AU2002315021A1

AU2002315021A1 - Method of prompting audience members in an audience identification system

Info

Publication number: AU2002315021A1
Application number: AU2002315021A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Paul Donato
Original assignee: Nielsen Media Research LLC
Current assignee: TNC US Holdings Inc
Priority date: 2001-06-18
Filing date: 2002-06-14
Publication date: 2003-01-02

Description

_ME_THOD OF PROMPTING AUDIENCE MEMBERS IN AN AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the prompting of audience members to

identify themselves when they are in a receiving area associated with a receiver whose use

is being metered.

Background of the Invention

It is customary in the field of audience research to employ a measurement

apparatus with each program receiver within each of a plurality of statistically selected locations in order to determine tuning data. Program receivers include television receivers,

radio receivers, computers, and/or other devices capable of being tuned to programs that are distributed over the air, over cable systems, by way of satellites, etc. Tuning data, for example, includes the identity of the channel or station to which the program receiver is

tuned and/or the identity of the program to which the program receiver is tuned. It is further customary to provide a manual input 20 device that can be used by those

audience members who are actually in an audience of a receiver to indicate their identities

to the measurement apparatus. This manual input is frequently provided in the form of a

Peoplemeter® which not only allows each audience member to manually enter a

corresponding audience member identification but also provides a visual status indicator

for showing which of the audience members have indicated that they are currently in the

receiver's audience. For example, this visual status indicator may comprise a plurality of

selectively illuminated light emitting diodes disposed on a box placed adjacent to a receiver and within the field of view of the audience members. The manual input device alternatively may be a battery-powered remote

control or other remote device that includes a keypad and an infra-red pulse transmitter

which permit an audience member to manually enter the member's identity and to transmit that identity by way of infra-red pulses to the measurement apparatus or other data

collector. The measurement apparatus or other data collector also provides a visual status indication as discussed above. An exemplary remote control of this type is disclosed by

Kiewit in U.S. Patent No. 4,876,736. Still other alternative devices which collect manually

entered audience member identification data and which use the receiver to indicate the

currently recorded audience status are known. The tuning data from the measurement apparatus and the audience member

identities from the manual input device are commonly time stamped with the times of each tuning event and/or of each change in audience composition. The time stamped tuning and

audience member records are then stored in a store and forward unit within the statistically selected location for subsequent forwarding to a data collection central office, such as on a

daily or other basis.

Because audience members forget from time to time to enter their identities, it is known to prompt the audience members to manually enter their identities.

However, it is well known in audience measurement that systems relying on prompting

signals sent to cooperating audience members must be concerned about the frequency of

those prompting signals. If a cooperating individual perceives the prompting signals as

being so frequent as to be annoying, he or she may stop cooperating. On the other hand, if

the prompting is too infrequent, the cooperating individual may forget to enter data at

appropriate times. McKenna et al., in U.S. Patent No. 4,816,904, discloses an arrangement in

which a prompting message is displayed on a television screen overlaid on viewer selected

programming by mixing the prompting message with the video signal being sent to the

display. However, McKenna et al. do not teach how to effectively regulate the prompting

frequency .

Therefore, the present invention is directed to the use of tuning and/or

audience response data in an 10 adaptive prompting algorithm to select the frequency with

which prompting occurs. Summary of the Invention In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method of

prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an audience meter comprises the following: determining a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver; prompting the audience member to enter the

audience member identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver is less than a threshold; and, suppressing prompting of the

audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method of

prompting an audience member to enter 15 an audience member identification into an

audience meter comprises the following: determining a variable as a function of a number

of times that the audience member was in an audience of a receiver and a number of times

that the receiver was turned on; prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification if the variable is not greater than a threshold; and, suppressing

prompting of the audience member if the variable is greater than the threshold.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of

prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an

audience meter comprises the following: prompting the audience member to enter the

audience member identification at intermittent prompting occasions; at each prompting occasion, determining a likelihood based upon past audience composition and tuning

habits that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the determination made at a corresponding

prompting occasion indicates that it is likely that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, a method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an

audience meter comprises the following: applying a heuristic to determine whether the

audience member is in an audience of a receiver; counting the audience members in the

audience of the receiver to produce a count; prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification if the heuristic indicates that the audience member is not

in the audience of the receiver and if the count is not equal a number of logged in audience

members; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the heuristic indicates

that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver and if the count is equal the

number of logged in audience members.

In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an audience meter comprises the following: determining a probability that the audience

member is in an audience of a receiver based upon both tuning history and tuning style;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification 15 if the

probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver is less than a

threshold; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater than the threshold.

In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a method

of prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an

that the receiver was turned on; determining a probability that the audience member is in

an audience of a receiver based upon tuning style; prompting the audience member to

enter the audience member identification if the variable is not greater than a first threshold

and if the probability is not greater than a second threshold; and, suppressing prompting of

the audience member if the variable is greater than the threshold and if the probability is

greater than a second threshold.

Brief Description of the Drawings

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will

become more apparent from a detailed consideration of the invention when taken in

conjunction with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an audience measurement system in

accordance with an exemplary 20 embodiment the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an audience measurement apparatus of

the audience measurement system shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a data storage I 5 and forwarding unit of

the audience measurement system shown in Figure 1 ;

Figures 4A and 4B form a flow chart of a prompting program that may be

used in connection with the audience measurement system of Figure 1 ; and,

Figures 5 - 8 are tables of exemplary data useful in the explanation of the

operation of the audience measurement system of Figure 1.

Detailed Description of the Invention

As shown in Figure 1 , an audience measurement system 10 is provided at a

statistically selected location 12 in which known audience members are present. The

statistically selected location 12, for example, may be a household. The audience

measurement system 10 includes a portable remote control device 14 which controls a

receiver 16. The receiver 16, for example, may be a television receiver as shown in Figure

1 , although the receiver 16 could instead be a radio, a computer, or any other receiver that

is capable of being tuned to programs distributed over the air, over cable, by way of

satellite, or by way of other communication methodology to the statistically selected

location 12.

The portable remote control device 14 may have a user interface such as a

keypad which includes buttons to allow an audience member to enter channel numbers, to

change channels up and down, to increase and decrease volume, to mute the receiver 16,

and to turn the receiver 16 on and off. Thus, the portable remote control device 14 can be used from a remote position 18 in order to change the channel, volume level, and so on of the receiver 16.

