AU2006239739B2 - A system for the delivery of mobile content - Google Patents

Description

WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 "A system for the delivery of mobile content" Technical Field The invention concerns a system, a server, and method, for the delivery of 5 content to a user having access to a mobile handset. The invention further concerns a computer software program for selecting content for delivery to a user having access to a mobile handset and a method of operating a mobile phone. Background Art 10 The popularity and demand for mobile handset services is continually increasing. While there is considerable interest in the delivery of television programs to mobile handset users, in particular mobile phones, much of this focus has been on the delivery of standard terrestrial programs to handsets through alternate delivery technologies such as Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld (DVB-H). This technology 15 sends standard television programs to mobile handsets which are capable of receiving these broadcasts. The additional implementation of 3G networks offers the ability to deliver faster and richer content (eg video content) to mobile devices. As a result of the popularity and demand for services, mobile equipment vendors are continually developing short message service and wireless access point platform 20 solutions for the delivery of rich content to mobile devices. Subsequently, an increasing array of content is becoming available to mobile handset users. Unfortunately some users find the increasing availability of content to be overwhelming to the extent that they decline to take up a vendor's solutions or services. 25 Disclosure of Invention In a first aspect the invention is a system for the delivery of content to a user having access to a mobile handset, the system comprising: a computer operable to receive user data from a prospective user, the user data including a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be 30 delivered; and a server in communication with the computer and operable to retrieve a selected content item related to the content type, and to deliver the content item to the user at the mobile number; wherein the content item selected for delivery is content which has not 35 previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user.

WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 2 Content types may include, but not be limited to, news, weather, business reports, sports, comedy clips, sitcoms, mini drama, animations, movie reviews and interstitials. Content items are classified according to content type. A content item may 5 comprise a clip from existing standard broadcast such as film, television, high definition television, video or online content. Optionally, or additionally, content items may be specifically created for the delivery to mobile handsets, and may, for example be short TV style programs. The user may select the type of content. In addition the user may specify the 10 sequence in which the types of content are to be delivered. Selecting the types of content and specifying the order in which the types of content are to be delivered may occur in a single step. Alternatively the sequence in which the types of content are delivered may be a default sequence set by the computer, or set by a program running on the computer. 15 The user data may further include one or more content items associated with the, or each, type of content. Subsequently the user may select the type(s) and item(s) of content and may specify the order in which the items of content are to be delivered. Alternatively the sequence in which the items of content are delivered may be a default sequence set by the computer, or set by program running on the computer. 20 User data may be programmed via a user's mobile handset, a web interface, an email request or a customer representative. A user may access and amend their user data. The user data may further include demographic data, including, but not limited to the age, gender, interests and usual geographic location of the user. 25 The user data may further include whether a user has selected an option to replay a previously viewed item of content. The system may further include a database to store the user data. Storing of a user's data creates a user profile. The database may store content items which are classified according to content type. Optionally the content items may be stored in a 30 separate database which may be remotely accessed by the system. The selection of a content item for delivery may be performed by the computer or a software product loaded onto the computer. The computer may first check whether a user has selected the option to replay a previously viewed item of content before instructing the server to deliver that item of content. 35 Content items may be stored as video content, created or edited into a form suitable for display on a display screen of a mobile handset.

WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 3 Content items may contain metadata about the item. For instance metadata may include information about how to classify an item when a user terminates a sequence before completion of the sequence, i.e an item may be classified as having been viewed, or viewed, if at least 50% of the item has played prior to termination. 5 An interstitial may take the form of an advertisement, a short program, a still image, text or a header for a forthcoming item. An interstitial may be related to a particular content item and may be programmed into a sequence between a pair of content items. In this instance the interstitial may include information about the next content item to be viewed or the content item just viewed. Other interstitials may be 10 user specific and classified according to demographics such as gender or age. Such interstitials may be selected randomly or in accordance with a pre-determined pattern, for example but not limited to, a cyclical pattern. Selection may be based per user or for at least a portion of users. In any of the above embodiments the duration of an interstitial may range from a 15 fraction of a second to a few seconds. Preferably the duration of content items excluding interstitials are in the range of tens of seconds to about five minutes. The duration of such content items may be significantly longer. In optional embodiments, an interstitial may be interactive, such as, but not 20 limited to, a game. The transition between content items may be seamless. The user may initiate delivery of content via selection of a menu option on the display screen of their mobile phone or via a dedicated button on the keypad of their mobile phone. 25 The user data may further include an option for the user to receive a notification message via their mobile number when one or more of a new content type and a new content item related to a selected content type becomes available. The notification message may be received via SMS. The system may be operable to enable a user to respond to the notification message to indicate that their user profile is updated to 30 incorporate the new content. The user may respond to the notification message via one of the user's mobile handset, for example via reply sms, through accessing a wireless application protocol (WAP) site, via a web interface, an email request or a customer representative. In a second aspect the invention is a method for the delivery of content to a user 35 having access to a mobile handset, the method comprising: WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 4 receiving user data from a prospective user, the user data including a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered; receiving a request from the user to receive subscribed to content; in response to the request, retrieving a selected content item related to the 5 content type and delivering the content item to the user at the specified mobile number, whereby the content item which is delivered to the user is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user. The method may further include compiling a content sequence, or retrieving a default sequence, based on the received user data. 10 The method may further include forming a user profile from the user data. The method may further include storing the user profile. The method may further include delivering a notification message to the user at the specified mobile number, whereby notification message notifies the user when one of a new content type and a new content item related to a selected content type 15 becomes available. In a third aspect, the invention is a server for the delivery of content to a user having access to a mobile handset, wherein the server is operable to retrieve a selected content item related to a subscribed content type, and to deliver the content item to the user at a prescribed mobile number; 20 wherein the content item delivered to the user is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user. In a fourth aspect the invention is a method for operating a mobile phone, the method comprising: activating one of a menu option and a dedicated key on a keypad of a mobile 25 phone to commence delivery of subscribed to content comprising at least one content item; and receiving subscribed to content, wherein the, or each, content items received is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user. The method in accordance with the fourth aspect may further comprise 30 activating one of a menu option and a dedicated key on a keypad of the mobile phone to subscribe to the service. The dedicated key may be the same or different to the key used to commence the service. Subscribing to the service may comprise selecting at least a type of content to be delivered. Subscribing to the service may further comprise inputting subscription data 35 including a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered.

5 Where there are two or more types of content to be delivered the method may further include specifying the sequence in which the content types are to be delivered. Selecting the types of content and specifying the order in which the types of content are to be delivered may occur in a single step. The type of content may be a default 5 sequence. Subscribing to the service may include selecting an option to replay a previously viewed item of content. The method in accordance with the fourth aspect may further include editing the user information and/or replaying an item of content. 10 In a fifth aspect the invention is a computer software product for selecting content for delivery to a user having access to a mobile handset, the product comprising: a communications layer to establish a connection between a computer and a mobile handset; and 15 computer code means operable to receive an instruction from a user via the mobile handset to commence delivery of subscribed to content to the mobile handset, and further operable to retrieve user details and to select a content item based on the retrieved user details; wherein the content item selected for delivery is content which has not 20 previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user. The computer code means may further be operable to receive user data from a prospective user, the user data including a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered. User data may be programmed via a user's mobile handset, a web interface, an email request or a customer representative. 25 The communications layer may also establish a connection between the computer and a server. The computer code means may further be operable to send an instruction to the server to retrieve and stream the selected content item to the user at the subscribed mobile number. The computer code means may further be operable to receive information from 30 the server that streaming of the content item is complete, or that the streaming of the content item has been terminated. In the case that streaming was terminated the process may receive a marker indicating where the sequence ended. The content may comprise a sequence of content items. The computer code means may send an instruction to the server to retrieve the entire sequence or a 35 predetermined set. As described above, utilising unicast, point-to-point delivery facilities of 3G networks, makes it is possible to provide a more "TV-like" experience to users. This WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 6 "TV-like" experience includes, for example, programs delivered across different genres one after the other to the consumer in much the same manner that existing television is broadcast to television sets. In accordance with aspects of the invention, the selected content item is 5 passively delivered to the user's mobile number. An advantage of this feature is that the content is delivered, for example streamed, to the mobile handset with no further action or interaction required. The experience of the user when viewing the content is therefore a passive experience. Advantageously, embodiments of the invention utisile the coupling of the 10 interactive feature of mobile handsets, together with the passively delivered broadcast nature of rich content such as television. Brief Description of Drawings An example of the invention is now described by way of example with reference 15 to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a system for the delivery of video content to prospective users in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a mobile phone menu displayed to a user of the system of figure 1; and 20 Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of the status of a database of the system of figure 1, at the end of a sequence. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a system 10 for the delivery of video 25 content to prospective subscribers having access to a mobile phone 16. The system 10 is centred around a computer 12 which may or may not be in communication with a short message service centre 14 and is operable to receive subscriber data from a mobile phone 16, via a wireless network 18. The computer 12 is also operable to receive subscriber data from the internet 20. The system 10 further includes a 30 subscriber database 22 for the storage of subscriber data and a video server 24. A video content store 26 is provided which stores content edited into a form which is best suited for display on a mobile phone's display screen 28. In addition the content may be made for mobile wherein the content is tailored for the relatively smaller display screen 28. The video server 24 responds to instructions from the computer 12 to access the content 35 store 26 and stream video content via the wireless network 18 to a mobile phone 16.

WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 7 The content held in the store 26 is a collection of video content items which are classified according to type. Content types are either time critical or non time critical. Time critical content types include news, weather, sport and business whilst non time critical content types include entertainment such as comedy and sitcoms. A further 5 type of content held in the store are static advertising interstitials. .A portion of the interstitials are related to specific content items, and therefore include information about the next content item to be seen or the content item just viewed. A further portion are subscriber specific and are therefore classified according to characteristics such as gender or age. The content server 26 and the video server 24 may be hosted in 10 the computer identified as 12, or in one or more computers held in other locations. To subscribe to the service a user activates a menu soft key on their mobile phone 16. The user then scrolls through the menu to find and select a control screen option. Having selected the control screen option the user is presented with a menu 30 as illustrated in figure 2. Within this menu 30, the user has the option of subscribing to 15 the service 32, editing their subscriber information 34, playing their pre-programmed sequence 36 or replaying content 38 which makes up their pre-programmed sequence. The user selects to subscribe to the service 32 and is requested to input identification information which includes their age, gender, location (for the tailoring of content such as weather) and the destination mobile number to which content is to be 20 delivered. This information is stored in the database 22. The user is then prompted to subscribe to a content sequence by selecting whether the content sequence is to be defined by the subscriber by selecting each type of content which makes up the sequence, or defined in accordance with the default setting of the system 10. In the case that the user selects that the sequence is to be defined by the 25 subscriber, the user can either select the types of content which make up the sequence, or specify specific content items which make up the sequence, or both. The user is presented with a list as shown as table 1. Table 1 lists content types, content duration for each content type, a link to content items and a replay option. Essentially the subscription is managed to ensure that the content delivered to the user is content not 30 previously viewed. However selection of the replay option enables a user to replay particular content items. The user is able to navigate up and down the table in order to select the desired content types, and or specific items, in the order in which they want them to be delivered. 35 WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 8 Content Types Content Duration Content Replay Item option News 1 minute News 3 minutes Capital weather 3 minutes National weather 3 minutes Capital weather 1 minute National weather 1 minute Sport 3 minutes Sport summary 1 minute Comedy clip 3 minutes Comedy clip 1 minute Drama 3 minutes Drama 1 minute Movie reviews 1 minute Sitcom 3 minutes Sitcom 1 minute Table 1. User defined selection table. In this example the user selects the following sequence: News (3 minutes) > National weather (1 minute) > Sport summary (1 minute) > Comedy (1 minute), 5 without the option to replay any of the content or without any selection of specific items.. Having finished selecting the sequence, the user selects from an options list 'selection complete'. The sequence is displayed to the user and the user is prompted to either confirm that the sequence is complete or select that the sequence is to be edited. Once the user has confirmed that the sequence is complete the computer 12 10 checks a look up table held in the content store 26 to determine whether an interstitial is to be associated with any of the selected content items. In this example interstitial X which comprises a static flash advert for a type of sports drink is associated with, and is required to be shown prior to, the "1 minute" sport summary. Interstitial X is programmed into the sequence after the National weather and the subscriber's profile in 15 the subscriber database 22 is updated to store the sequence. To initiate the service the user either activates the 'menu' soft key on their mobile phone 16, scrolls through the menu and accesses the control screen option; or uses a predefined key or key sequence to access the initiation functionality. Having WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 9 selected the control screen option the user selects from menu 30 the option to initiate their pre-programmed sequence 36. The