KR100736258B1 - Audience rating survey System and Method using Internet Group Management protocol - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a system that connects an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) supporting switching hub that delivers a multicasting stream from a streaming server to IP-based set-top boxes to investigate the viewer ratings of broadcasts that the set-top boxes watch. A viewing information classification module that receives a subscription / leave message of a multicast group from a switching hub, classifies the basic information of a predetermined item from the received subscription / leave message, and stores the classified basic information in the classification information DB. ; A condition setting module for setting filtering items necessary for analyzing viewer ratings in various forms; An rating analysis module configured to analyze ratings by receiving EPG information and classification information stored in the EPG information DB and the classification information DB by referring to the conditions set by the condition setting module; And storing the classified information in the classification information DB according to the request of the viewing information classification module, transmitting the condition set according to the request of the condition setting module to the rating analysis module, and requesting the EPG information DB and the classification information according to the request of the rating analysis module. It includes a control module for extracting and providing each EPG information and classification information stored in the DB.

Broadcast programs, ratings, surveys, research, accuracy, confidence errors

Description

Audience rating survey system and method using internet group management protocol

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a rating system according to the present invention.

2 is a functional block diagram of a rating system according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to a rating system and method, and more particularly, to a system and method for examining a rating of a broadcast program using an internet group management protocol for an IP-based set-top box receiving a multicasting stream from a streaming server. It is about.

The audience rating research in the existing broadcasting system is limited to a sample group, requires the active cooperation of viewers, various types of audience rating research is difficult, the accuracy of statistical data is low, and it is expensive.

Recently, with the rise of IP-based televisions (called "IP-TVs"), it is possible to watch broadcast programs by receiving a multicasting stream using a set-top box.

In order to investigate the ratings of the broadcast programs received and watched by the IP-TV, it is most ideal to transmit viewing information such as channel information viewed from the set-top box of the subscriber end.

However, in order to do this, a separate module for audience rating research should be installed in the subscriber set-top box, and there is a problem that it is difficult to cope with set-top box environments of various standards and types at this time.

Accordingly, the present invention is proposed to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to extract and analyze the viewing information from the subscription / unsubscribe message of the set-top box using the Internet group management protocol. It is to allow viewership surveys regardless of composition.

Another object of the present invention is to target accurate subscriber ratings by targeting all subscribers connected to a switching hub that supports the Internet group management protocol.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be clearly understood through the preferred embodiments described below.

According to an aspect of the present invention, connected to an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) supporting switching hub that delivers a multicasting stream from a streaming server to IP-based set-top boxes to investigate the viewer ratings of the broadcasts watched by the set-top boxes. A system for receiving a subscription / leave message of a multicast group from a switching hub, classifying basic information of a predetermined item from the received subscription / leave message, and requesting to store the classified basic information in the classification information DB. Viewing information classification module; A condition setting module for setting filtering items necessary for analyzing viewer ratings in various forms; An rating analysis module configured to analyze ratings by receiving EPG information and classification information stored in the EPG information DB and the classification information DB by referring to the conditions set by the condition setting module; And storing the classified information in the classification information DB according to the request of the viewing information classification module, transmitting the condition set according to the request of the condition setting module to the rating analysis module, and requesting the EPG information DB and the classification information according to the request of the rating analysis module. Disclosed is a viewer rating survey system using an internet group management protocol including a control module for extracting and providing EPG information and classification information stored in a DB, respectively.

Preferably, the viewer rating analysis module may further receive the user information corresponding to the set-top box from the user information DB according to the condition set by the condition setting module to analyze the viewer rating.

In addition, the basic information classified by the viewing information classification module may include a message reception date, a MAC address of the set-top box, a broadcasting channel, a subscription time, and a withdrawal time.

In addition, the filtering item set by the condition setting module may include a broadcast program, a broadcast channel, a viewing time, a viewer's age or occupation or gender, and a residential area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for investigating the ratings of broadcasts watched by set-top boxes connected to an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) supporting switching hub that delivers a multicasting stream from a streaming server to IP-based set-top boxes. Receiving a multicast group join / leave message from the switching hub, and classifying and storing the settop box identifier and the viewing information from the received join / leave message; Setting filtering items necessary for analyzing viewership in various forms; And analyzing the viewer ratings by receiving the stored set-top box identifier and the viewer information with reference to the set condition.

Preferably, in the analyzing of the viewer rating, the electronic program guide information and the user information corresponding to the set-top box may be further provided to analyze the viewer rating.

In addition, the set-top box identifier may include a set-top box MAC address, and the viewing information may include a message reception date, a broadcast channel, a subscription time, and a withdrawal time.

Preferably, the filtering item may include a broadcast program, a broadcast channel, a viewing time, a viewer's age or occupation or gender, and a residential area.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a rating system according to the present invention.

As shown, each set-top box (300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n) is connected to a switching hub 200 that supports the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) connected to the multicast from the streaming server 400 Receive a stream through. Although the televisions connected to the set top boxes 300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n are not shown for convenience, the set-top box may refer to the IP-TV in the following description.