The keypad of the portable remote control device may also permit audience

members to identify themselves when they are in the audience of the receiver 16. The

names and appropriate demographic information of each of the audience members may be

associated with a corresponding one of the buttons of the keypad and may be suitably

stored in an appropriate memory. Accordingly, when an audience member presses a button

for identification purposes, the time and date of the press, the appropriate identification, and the appropriate demographic information may be stored with the corresponding tuning

data.

The audience measurement system 10 is arranged to log data on audience membership (hereinafter "audience member identification data"). The audience measurement system 10 may be arranged to also log tuning data regarding the programs

and/or channels to which the receiver 16 is tuned. Periodically, the logged data is

transmitted over a network 20 to a data collection central office 22. The network 20 may be any mechanism for conveying the logged data to the data collection central office 22.

For example, the network 20 may be a public switched telephone network, as is

conventional practice in the audience measurement art.

The portable remote control device 14 may be used to enter member

identification data into a measurement apparatus 24 which is installed adjacent to the

receiver 16. The measurement apparatus 24 may also be arranged to acquire tuning data

from the receiver 16 in any conventional manner in addition to the audience member identification data acquired from the portable remote control device 14. Additionally or alternatively, the audience member identification data may be entered by devices other

than the portable remote control device 14. For example, a Peoplemeter® may be used to

enter member identification data into the measurement apparatus 24 as discussed above.

Additionally or alternatively, the audience member identification data may be entered by

use of switches mounted directly on the measurement apparatus 24, or the audience member identification data may be entered into the measurement apparatus 24 by use of an

electronic program guide (EPG). If an EPG is used, the EPG may also be used to enter

tuning data into the measurement apparatus 24. The acquired tuning and audience member identification data can be communicated to the data collection central office 22 by

a variety of techniques known to those skilled in the art.

The audience measurement system 10 includes a data storage and

forwarding unit 26 which collects the tuning and audience member identification data from the measurement apparatus 24 and which stores the tuning and audience member identification data until a scheduled forwarding time when the tuning and audience

member identification data are forwarded to the data collection central office 22. The data

storage and forwarding unit 26 may also store and forward tuning and audience member

identification data collected from a measurement apparatus, similar to the measurement

apparatus 24, associated with each of the other receivers (not shown) located in the

statistically selected location 12. The audience measurement system 10, the measurement

apparatus 24, and/or the data storage and forwarding unit 26 may be referred to herein as

an audience meter . The measurement apparatus 24 can comprise logic and a memory so that

the current tuning data can be acquired and determined by the measurement apparatus 24

based upon channel selection inputs from the portable remote control device 14.

Alternatively or additionally, the measurement apparatus 24 may receive a signal replica from a signal detector 34. For example, this signal detector 34 may be in the

form of a video signal source detector such as that disclosed by Chan, in issued U.S.

Patent Application Serial No. 08/654,309. This video signal source detector may be

positioned as taught in the Chan application to acquire a replica of a video signal from an input to a CRT of the receiver 16.

Alternatively or additionally, the signal detector 34 may be in the form of a microphone which acquires a replica of an audio output from a speaker of the receiver 16. Accordingly, the signal detector 34 is arranged to non-intrusively acquire from the receiver

16 a replica of the video and/or audio signal processed by the receiver 16.

The signal replica acquired by the signal detector 34 can then be processed

by the measurement apparatus 24 according to a variety of tuning measurement methodologies. For example, (i) an ancillary video and/or audio code (such as a source

identification (SID) code) identifying the tuned program or channel can be read from the

signal replica, if present, (ii) video and/or audio feature signatures characteristic of the

tuned program can be extracted from the signal replica and compared to reference

signatures in order to identify the program or channel, and/or (iii) the signal replica can be

correlated with a contemporary reference signal obtained by a reference scanning tuner

controlled by the measurement apparatus 24 in order to identify the program or channel. As a further alternative, the signal detector 34 may be arranged to detect the local

oscillator frequency of the receiver 16. This local oscillator frequency indicates the

channel to which the receiver 16 is tuned, as is known in the audience measurement art.

Moreover, whether or not the signal detector 34 is employed, the measurement

apparatus 24 may receive an ON/OFF input from an ON/OFF sensor 36. The ON/OFF

sensor 36, for example, may be an inductive sensor which determines that the receiver 16

is on by detecting the inductive signals emanating from the receiver 16. In the case where

the receiver 16 is a television receiver, the ON/OFF sensor 36 may be an inductive sensor

which, as is well known, determines that the receiver 16 is on by detecting the horizontal

retrace frequency of the CRT of the receiver 16. Alternatively, the ON/OFF sensor 36

may have a photodetector probe positioned in relation to the screen display of the receiver

16 so that changing light levels or the amount of light emanating from the screen display

can be used to indicate when the receiver 16 is on or off. Alternatively, the ON/OFF

sensor 36 can be any other type of sensor suitably arranged to determine the on/off status

of the receiver 16.

In controlling the receiver 16, the portable remote control device 14

preferably operates in the manner of a conventional universal remote control capable of

controlling two or more tuner appliances, such as a television receiver, a VCR, and/or a

cable converter. Such a universal remote control conventionally uses several different

code sets so that it can operate in multiple user-selected modes. One or more of these

modes can be used to transmit a tuning or other command (e.g., a fast forward command

sent to a VCR) to the currently active tuner (e.g., the tuner of receiver 16 or of a set-top

cable converter or of a VCR) controlling the receiver 16. In addition, one of the modes of the portable remote control device 14 is also used to transmit audience member

identification data to the measurement apparatus 24.

Optionally, the keypad of the portable remote control device 14 may be

provided with dedicated buttons associated with each of the audience members.

Accordingly, these dedicated buttons may be used by the audience members exclusively

for member identification.

The measurement apparatus 24 as shown in Figure 2 includes a

microprocessor 52 suitably connected to a transceiver 54, the signal detector 34, a ROM

56, a RAM 58, the ON/OFF sensor 36, and an interface 60. The transceiver 54, coupled to

the microprocessor 52 executing a program stored in the ROM 56, is used to receive

tuning status and/or audience member identification data from the portable remote control

device 14. The tuning status data, along with the current audience member identification

data and a time stamp, are temporarily saved in the RAM 58. Optionally or alternatively,

the measurement apparatus 24 may also respond to the signal detector 34, as discussed

above, in order to identify the tuned program from codes, signatures, or correlations, or to

determine the tuned channel such as by detecting the local oscillator frequency of the

receiver 16. This information can be temporarily stored in the RAM 58. The

measurement apparatus 24 additionally may be arranged to determine the ON/OFF status

of the receiver 16 from the ON/OFF sensor 36. The ON/OFF status of the receiver 16 is

used as discussed below in the prompting of audience members to enter their

identifications by use of the portable remote control device 14 (or otherwise) in

accordance with a prompting program described below. As discussed above, the measurement apparatus 24 transmits the ON/OFF, tuning, and audience member

identification data to the data storage and forwarding unit 26 by means of the interface 60.