computer 12, on receiving the request, looks up the subscriber database 22 for the relevant mobile phone number. Having found the relevant mobile number, 5 content type references associated with the content sequence are read and matched with the content type references in the contents store to see what the current contents items are. The current content item for News - 4 minutes- is listed as "1/04/05 - 4pm". This News "1/04/05 - 4pm" content item is checked against the subscriber information to determine if this content item has been viewed by the subscriber or not. Similarly the 10 National weather - 1 minute - "1/04/05 - 4pm" and Sport "1/04/05 - 4pm" is checked against the subscriber information. The final element in the sequence, comedy, is a non time based application and selection of non time based applications in this example is cyclically based per subscriber. As this is the first session initiated by the subscriber, the first comedy clip, clip A, is selected. The result for this session is the following: 15 News (4pm update) > National weather (4pm update) > Interstitial X > Sport summary (4pm update) > Comedy (clip A). The computer 12 then sends a request to the video server 24 to deliver the first content item in the sequence. The server 24 retrieves and streams, via the video enhanced network, the 4pm News to the mobile phone 16 of the subscriber. When this 20 content item has finished playing the video server 24 informs the computer 12 which updates the "content viewed list" field in the database 22. The computer 12 then instructs the video server 24 to deliver the next item of content in the sequence. The transition between content items occurs seamlessly. The sequence continues until all the content in the sequence has been viewed by 25 the user (i.e the sequence ends) or until the user ends the service by hanging up or by terminating the delivery of the information. Figure 3 illustrates the status of the database 22 for this subscriber at the end of the sequence. Of course the sequence may continue until the user terminates the session by activating the end key on the display pad on the mobile phone 16 or until the caller 30 interrupts the playing sequence whilst remaining in the session. This later feature is useful if the subscriber has indicated that they wanted the replay option for the particular content item in which the session was terminated. If the session is not prematurely ended the video server 24 will return control to the computer 12 which will, by default, present the control screen. 35 In the alternative case that the user selects that the sequence is to be defined in accordance with the default setting of the system 10, the user is presented with the WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 10 predefined sequence (which may consist of a different predefined sequence for morning, afternoon or evening viewing as is illustrated in table 2.) Content Sequences Morning News (3 minutes) > Weather (1 minute) > Comedy clip (1 minute) > Sports (1 minute)> Movie review (1 minute) Afternoon: News update (1 minute) > Business (3 minutes) > Sitcom (1 minute) > Weather update (1 minute) Evening: News update (1 minute) > Business update (1 minute) > Weather update (1 minute)> Sports (1 minute) > Movie trailer (1 minute) Table 2. 5 Selection of the predefined sequence is an automatic initiation of a session as discussed above The system is an active management system. A reminder is sent to each subscriber reminding the user that they are subscribed to the service. 10 As illustrated by the above example, personalisation is a key advantage of the invention. In an alternative example, a user can activate a dedicated button on the handset of the mobile phone to initiate the service. Of course the content sequence may be delivered in different manner. In a 15 further example the computer 12 determines the sequence of content items which are to be played (either the whole sequence or a predetermined set, the first <n> items). The computer 12 then presents this set request to the video server 24 which streams the video to the subscriber via the wireless network 18. If the subscriber terminates the sequence, the video server 24 sends back a marker indicating where the sequence 20 ended. This marker could be either a time stamp wherein the computer 12 determines which item of content was playing based on the duration of content block) or a content item reference. The computer 12 then flags all viewed content prior to this point as viewed content. The computer 12 tracks the time of the sequence based upon the duration of the <n> items supplied. When the end is approaching the computer 12 25 sends an update to the video server 24 consisting of the next <n> items to play.