According to the present invention, the survey server 100 is connected to the switching hub 200 to receive a join / leave message of the multicast group of the set-top boxes 300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n.

2 is a functional block diagram of a rating system according to the present invention.

The audience rating research system according to the present invention includes a control module 110, a viewer information classification module 140, a condition setting module 120, and an audience rating analysis module 120, and the set-top box identifier and the broadcast program viewing in the set-top box. To a user who owns each set-top box, a classification information DB (156) for storing information related to the following (hereinafter referred to as viewing information), an electronic program guide (EPG) information DB (152) for storing information related to a broadcast program And a user user information DB 154 for storing corresponding user information.

The audience information classification module 140 receives a subscription / leave message of a multicast group from the switching hub 200, classifies the basic information of a predetermined item from the received subscription / leave message, and classifies the basic information (hereinafter, The control module 110 to store the classification information in the classification information DB 156.

The condition setting module 120 sets filtering items necessary for analyzing the viewer ratings in various forms. The filter conditions may include a broadcast program, a broadcast channel, a viewing time, a viewer's age or occupation, a gender, a residential area, and the like. These include the classification information DB 156, the electronic program guide DB 152, and the user information DB 154. Is optionally provided).

The audience rating analysis module 130 refers to the conditions set by the condition setting module 120, and the EPG information, the user information, and the classification stored in the EPG information DB 152, the user information DB 154, and the classification information DB 156, respectively. Analyze viewership by receiving information.

The control module 110 receives and processes a request of each module and controls the operation of each module. For example, the classified information is stored in the classification information DB 156 according to the request of the viewing information classification module 140, and the condition set according to the request of the condition setting module 120 is transmitted to the rating analysis module 130. The EPG information, user information, and classification information stored in the EPG information DB 152, the user information DB 154, and the classification information DB 156 are extracted and provided according to the request of the viewership analysis module 130, respectively. do.

Hereinafter, the operation of the audience rating research system having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

For convenience of explanation, the following conditions are assumed.

Table 1 shows the contents stored in the user information DB 154, and Table 2 shows the contents classified and stored in the classification information DB 156. The MAC address of Table 2 corresponds to the set top box of Table 1, respectively.

Set top box address viewers … … … gender age job … … … One Seoul south 20 employee … … … 2 game south 35 inoccupation 3 Seoul female 33 self-employment 4 Jeonbuk south 32 self-employment 5 Jeonnam female 18 student 6 Seoul south 40 lawyer 7 Gyeongbuk female 55 housewife 8 Gyeongnam female 38 housewife 9 Jeju south 56 self-employment 10 Seoul female 70 inoccupation

Receive Date MAC address Broadcast Channel 1 Join Time 1 Withdrawal Time1 Broadcast Channel 2 Join Time 2 Withdrawal Time 2 2005.3.12 MAC addr1 7 21:00 21:30 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr2 9 21:30 23:00 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr3 11 21:00 22:00 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr4 11 21:00 22:10 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr5 11 20:10 24:30 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr6 9 12:22 12:30 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr7 13 06:30 09:10 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr8 2 08:10 10:10 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr9 7 09:15 10; 00 · · · 2005.3.12 MAC addr10 11 20:20 20:25 · · ·

When the broadcast stream via multicast is transmitted from the streaming server 400 to the connected switching hub 200, the switching hub 200 receives a subscription message among the set top boxes 300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n connected thereto. Send to the set-top box.

Set-top boxes (300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n) has a specification that supports IGMP, and sends and receives subscription or withdrawal messages through communication with the switching hub 200 that supports IGMP.

Therefore, when the set-top boxes 300a, 300b, 300c, ... 300n are activated to watch a specific broadcast channel, the subscription message is transmitted to the switching hub 200 and the group is joined to the group corresponding to the specific broadcast channel. .

When the subscription message is transmitted from any set-top box, the switching hub 200 transmits the identifier of the set-top box that transmitted the subscription message, for example, the MAC address and the viewing information, to the viewing information classification module 140 of the operation server 100. To transmit. This procedure is equally applicable to the case where an exit message from the set top box is transmitted to the switching hub 200.

In addition, even when the set-top box switches from one group (one broadcast channel) to another group (another broadcast channel), the withdrawal message for one group and the subscription message for another group are sequentially transmitted. The procedure is the same.

The viewing information classification module 140 receives the MAC address and the viewing information from the switching hub 200, classifies the received viewing information into basic information of a preset item, and requests the control module 110 to determine the MAC address. The classification information is stored in the classification information DB 156 as an index.

For example, the viewing information may be classified according to the subscribed group information, that is, broadcasting channel information, broadcasting date information, and subscription time information (or withdrawal time information in the case of withdrawal message).

Accordingly, the information is recorded in the classification information DB 156 with the contents as shown in Table 2 above.

The operator of the operation server 100 inputs the requested condition through the condition setting module 120 while starting the viewer rating survey in response to a request from the outside.