Accordingly, the measurement apparatus 24 through execution by the

microprocessor 52 of a program stored in the ROM 56 acquires and/or determines tuning

data associated with the tuning of the receiver 16 and temporarily stores this tuning data in

the RAM 58. The measurement apparatus 24 also acquires and/or determines the ON/OFF

status of the receiver 16 and temporarily stores this status in the RAM 58. Moreover, the

measurement apparatus 24 receives audience member identification data and temporarily

stores this data in the RAM 58. The measurement apparatus 24 through use of the

interface 60 communicates any or all of this data to the data storage and forwarding unit

26. For example, the measurement apparatus 24 may communicate this data to the data

storage and forwarding unit 26 immediately upon acquisition.

As shown in Figure 3, the data storage and forwarding unit 26 includes a

microprocessor 82 suitably coupled to an interface 84, a ROM 86, a RAM 88, and an

interface 90. The interface 84 and the interface 60 support communications between the

measurement apparatus 24 and the data storage and forwarding unit 26, and the interface

90 supports commumcation between the data storage and forwarding unit 26 and the data

collection central office 22 as discussed above.

The ROM 86 stores a program 100 represented by the flow chart shown in

Figures 4A and 4B in order to collect and forward tuning and audience member

identification data from each measurement apparatus 24 associated with a corresponding

receiver 16 in the statistically selected location 12 and to provide prompting instructions to

audience members through the appropriate measurement apparatus 24 so as prompt the audience members to identify themselves. The prompting management implemented by

the 15 program 100 relies on audience participation history of each possible audience

member, by receiver and by source identification (SID) class. A SID is an ancillary code

that is inserted into programs so as to identify the programs or their sources.

Other technologies, such as navigation characteristics, may provide

valuable information for prompt management. Navigation characteristics indicate the manner in which certain audience members tune the receiver 16. For example, one of the

audience members may channel surf. Thus, any time that channel surfing is detected, the

probability that the channel surfing audience member is in the audience may be increased. The program 100 is particularly useful where the measurement apparatus 24 cannot clearly

detect channel changes.

An instance of the program 100 as shown in Figures 4 A and 4B may be provided at the data storage and forwarding unit 26 for each of the receivers at the

statistically selected location 12. Alternatively, the program 100 as shown in Figures 4 A and 4B may be arranged to execute at the data storage and forwarding unit 26 and to

accommodate all of the receivers at the statistically selected location 12. As a further

alternative, an instance of the program 100 may be provided at the measurement apparatus

24 associated with each of the receivers at the statistically selected location 12 .

As shown in Figure 4 A, when the program 100 receives data indicating that

the receiver 16 has been turned on, the program 100 at a block 102 acquires tuning data

related to the receiver 16 and stores that data in the RAM88. At a block 104, the program

100 instructs the appropriate measurement apparatus 24 to immediately prompt the audience members in the audience of the receiver 16 to identify themselves. This prompting may be effected by on-screen displays on the receiver 16, by a visible display

provided by the measurement apparatus 24 or the portable remote control device 14, by an

audible message provided by the measurement apparatus 24 or the portable remote control

device 14, etc.

The responsive audience member identification data is received at a block

106. In the case where the audience member identification data is provided by the

portable remote control device 14 and the program 100 is executing at the data storage and

forwarding unit 26, this audience member identification data is received through use of the

transceiver 54 and is communicated to the data storage and forwarding unit 26 by the

measurement apparatus 24. Alternatively, the measurement apparatus 24 may be provided

with input keys, switches, and the like in which case the measurement apparatus 24

receives the audience member identification data directly and communicates to the data

storage and forwarding unit 26. The program 100 at a block 108 stores the audience

member identification data in the RAM 58 or the RAM 88, as appropriate, and, at a block

110, also updates the SID class tables as appropriate.

These tables are used by the data storage and forwarding unit 26 to

maintain a running accumulator of audience composition. The running accumulator is a

count of the number of times each audience member logs onto each of the receivers 16 in

the statistically selected location 12 and is maintained by time period and by class of SID

code.

The table of Figure 5 illustrates a single month's accumulation of data for a

single household for all SID classes. As the table of Figure 5 indicates, days are broken

into day parts. The table is further broken into the various audience members present in the statistically selected location 12, and the table further breaks down each audience

member by receiver. As shown in Figure 5, the audience members are indicated by their

sex and age, and the receivers are indicated by their location (such as bedroom, living

room, and kitchen). However, instead of sex and age, other identifiers such as names may

be used to identify the audience members, which may be particularly useful where

multiple members having the same sex and roughly the same age are present at the

statistically selected location 12. Moreover, receiver location identities other that

bedroom, living room, and kitchen may be assigned to the receivers used in the

statistically selected location 12, which may be particularly useful where there are multiple

rooms of the same room type in the statistically selected location 12.

The exemplary data provided in the table of Figure 5 indicates, for

example, that the 35-49 year old female audience member used the receiver in the

bedroom eighteen 10 times to receive programs at 6:00 AM during the month covered by

the table of Figure 5, that the 35-49 year old female audience member used the receiver in

the bedroom nineteen times to receive programs at 6:30 AM during the month covered by

the bedroom twenty-two times to receive programs at 7:00 AM during the month covered

by the table of Figure 5, that the 35-49 year old female audience member used the receiver

in the bedroom twenty-one times to receive programs at 7:30 AM during the month

covered by the table of Figure 5, and so on. The table holds similar data for the other

audience members at the statistically selected location 12 and for other day parts.