WO 2006/113975 PCT/AU2006/000559 11 In other examples monitoring of the frequency which an item is viewed may be monitored so as to provide revenue reports to content providers. It should be appreciated that content which is not made for mobile but make for a different format can still be delivered. Therefore content may be standard broadcast 5 content created either for delivery as film cinematic, television HDTV, video or online content. It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly 10 described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims (26)

1. A system for the delivery of content to a user having access to a mobile handset, the system comprising: a computer operable to receive user data from a prospective user, the user data including a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered and a sequence in which content is to be delivered; and a server in communication with the computer and operable to retrieve a selected content item related to the content type, and to deliver the content item to the user at the mobile number in accordance with the specified sequence; where the content item selected for delivery is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user.

2. A system according to claim 1, where the computer receives the user data via one of a user's mobile handset, a web interface, an email request and a customer representative.

3. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where the user data further includes information as to whether a user has selected an option to replay a previously viewed item of content.

4. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where content types include one or more of news, weather, business reports, sports, comedy clips, animations, sitcoms, mini drama, movie reviews and interstitials.

5. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where the system further includes a database to store the user data and the content items, where the content items are classified according to content type.

6. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where content items are stored as video content, created or edited into a form suitable for display on a display screen of a mobile handset.

7. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where a content item comprises a clip from an existing medium. 13

8. A system according to any one of the preceding claims, where at least one content item contains metadata about that item.

9. A system according to claim 8, where metadata includes information about how to classify that item of content when a user terminates a sequence before completion of the sequence.

10. A system according to claim 4, where an interstitial comprises one of an advertisement, a short program, a still image, text or a header for a forthcoming item.

11. A system according to claim 4 or claim 10, where an interstitial is programmed into a sequence between a pair of content items and includes information about at least one of the pair of content items.

12. A system according to claim 4 or 10, where an interstitial is programmed into a sequence between a pair of content items and is selected in accordance with a pre determined pattern.

13. A method for the delivery of content to a user having access to a mobile handset, the method comprising: receiving user data from a prospective user, the user data including a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered and a sequence in which content is to be delivered; receiving a request from the user to receive subscribed to content; and in response to the request, retrieving a selected content item related to the content type and delivering the content item to the user at the specified mobile number in accordance with the specified sequence, whereby the content item which is delivered to the user is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising compiling a content sequence based on the received user data.

15. A method according to claim 13, further comprising retrieving a default sequence based on the received user data. 14

16. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, further comprising forming a user profile from the user data.

17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, further comprising delivering a notification message to the user at the specified mobile number, whereby the notification message notifies the user when one of a new content type and a new content item related to a selected content type becomes available.

18. A method for operating a mobile phone, the method comprising: activating one of a menu option and a dedicated key on a keypad of a mobile phone, to commence delivery of subscribed to content comprising at least one content item; and receiving subscribed to content, wherein the content item received is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising activating one of a menu option and a dedicated key on a keypad of the mobile phone to subscribe to the service for delivery of content to a user having access to a mobile handset.

20. The method according to claim 19, where subscribing to the service comprises selecting at least a type of content to be delivered.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising specifying the sequence in which the content types are to be delivered.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, where subscribing to the service further comprises selecting an option to replay a previously viewed item of content.

23. A computer software product for selecting content for delivery to a user having access to a mobile handset, the product comprising: a communications layer to establish a connection between a computer and a mobile handset; and computer code means operable to receive an instruction from a user via the mobile handset to commence delivery of subscribed to content to the mobile handset, and further operable to retrieve user data and to select a content item based on the 15 retrieved user data, where the user data includes a type of content and a mobile number to which the content is to be delivered; where the content item selected for delivery is content which has not previously been viewed, unless otherwise specified by the user.

24. A computer software product according to claim 23, where the communications layer is operable to establish a connection between the computer and a server.

25. A computer software product according to claim 24, where the computer code means is further operable to send an instruction to the server to retrieve and stream the selected content item to the user at the subscribed mobile number.

26. A computer software product according to claim 25, where the computer code means is further operable to receive information from the server that streaming of the content item is complete, or that the streaming of the content item has been terminated.