh value.
10. 10. A method for directing advertisements to a user of an interactive television programming guide, characterized by: receiving advertisements for the interactive television programming guide with the user's television equipment in which the interactive television programming guide is implemented , advertisements are associated with a plurality of categories demographic, where each ad is assigned preselected values for the demographic categories associated with that ad; receive user input for the interactive television programming guide; determining user values for the plurality of demographic categories using the user input for the interactive television programming guide; store user values; and compare the preselected values for the demographic categories associated with the advertisements, with the stored user values of the corresponding demographic categories, to select the advertisements that will be displayed in the interactive television programming guide. The method of claim 10, wherein storing user values comprises storing user values in a memory in the user's television equipment. The method of claim 10, further characterized by: using a remote control to transmit the user input for the interactive television programming guide to the user's television equipment. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining the user values comprises using a microprocessor on the user's television equipment to determine the user values using the user input and to compare the preselected values with the user values. The method of claim 10, wherein the determination of user values comprises using preselected demographic category data associated with each television channel and program having a presence on at least one of the plurality of demographic categories. The method of claim 10, wherein the determination of the user values comprises using weighted values corresponding to the user inputs. The method of claim 10, wherein the determination of the user values comprises using default values associated with the demographic categories. The method of claim 10, wherein the determination of user values comprises using a period associated with each of the demographic categories, wherein the period is indicative of a minimum number of necessary user entries before the user value is judged to be significant and reflective of the user. The method of claim 10, further characterized by: periodically refreshing the user values for the demographic categories to a predetermined refresh value. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An interactive television programming guide system is provided to determine values of data entered by users, for demographic categories. The system includes the user's television equipment that has a receiver to receive information from the programming guide referred to the interactive television programming guide; a receiver of entries (data entry) made by the users, to receive the entries made by the user from the user's interface, such as a remote control; a microprocessor that uses the received data input, made by the user, to determine the user values for demographic categories, and memory to store the determined user values. In an illustrative use of the system to direct advertisements to a user of the interactive television programming guide, the receiver also receives advertisements, where the advertisements have pre-selected values for specified demographic categories. The user's television equipment, which preferably uses a microprocessor, compares the preselected values for the specified demographic categories associated with the advertisements, with values of the corresponding demographic categories stored in the memory, for determine which advertisements should be displayed. Those advertisements that are determined to be displayed, based on the comparison, are then displayed.