The tuning occasions section of the table stores data related to how many

times during each day part each receiver 16 at the statistically selected location 12 was used, regardless of the number of audience members in the audience of that receiver

during that time and month. Thus, for example, the 35-49 year old female audience

member used the receiver in the bedroom eighteen times to receive programs at 6:00 AM

during the month covered by the table of Figure 5, and the 35-49 year old male audience

member used the receiver in the bedroom one time to receive a program at 6:00 AM

during the month covered by the table of Figure 5. However, there were only eighteen

tuning occasions during which the receiver in the bedroom was used at 6:00 AM for the

relevant month, because the 35-49 year old female audience member and the 35-49 year

old male audience member used the receiver in the bedroom at 6:00 AM on the same day

during the month covered by the table of Figure 5.

As another example, the 35-49 year old female audience member used the

receiver in the living room eight times to receive programs at 6:00 PM during the month

covered by the table of Figure 5, the 35-49 year old male audience member used the

receiver in the living room one time to receive a program at 6:00 PM during the month

covered by the table of Figure 5, and the 12-17 year old female audience member used the

receiver in the living room fourteen times to receive programs at 6:00 PM during the

month covered by the table of Figure 5. However, there were only fifteen times that the

receiver in the living room was on with someone in the audience during the 6:00 PM day

part for the relevant month, because on several occasions there were more than one

audience members in the audience of the living receiver during that day part. Thus, there

were only fifteen tuning occasions during which the receiver in the living room was used

at the 6:00 PM day part for the relevant month. The counts section of the table stores data related to the sum of the data by

receiver and day part for the relevant month. Thus, for example, the 35-49 year old female

audience member used the receiver in the bedroom eighteen times to receive programs at

6:00 AM during the month covered by the table of Figure 5, and the 35-49 year old male

audience member used the receiver in the bedroom one time to receive a program at 6:00

AM during the month covered by the table of Figure 5. Thus, the count for the bedroom

receiver is 18 + 1 = 19 for the 6:00 AM day part for the relevant month.

As another example, the 35-49 year old female audience member used the

month covered by the table of Figure 5. Thus, the count for the living room receiver is 8 +

1 + 14 = 23 for the 6:00 PM day part for the relevant month.

The data in the table of Figure 5 do not show any SID-specific information,

but instead represent a marginal layer collapsing over all SID codes. Data collapsing is

useful whenever insufficient data has been collected upon which to make predictions about

the audience members in the audience of a receiver at a given day part. For example, data

collapsing is particularly useful during the first few months of initial data collection

because insufficient data is likely to have been collected upon which to make predictions

about the audience members in the audience of a receiver at a given day part. The table shown in Figure 5 is only exemplary of the way in which the data

may be stored. The data alternatively could be stored in an accumulator table for all sets

in the household. This accumulator table is incremented each time there is a change in

tuning status or audience composition and includes data for every person, time period, set,

and SID class. Thus, the accumulator table may simply log each tuning event and each

audience composition event in chronological order.

As a further alternative, such an accumulator table may be used to store

data as they are accumulated during a month and then transferred to the type of month

table shown in Figure 5 at the end of the relevant month. Other alternatives are also

possible.

The tables store the basic information which is evaluated for each receiver

prior to a scheduled prompt. These tables maintained by the measurement apparatus 24 or

the data storage and forwarding unit 26 preferably includes four separate tables, a table for

the current month, a table for the current month - 1, a table for the current month - 2, and a

total of all months up to and including the current month - 3. These tables permit a

variable weighting of data by recency of behavior which may be used, for example, during

data collapsing.

Thus, this recency weighting is accomplished by combining all four month

tables on a weighted basis into a 10 master table that is used for each receiver to determine

whether or not to deliver the scheduled prompt to the audience at that receiver. For

example, if the recency weights are 2.1, 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, then every cell in the four month tables described above

would be combined, giving a 15 weight of 2.1 to the data in the current month table and

equal weights of 0.3 to the data in the other three tables.

The program 100 at a block 112 determines whether it is time to evaluate

the data in the tables discussed above. For example, the block 112 may use an elapsed

time timer such that the block 112 determines that it is time to perform its evaluation when

the elapsed time timer accumulates an amount of time T. The time T between evaluations

may be set to 42 minutes or any other number of minutes which is deemed appropriate.

Accordingly, at T after the receiver 16 has initially been turned on, the program 100 at the

block 112 initiates an evaluation of the data stored in the tables to determine if prompting

should be suppressed. Thus, a prompt will be given after the passage of T unless the

evaluation indicates that prompting should be suppressed.

The evaluation is a probability-based heuristic. 10 The tuning and audience

composition history at the statistically selected location 12 is mathematically summarized

and represented in multidimensional tables of counts. Each time a prompt is scheduled to

be delivered, this information is evaluated, and, if the mathematical structure of audience

composition in the household is such that the probability of a specific audience

composition exceeds a certain threshold value, then the prompt is suppressed.

The heuristic is an algorithm for parsimoniously summarizing and

retrieving knowledge stored in the tables. In a densely populated table, the simplest

algorithm would search the cell most similar to the current condition, compute

straightforward probabilities for each, and, if the probability of a single tuning composition exceeded a certain threshold, the prompt would be suppressed until the next

cycle.

The objective is to determine audience composition. Rather than treating

this determination as a problem in combinatorics, this determination may be treated as a

problem of individual tuning at a receiver, by SID and day part, but including terms that

include co-receiving history and current response to an alternate receiver (co-location).

The operation of the heuristic may be illustrated with the sample frequency

tables shown in Figures 6, 1, and 8. The tables shown in Figures 6 and 7 correspond to the frequency tables for two SID classifications, SID 11 and SID 12. These SID classes, for

example, divide the programs by program type such as daytime drama, prime time drama, sports which can be further broken down into subtypes such as football, baseball, etc. Accordingly, Each SID may be assigned to one of these classes. The table in Figure 8

contains a total of the data in the monthly tables (in the example here, the total of the data in the tables of Figures 6 and 7).

If the block 112 determines that it is time to make an evaluation (e.g., time

T has passed since the last prompt decision), a block 114 determines whether the number

of persons who have logged in (i.e., identified themselves as being in the audience) equals

the number of persons who have been counted in the audience. Counting of persons may

be implemented by using electric eyes, proximity, or other sensing to count the audience

members as they enter and leave a reception area associated with the receiver 16. A

counter 90 is shown in Figure 1 for this purpose. The measurement apparatus 24 collects

count information from the counter 90 and passes this count information to the data

storage and forwarding unit 26 as appropriate. If the block 114 determines that the number of persons who have logged in is not equal to the number of persons who have

been counted in the audience, a block 116 permits the prompt to be given to the audience

members at the receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100.