For example, suppose that the audience rating for the "natural documentary" of the child broadcast channel 11, March 12, 2005 is examined, the condition setting module 120 requests the control module 110 from the EPG information DB 152. It extracts the broadcast time of "Natural documentary" broadcasted through broadcast channel 11 on March 12, 2005, and assumes that it is 21:00 to 21:30.

After extracting the broadcast time as described above, the condition setting module 120 controls the conditions of "broadcast channel = 11", "broadcast date = 2005-3-12", and "broadcast time = 21:00-21:30". Transfer to the viewer rating analysis module 130 through (110).

The viewer rating analysis module 130 calculates an audience rating for the broadcast program requested from the classification information DB 156 with reference to the filtering condition transmitted from the condition setting module 120.

That is, referring to [Table 2], the MAC address is satisfied if the conditions of "broadcast channel = 11", "broadcast date = 2005-3-12", and "broadcast time = 21:00-21:30" are satisfied. Are MAC addr3, MAC addr4, and MAC addr5, respectively, accounting for 30% of the entire set-top box. As a result, it can be seen that the viewers who watched the program had 3% of the total audience and 30% of the viewers.

In the above embodiment, it is simply calculated because only the parts shown in the table are referred to, but in reality, the viewer may change the channel from time to time, so for more accurate calculation, reference value information about the time spent in the broadcast program is considered More conditions will have to be applied.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the case in which the user information shown in [Table 1] is not considered at all is described, but the viewer ratings can be investigated in various forms according to the viewer's age, gender, residential area or occupation.

For example, in the above embodiment, if "viewing in Jeolla-do area" is added as an additional condition, the set top boxes corresponding to MAC addr4 and MAC addr5 satisfy this condition, and as a result, a total of 10 viewers watched the program. Two out of them have an audience rating of 20%.

By setting various conditions in this manner, it is possible to calculate various types of ratings that are actually required.

That is, if only the broadcasting channel and time are set as filtering items in the most basic form, the viewer rating of the corresponding broadcasting channel can be investigated at the set time even with the classification information. By adding and combining filtering items to the most basic form, it is possible to investigate more various types of viewership.

Although the above has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above embodiments, but should be determined by the claims described below.

As described above, according to the present invention, by extracting and analyzing viewing information from the subscription / departure message of the set-top box using IGMP, a variety of set-top box environments are not required to install a separate module for rating survey on the set-top box of the subscriber. In response to this, there is an advantage that the viewer rating can be investigated.

In addition, as long as it is connected to a switching hub that supports IGMP, viewer ratings can be investigated for all subscribers, the reliability of the ratings survey result is dramatically increased and accurate.

In addition, there is an advantage that various types of statistical values can be obtained by setting various conditions associated with EPG information or user information.

Claims (8)

The system is connected to an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) supporting switching hub that delivers a multicasting stream from a streaming server to IP-based set-top boxes, and examines the viewer ratings of broadcasts watched by the set-top boxes. A viewing request for receiving a subscription / leave message of a multicast group from the switching hub, classifying into basic information of a predetermined item from the received subscription / leave message, and requesting to store the classified basic information in a classification information database. An information classification module; A condition setting module for setting filtering items necessary for analyzing viewer ratings in various forms; Analyzing the viewer rating by receiving electronic program guide information, classification information, and user information corresponding to the set-top box, respectively, stored in the electronic program guide information database, the classification information database, and the user information database by referring to the conditions set by the condition setting module. Viewer rating analysis module; And Store information classified according to the request of the viewer information classification module in the classification information database, transfer the condition set according to the request of the condition setting module, to the rating analysis module, and request the electronic rating according to the request of the rating analysis module. And a control module for extracting and providing electronic program guide information, classification information, and user information stored in a program guide information database, a classification information database, and a user information database, respectively. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the basic information classified by the viewing information classification module includes a message reception date, a MAC address of the set-top box, a broadcasting channel, a subscription time, and a withdrawal time. Audience survey system used. The method of claim 1, wherein the filtering item set by the condition setting module comprises a broadcast program, a broadcast channel, a viewing time, an audience's age, occupation, or gender, and a region of residence. system. It is connected to an IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) supporting switching hub that delivers multicasting streams from a streaming server to IP-based set-top boxes, and applies to a system for examining the viewer ratings of broadcasts watched by the set-top boxes. Receiving a join / leave message of a multicast group from the switching hub, and classifying and storing a set-top box identifier and viewing information from the received join / leave message; Setting filtering items necessary for analyzing viewership in various forms; And And analyzing the viewer ratings by receiving the stored set-top box identifier, the viewing information, the electronic program guide information, and the user information corresponding to the set-top box with reference to the set condition. Survey method. delete 6. The audience rating survey method according to claim 5, wherein the set top box identifier includes a set top box MAC address, and the viewing information includes a message reception date, a broadcasting channel, a subscription time, and a withdrawal time. Way. The method of claim 5, wherein the filtering item comprises a broadcast program, a broadcast channel, a viewing time, an age, occupation or gender of the viewer, and a residential area.

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