On the other hand, if the block 114 determines that the number of persons

who have logged in is equal to the number of persons who have been counted in the

audience, a block 118 determines a variable NUMBER as a result of dividing a data value

COUNTS by a data value TUOCC. The data value COUNTS is taken from the counts

row, at the receiver location, during the day part, and for the SID class corresponding to

the current day part and the current SID of the program being received by the receiver

corresponding to the program 100. For example, if the current day part is 6:30 AM if the

SID from the program being received by the appropriate receiver is in SID class 11, and if

the appropriate receiver is the bedroom receiver, the data value for COUNTS is 19.

The data value TUOCC is taken from the tuning occasions row, at the

receiver location, during the day part, and for the SID class corresponding to the current

day part and the current SID of the program being received by the receiver corresponding

to the program 100. For example, if the current day part is 6:30 AM, if the SID from the

program being received by the appropriate receiver is in SID class 11, and if the

appropriate receiver is the bedroom receiver, the data value for TUOCC is 19.

Therefore, the variable NUMBER is determined as 19/19 = 1.0. If either

the numerator or denominator which is used to determine the variable NUMBER falls

below a

predetermined threshold, it may be necessary to collapse each cell in the tables from right

to left (SID, and then receiver) until this threshold is reached because there are otherwise insufficient data in the SID tables on which a prediction can be based. Following such

data collapsing, the variable NUMBER may be recomputed.

A block 120 determines whether the variable NUMBER exceeds a

corresponding threshold. If the variable NUMBER does not exceeds the corresponding

threshold, the block 116 permits the prompt to be given to the audience members at the

receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100. On the other hand, if the variable

NUMBER exceeds the corresponding threshold, a block 122 rounds NUMBER to the

nearest integer and compares the rounded NUMBER to the current persons count. This

current persons count may be derived, for example, by summing the number of audience

members who have logged into the measurement apparatus 24 at the receiver 16

corresponding to the program 100. Alternatively, the current persons count may be

derived by using the sensing described above to count the audience members as they enter

and leave a reception area associated with the receiver 16. If the rounded NUMBER is

different than the current persons count, the block 116 permits the prompt to be given to

the audience members at the receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100.

On the other hand, if the rounded NUMBER is not different than the

current persons count, the variable NUMBER is consistent with history as represented by

the data in the tables so that the audience members can be further evaluated by the

program 100. Therefore, if the rounded NUMBER is not different than the current persons

count, a block 124 sets a variable PREDICTED PERSON equal to the person having the

maximum probability of being in the audience of the receiver 16 corresponding to the

program 100. For example, using the tables of Figures 6-8 and as described above, the

person having the maximum probability of being in the audience of the bedroom receiver at the current time (6:00 AM + T) watching a program in SID class 11 is the 35-49 year

old female. Therefore, the variable PREDICTED PERSON is set to the 35-49 year old

female.

Also, the block 124 computes the probability that the PREDICTED

PERSON (the 35-49 year old female in the example) is in the audience by dividing the

number of times the 35-49 year old female tuned into a program having the relevant SID

class and during the current day part by the count for that SID class and day part. For example, the probability that the 35-49 year old female is in the audience of the bedroom

receiver which is tuned to a program having the SID class 11 at and during the current time (6:00 AM + T) is 19/20 using the table of Figure 6. This probability 19/20 may be

adjusted by a lead-in adjustment factor F_LI. This lead in factor F_LI is used to adjust the computed probability when the PREDICTED PERSON was in the audience of the relevant receiver during the immediately preceding day part. This lead in factor F_LI may be a

predetermined number set to a suitable value greater than one and is multiplied by the computed probability in order to increase the computed probability.

Following the processing at the block 124, the program 100 at a block 126

determines whether the probability calculated at the block 124 is less than a predetermined

threshold. If the probability calculated at the block 124 is less than this predetermined

receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100. It is noted that there may be insufficient

data in the tables at this point during the execution of the program 100, in which case the

data may be collapsed as indicated above. However, if the data is so collapsed, it is likely that the probability calculated at the block 124 is less than a predetermined threshold, so

that it is correspondingly likely that a prompt will be permitted.

On the other hand, if the probability calculated at the block 124 is not less

than the predetermined threshold, the program 100 at a block 128 determines whether the

audience member, who is in the audience of the receiver 16 corresponding to the program

100 and who has entered his or her identification into the corresponding measurement

apparatus 24, is the PREDICTED PERSON. If the audience member, who is in the

audience of the receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100 and who has entered his or

her identification into the corresponding measurement apparatus 24, is not the

PREDICTED PERSON, the block 116 permits the prompt to be given to the audience

members at the receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100.

On the other hand, if the audience member, who is in the audience of the

receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100 and who has entered his or her identification

into the corresponding measurement apparatus 24, is the PREDICTED PERSON, then the

program 100 at a block 130 suppresses prompting.

After the block 116 permits the prompt to be given 10 to the audience

members at the receiver 16 corresponding to the program 100, or after the block 130

suppresses prompting, the elapsed time timer used by the block 116 is reset, and the

program 100 returns to the block 116 in order to repeat the execution of blocks 112-130 at

6:00 AM + 2T and at each increment of T thereafter.

At a particular time during the day, the data storage and forwarding unit 26

communicates its stored tuning and audience member identification data to the data

collection central office 22. Other events may also be used by the block 116 of the program 100 to

trigger prompts. Such other events include, for example, a channel change when no

audience member is logged in, the passage of a predetermined number of days when a

particular household member has not logged in, the passage of a predetermined number of

days when a short term visitor has not logged in, no log ins when the receiver 16 is turned

on, no log ins of particular household members (such as children) when the receiver 16 is

tuned to particular programs (such as children's programming), and the like.

As described above, navigation characteristics may provide valuable

information for prompt management. Navigation characteristics indicate the manner in

which certain audience members tune the receiver 16. Thus, in the same way that tuning

to individual programs or tuning during specific day parts or on specific sets may be

correlated with a particular household member as described above, tuning styles may also

be associated with individual household members. Accordingly, when tuning patterns are

evaluated, the styles in which people select their programs may also be evaluated.

Tuning styles can be described by a variety of terms depending on which

paradigm is being used to conceptualize receiver tuning. Tuning styles can be considered

to mean or include "navigational patterns", "biometric signatures," or "keystroke

dynamics." These styles can be characterized by some very simple "statistics" or by more

complex forms of representing knowledge.

"Statistics" are formally defined by mathematicians as a mathematical

projection of a vector or set of data onto a single or simple set of parameters. Thus,

statistics are used, in effect, to summarize data. A mean is an example of a statistic which

may be used to summarize a set of data. However, in summarizing data, certain knowledge about the data, such as variance, kurtosis, skew, and, of course, the exact value

of each data point, is lost. Therefore, the statistics used to summarize the data may or may

not be sufficient.

"Sufficiency" in theoretical statistics refers to the ability of a "statistic" to

reproduce the required detail of a data distribution. In some households, a simple statistic

can "sufficiently" represent tuning style. One such statistic is the average number of

stations or programs tuned per time period. For example, if one audience member views

"appointment television" (i.e, an audience member tunes to a channel carrying a selected

program and stays on that channel throughout most or all of the selected program), the

average number of stations "hit" per half hour will be very small. But if another audience

member is a "surfer," the average number of "hits" per half hour will be much, much

larger. While summaries of the tuning habits of these audience members may cause

knowledge of variance and skew to be lost, the sheer difference between the average

velocities (average rate of channel change) of these two audience members is sufficient to

distinguish between these audience members. Thus, in this example, the mean rate of Δ is

sufficient to identify the individual.

However, in some households, there may be several members that have the

same average rate of channel changing (velocity). In this case, the only way to distinguish

these households is to consider channel velocity along with other parameters of tuning

which might provide "sufficiency" in order to identify the recent presence of a household

member.

For example, for every time period T (e.g., Vi hr), the average number of channels

tuned during that half hour may be recorded and stored in the tables of Figures 6-8 for every individual logged on to a receiver. However, velocity may not be sufficient to

distinguish between people whose "instantaneous rate of change", often called

acceleration, is different. For example, two people may average twenty channel hits per

half hour with one of the people methodically surfing by watching every other hit for a

minute or two, while the other of the two people surfs through twenty channels, finds an

appealing program, and then watches for a half hour. The average velocity is not a

sufficient statistic to distinguish these two audience members. However, their acceleration

can be used to distinguish between them.

There are several statistics that can represent "acceleration." An exemplary

statistic to represent acceleration is given by the following description. If it assumed that

the time period is thirty, minutes, the following ratio may be used to characterize

acceleration:

# of channels in past 30 minutes

# of minutes in which channel was changed in past 30 minutes

For example, if twenty channels were hit in ten separate minutes of tuning, then the

acceleration is 20/10 or a modest 2. On the other hand, if twenty channels were hit in two

minutes of surfing, then the acceleration is 20/2 or a moderate ten.

In some homes, even "acceleration" may not be sufficient to distinguish

between audience members. For example, it may be the case that where an audience

member surfs in a program or channel space is the key to distinguishing between two

audience members. Therefore, in such households, a learning heuristic can be used to

classify the "cluster of channels" that an audience member surfs and to match this surfing

cluster to the "clusters of programs" to which an audience member tunes. Accordingly, classification and matching may be done specifically to distinguish between the channel-

surfing patterns of two audience members with similar velocity and acceleration histories .

Accordingly, the probability determined at the block 124 can be adjusted up

or down by velocity, acceleration, and/or program clustering. Alternatively, any

combination of these factors can be included in the program 100 as one or more decision

blocks.

Certain parameters used by the program 100 may be downloadable from

the data collection central office 22 to the measurement apparatus 24 or the data storage

and forwarding unit 26 and stored in the RAM 58 or the RAM 88. For example, the

parameter T may be downloaded.

Certain modifications of the present invention have been discussed above.

Other modifications will occur to those practicing in the art of the present invention. For

example, it is noted that the portable remote control device 14 may function in several

different modes as described above. However, each of these modes may use a separate

corresponding remote control.

Also, the present invention as described above relies on the use of certain

infrared transceivers. However, it will be appreciated that other signaling modes, such as

ultrasonic or spread-spectrum radio, could instead be employed.

In addition, the present invention as described above relies on the use of

transceivers. Instead, a separate receiver and transmitter could be used in place of each

transceiver.

Moreover, as discussed above, instead of executing the program 100 at the

data storage and forwarding unit 26, the program 100 can be executed at each measurement apparatus 24 within the statistically selected location 12. In this case, the

data storage tables shown in Figures 5-8 may be modified by eliminating the receiver

category. Also in this case, the storing and forwarding function performed by the data

storage and forwarding unit 26 can be performed by the measurement apparatus 24 so that the data storage and forwarding unit 26 can be eliminated.

Furthermore, as described above, the portable remote control device 14

according to the first embodiment 15 of the invention transmits tuning commands which are received by both the controlled tuner and by the measurement apparatus 24. The

controlled tuner responds by effecting the tuning indicated by the tuning command, and the measurement apparatus 24 responds by recording the tuning event. Instead, in

accordance with the teachings of U.S. Patent No. 4,876,736, the portable remote control device 14 may be arranged to transmit tuning commands using codes recognized by the

measurement apparatus 24 but not by the tuner of the receiver 16. Thus, the measurement apparatus 24 records the tuning event, converts the code into a form recognized by the

tuner of the receiver 16, and passes the converted tuning command on to the tuner of the

receiver 16.

Also, a different portable remote control device could be assigned to each

person in the household (with additional portable remote control devices provided to

visitors). Each person would then carry his or her portable remote control device within

the household. The individual's portable remote control device 14 can then be arranged to

periodically transit an identification signal to the measurement apparatus 24 either based

upon time increments or based upon a command issued by the measurement apparatus 24. Moreover, the prompting permitted by the block 116 may have multiple

levels. For example, at the lowest level, the initial prompt could be flashed for 10 seconds.

If the audience responds appropriately, the program 100 resumes normal execution. If the

audience does not respond appropriately within a predetermined amount of time (e.g. 20

seconds), and the prompt is flashed for 20 seconds at a higher flash rate. If the audience responds appropriately, the program 100 resumes normal execution. If the audience still

does not respond appropriately, the block 116 may be arranged to provide an audible tone

or a voice command. Different and/or additional levels of prompting may be provided.

In addition, it may be deemed desirable for audience members to manually update audience composition without prompting as changes in audience composition

occur. Prompting serves mainly as a fail-safe, when sufficient time has elapsed without any unprompted change. Therefore, the elapsed time timer used by the block 116 may be

reset at each entry of any audience member identification data whether prompted or not. As an additional contingency, the interval T between prompts could be

lengthened or shortened in order to reinforce timely entry of audience changes. This

adjustment of T could be based on the data entry performance of audience members. For

example, if a particular audience member typically waits until a prompt appears before

reporting an earlier audience change, then the data record will show an improbably high

proportion of reported audience changes coinciding with the appearance of the prompt. If

this pattern of performance is observed, the program 100 may shorten the interval T

between prompts. Shortening the interval T between prompts will tend to reduce any possible lags between the occurrence and reporting of audience changes, as well as to provide a mild negative reinforcement for audience members who fail to report audience

changes as they occur.

Alternatively or additionally, it is possible that 10 audience members will

report audience changes when they occur and that the intervals T between prompts are

shorter than the interval during which no audience change actually occurs. If this pattern

is observed, it may be that the prompting interval T is shorter than required for this

audience member. In this instance, the program 100 may lengthen the interval T between

prompts in order to provide a positive reinforcement. Indeed, different prompting

intervals T could be set for various audience members, depending on their previous

performance.

Furthermore, the heuristic of the present invention as described above relies upon

the representation of tuning history and/or style knowledge in the form of a series of

probability tables. Such knowledge, however, can be represented in other forms. For

example, as receiver tuning events occur, data relating to these events could be stored in a

covariance matrix which could then be evaluated through regression, discriminant, or other

parametric techniques which would develop prediction scores for each potential household

member. Similarly, non-parametric techniques for representing knowledge, such as

weighted digraphs, may be used to represent such knowledge. Conceptually, the heuristic

has been described above using the simplest form of knowledge representation. However,

an important element of the heuristic is its capacity to manage user prompts or questions

regardless of how such tuning histories (knowledge) are represented.

Also, as viewed from the standpoint of a meter, audience members have

features: what programs they watch, when they watch, with whom they watch, where they watch, and how they change channels. In some households, one or two of these statistics

may suffice to discriminate between audience members. In other households, at certain

times of day, many of these statistics may be required. Thus, in a more advanced form of

the heuristic described above, aperiodic analysis could be conducted in each household to

evaluate the structure, among household members, of each of these features. For example,

in a two-person household, one person may surf while the other tunes by appointment.

This household would be highly structured with respect to acceleration. In this case, the

negentropy, or information content (h²) of acceleration, is very high. In an advanced

heuristic, the values of each of these features would be weighted by their information

content, that is, their ability to discriminate among audience members.

In addition, specific hardware is described in relation to Figures 1, 2, and 3.

However, it should be understood that other hardware and/or software arrangements may

be used to implement the present invention.

Accordingly, the description of the present invention is to be construed as

illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of

carrying out the invention. The details may be varied substantially without departing from

the spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of all modifications which are within the

scope of the appended claims is reserved.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience

member identification into an audience meter comprising:

determining a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less than a threshold; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater than the threshold.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification; prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification;

and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount of time from a previous prompting decision.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification;

and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member

has already entered the audience member identification.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determination of the probability

that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises determining the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver based upon a

number of times that the audience member has been in the audience of the receiver during

a corresponding day part.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the determination of the probability

that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises determining the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver based upon a

program being received by the receiver during the corresponding day part.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
10. The method of claim 7 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount of time from a previous prompting decision.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determimng whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member

has already entered the audience member identification.
12. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

tine from the initial prompting.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing audience identification data in tables;

collapsing the tables if the tables contain insufficient data to make a

prompting decision.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the collapsing of the tables is

weighted depending upon age of the audience member identification data.
16. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience

member identification into an audience meter comprising:

determining a variable as a function of a number of times that the audience member was in an audience of a receiver and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification if the variable is not greater than a threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is greater than the threshold.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part and a number

of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined day part.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part over a

predetermined amount of time and a number of times that the receiver was turned on

during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount of time.
19. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount of time and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined amount of time.
20. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part and by a SID and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on by the predetermined day part and by the

SID.
21. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part over a

predetermined amount of time and by a SID and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount of time and

by the SID.
22. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount of time and by a SID and a number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined

amount oftime and by the SID.
23. The method of claim 16 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a SID and a number of times that the

receiver was turned on by the SID.
24. The method of claim 16 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises: determining a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a

receiver; prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less that a threshold; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
26. The method of claim 24 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount oftime from a previous prompting decision.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater than the threshold, determining whether, the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
28. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
29. The method of claim 28 wherein the suppression of prompting of the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold, determining whether the audience member has already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
30. The method of claim 24 wherein the determination of the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises

determining the probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver based upon a number of times that the audience member has been in the audience of the

receiver during a corresponding day part.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein the determination of the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises

determining the probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver

based upon a program being received by the receiver during the corresponding day part.
32. The method of claim 30 wherein the suppression of prompting of the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification.
33. The method of claim 30 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount oftime from a previous prompting decision.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification; and

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member

identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member

has already entered the audience member identification.
35. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
36. The method of claim 35 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises: if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold, determimng whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification .
37. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

storing audience identification data in tables; collapsing the tables if the tables contain insufficient data to make a prompting decision.
38. The method of claim 37 wherein the collapsing of the tables is weighted depending upon age of the audience member identification data.
39. The method of claim 16 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount oftime from a previous prompting decision.
40. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and, executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
41. The method of claim 16 wherein the suppression of prompting

comprises:

if the variable is greater than the threshold, determining whether the

variable is equal to a current persons count;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the variable is not equal to the current persons count; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is equal to

the current persons count.
42. The method of claim 41 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the variable is equal to the current persons count comprises:

if the variable is equal to the current persons count, determining a

probability that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less that a threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver is greater that the threshold comprises:

if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold, determining whether the audience member has

already entered the audience member identification;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the audience member has not already entered the audience member identification; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the audience member has already entered the audience member identification.
44. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience member identification into an audience meter comprising:

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification at intermittent prompting occasions;

at each prompting occasion, determining a likelihood based upon past

audience composition and tuning habits that the audience member is in an audience of a

receiver; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the determination made

at a corresponding prompting occasion indicates that it is likely that the audience member

is in the audience of the receiver.
45. The method of claim 44 wherein the determination of likelihood

comprises determining a probability that the audience member is in the audience of the

receiver, and wherein the suppression of prompting comprises:

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less than a threshold; and, suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater than the threshold.
46. The method of claim 45 wherein the determination of a probability

comprises determining by day part the probability that the audience member is in the audience of a receiver.
47. The method of claim 45 wherein the determination of a probability

comprises determining by SID class the probability that the audience member is in the

audience of a receiver.
48. The method of claim 44 wherein the determination of likelihood

comprises determining a variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of a receiver and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on, and wherein the suppression of prompting comprises: prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the variable is not greater than a threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is greater

than the threshold.
49. The method of claim 48 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining by day part the variable as a function of the number of times that

the audience member was in the audience of the receiver and the number of times that the

receiver was turned on.
50. The method of claim 48 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining by SID class the variable as a function of the number of times that

the audience member was in the audience of the receiver and the number of times that the

receiver was turned on.
51. The method of claim 48 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the variable is greater than the threshold comprises:

if the variable is greater than the threshold, determining whether the

variable is equal to a current persons count;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the variable is not equal to the current persons count; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is equal to

the current persons count.
52. The method of claim 51 wherein the suppression of prompting of

the audience member if the variable is equal to the current persons count comprises:

if the variable is equal to the current persons count, determimng a

probability that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less that a threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater that the threshold.
53. The method of claim 44 wherein the intermittent prompting

occasions are nominally separated from one another by a period T, and wherein the

method further comprises varying the period T depending upon prior responses to the

prompting.
54. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience

member identification into an audience meter comprising:

applying a heuristic to determine whether the audience member is in an

audience of a receiver;

counting the audience members in the audience of the receiver to produce a

count; prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the heuristic indicates that the audience member is not in the audience of

the receiver and if the count is not equal a number of logged in audience members; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the heuristic indicates

that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver and if the count is equal the

number of logged in audience members.
55. The method of claim 54 wherein the application of a heuristic to

determine whether the audience member is in an audience of a receiver comprises

determimng a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a receiver,

wherein the prompting of the audience member to enter the audience member

identification comprises prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less than a threshold and if the count is not equal a number of logged in audience

members, and wherein the suppression of prompting of the audience member comprises

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the audience

member is in the audience of the receiver is greater than the threshold and if the count is

equal a number of logged in audience members.
56. The method of claim 55 wherein the determination of the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises

determining the probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver based upon a number of times that the audience member has been in the audience of the

receiver during a corresponding day part.
57. The method of claim 54 wherein the application of a heuristic to

determine whether the audience member is in an audience of a receiver comprises

determining a variable as a function of a number of times that the audience member was in

an audience of a receiver and a number of times that the receiver was turned on, wherein

the prompting of the audience member to enter the audience member identification

comprises prompting the audience member to enter the audience member identification if

the variable is not greater than a threshold and if the count is not equal a number of logged

in audience members, and wherein the suppression of prompting of the audience member

comprises suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is greater than

the threshold and if the count is equal a number of logged in audience members.
58. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part and a number

of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined day part.
59. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part over a predetermined amount oftime and a number of times that the receiver was turned on

during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount of time.
60. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount oftime and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined amount oftime.
61. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determimng the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part and by a SID and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on by the predetermined day part and by the

SID.
62. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part over a

predetermined amount oftime and by a SID and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount oftime and

by the SID.
63. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount oftime and by

a SID and a number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined

amount oftime and by the SID.
64. The method of claim 57 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a SID and a number of times that the

receiver was turned on by the SID.
65. The method of claim 54 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount of time from a previous prompting decision.
66. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
67. The method of claim 54 further comprising:

storing audience identification data in tables; collapsing the tables if the

tables contain insufficient data to make a prompting decision.
68. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience

member identification into an audience meter comprising;

determining a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a

receiver based upon both tuning history and tuning style;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the probability that the audience member is in the audience of the receiver

is less than a threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the probability that the

audience member is in the audience of the receiver is greater than the threshold.
69. The method of claim 68 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

velocity.
70. The method of claim 68 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

acceleration.
71. The method of claim 68 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

velocity and tuning acceleration.
72. The method of claim 68 wherein the tuning style comprises

program clustering.
73. The method of claim 68 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount oftime from a previous prompting decision.
74. The method of claim 68 further comprising:

initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.
75. The method of claim 68 wherein the determination of the

probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver comprises

determining the probability that the audience member is in an audience of the receiver

based upon a number of times that the audience member has been in the audience of the

receiver during a corresponding day part.
76. The method of claim 68 further comprising:

storing audience identification data in tables;

collapsing the tables if the tables contain insufficient data to make a

prompting decision.
77. A method of prompting an audience member to enter an audience

member identification into an audience meter comprising: determining a variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of a receiver and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on;

determining a probability that the audience member is in an audience of a

receiver based upon tuning style;

prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification if the variable is not greater than a first threshold and if the probability is not

greater than a second threshold; and,

suppressing prompting of the audience member if the variable is greater

than the threshold and if the probability is greater than a second threshold.
78. The method of claim 77 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

velocity.
79. The method of claim 77 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

acceleration.
80. The method of claim 77 wherein the tuning style comprises tuning

velocity and tuning acceleration.
81. The method of claim 77 wherein the tuning style comprises

program clustering.
82. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part and a number

of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined day part.
83. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined day part over a

predetermined amount oftime and a number of times that the receiver was turned on

during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount oftime.
84. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount oftime and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined amount oftime.
85. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part and by a SID and a

number of times that the receiver was turned on by the predetermined day part and by the

SID.
86. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a predetermined day part over a

predetermined amount oftime and by a SID and a number of times that the receiver was

turned on during the predetermined day part over the predetermined amount oftime and

by the SID.
87. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver during a predetermined amount oftime and by

a SID and a number of times that the receiver was turned on during the predetermined

amount oftime and by the SID.
88. The method of claim 77 wherein the determination of a variable

comprises determining the variable as a function of a number of times that the audience

member was in an audience of the receiver by a SID and a number of times that the

receiver was turned on by the SID.
89. The method of claim 77 wherein the method is executed only after

the passage of a predetermined amount of time from a previous prompting decision.
90. The method of claim 77 further comprising: initially prompting the audience member to enter the audience member

identification upon detection that the receiver has been turned on; and,

executing the method only after the passage of a predetermined amount of

time from the initial prompting.