Patents Assigned to The Nielsen Company (US)
  • Publication number: 20240171790
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to identify candidates for media asset qualification. Example apparatus disclosed herein include a media creditor to determine whether to credit a first media asset to linear media or non-linear media, the non-linear media including subscription video on demand (SVOD). Disclosed example apparatus also include a media asset candidate controller to: classify the first media asset as a non-candidate for media asset qualification in response to the first media asset being credited to the linear media or the non-linear media. In some examples, the media asset candidate controller is to determine whether to classify the first media asset as a candidate for media asset qualification based on whether the first media asset remains uncredited by the media creditor and the first media asset overlaps a streaming period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2023
    Publication date: May 23, 2024
    Applicant: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Raghuram Ranganathan, David Howell Wright, James Petro, Daniel Nelson, Deborah Cross
  • Patent number: 11991404
    Abstract: Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to determine synthetic total audience ratings are disclosed. Disclosed example apparatus are to access census data including census viewing statements associated with media content presented by census devices, access panel data including panelist viewing statements associated with media content presented by panel devices, the panel data including weights to represent numbers of individuals to be represented by corresponding panelists, determine scores representing similarities between ones of a first group of census devices determined to having matching panel devices in the panel data and ones of a second group of census devices determined to be unmatched in the panel data, and assign the census devices to the panel devices based on the scores and the weights.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Chiara Frisardi, Claudio Meraviglia, Stefano Pedretti, Fabio Filatrella, Davide Rindori, Stefano Ghiotto, Valerio Maretti, Gianmarco Ria, Marco Abrate, Fabio Scantamburlo, Gianluca Costante, Michela Papandrea, Tiziano Leidi, Andrea Quattrini, Davide Nasi
  • Patent number: 11991403
    Abstract: A method and system for dynamically watermarking media content based on transport-stream metadata, to facilitate action by a downstream entity. An intermediary in a media-distribution path could receive a transport stream carrying media content and carrying metadata that is not watermarked in the media content. The intermediary could then obtain from the transport stream the metadata that is not watermarked in the media content and could modify the media content at least by encoding into the media content a watermark that represents the obtained metadata. And the intermediary could then output at least the modified media content for transmission to a downstream entity. The downstream entity could thus obtain from the watermark in the media content the metadata and could use the metadata to facilitate carrying out one or more useful actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Shashank C. Merchant, Benjamin J. Ropke, John S. Stavropoulos
  • Patent number: 11989213
    Abstract: Techniques for analyzing media content are described. One technique generally comprises performing a regression analysis for characters in a plurality of media content based on user demographics, content outcome measure, and character models. The technique determines an attribute of significance. In some embodiments, the technique selects media content for display that depicts a character having at least a threshold value of the attribute of significance. In some embodiments, the technique displays media analytics for the attribute of significance determined based on a value of the attribute of significance exceeding a threshold significance value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Meghana Bhatt, Rachel Payne, Natasha Mohanty
  • Patent number: 11989746
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to project ratings for future broadcasts of media. Disclosed example methods include normalizing, with a processor, audience measurement data corresponding to media exposure data, social media exposure data and programming information associated with a future quarter to determine normalized audience measurement data. Disclosed example methods also include classifying a media asset based on the programming information to determine a media asset classification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Jingsong Cui, Peter Campbell Doe, Scott Sereday
  • Publication number: 20240163344
    Abstract: Disclosed examples include at least one memory, instructions, and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to generate a device graph, the device graph to represent links between ones of personally identifiable information nodes and ones of device nodes, generate person-clusters based on the device graph, the person-clusters based on the links and community detection hyperparameter values, generate a node-to-person lookup structure based on the person-clusters, and deduplicate impression data based on the node-to-person lookup structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2023
    Publication date: May 16, 2024
    Applicant: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Kevin Li, Jan Laurens Geffert
  • Patent number: 11983730
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to correct for deterioration of a demographic model to associate demographic information with media impression information are disclosed. An example method includes estimating first and second ages of audience members based on demographic information; estimating a third age of an audience member who is not included in the audience members; applying a window function to the second ages to determine a distribution of ages based on the third age; multiplying window values by the first ages to determine corrected first age components; dividing a total of the corrected first age components by a sum of the window values to determine an estimated age of the audience member at a first time; and determining the corrected age of the audience member at a second time based on the estimated age of the audience member at the first time and a time difference between the first and second times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Michael Sheppard, Jonathan Sullivan, Matthew B. Reid, Alejandro Terrazas
  • Patent number: 11985203
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatus to identify media devices are disclosed. An example network communications monitor includes network interface circuitry, computer readable instructions, and processor circuitry. The processor circuitry is to execute the computer readable instructions to detect, via the network interface circuitry, multiple network communications transmitted on a home network within the household, access panelist data that associates a panelist of the household with a panelist device of the panelist, determine, based on the panelist data, that one or more of the multiple network communications are associated with the panelist device, and cause storage of data identifying the one or more network communications in association with the panelist.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Jan Besehanic
  • Patent number: 11985368
    Abstract: Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to determine synthetic total audience ratings are disclosed. Disclosed example apparatus are to access census data including census viewing statements associated with media content presented by census devices, access panel data including panelist viewing statements associated with media content presented by panel devices, the panel data including weights to represent numbers of individuals to be represented by corresponding panelists, divide the weights for respective ones of the panelists into respective sets of split weights, and assign the census viewing statements to at least subsets of the sets of split weights to determine the audience ratings for the population, the assignment of the census viewing statements to the at least subsets of the sets of split weights based on a reach constraint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Chiara Frisardi, Claudio Meraviglia, Stefano Pedretti, Fabio Filatrella, Davide Rindori, Stefano Ghiotto, Valerio Maretti, Gianmarco Ria, Marco Abrate, Fabio Scantamburlo, Gianluca Costante, Michela Papandrea, Tiziano Leidi, Andrea Quattrini, Davide Nasi
  • Patent number: 11985384
    Abstract: Example apparatus disclosed herein includes a grouper to generate a first presence indication based on a threshold number of segments of image data including patterns of light values corresponding to a first human pulse. Disclosed example apparatus also include a face identifier to identify a first location associated with a human face in an environment associated with the image data based on thermal imaging data from a thermal imaging device, and output the first location associated with the human face in the environment associated with the image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Michael Alan Hicks
  • Patent number: 11985382
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to validate reference media assets in media identification systems. Example apparatus disclosed herein are to identify respective instances of media represented by corresponding candidate media resources to be verified, and cause the respective instances of media to be presented and monitored by corresponding ones of a plurality of virtual machines. Disclosed example apparatus are also to perform a comparison of a first one of the candidate media resources to a corresponding test media resource generated by a first one of the virtual machines that played and monitored a first one of the instances of media represented by the first one of the candidate media resources. Disclosed example apparatus are further to validate the first one of the candidate media resources based on the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Sandeep Tapse
  • Patent number: 11977575
    Abstract: Techniques for recommending media are described. A character preference function comprising a plurality of preference coefficients is accessed. A first character model comprises a first set of attribute values for the plurality of attributes of a first character. The first and second characters are associated with a first and second salience value, respectively. A second character model comprises a second set of attribute values for the plurality of attributes of a second character of the plurality of characters. A first character rating is calculated using the plurality of preference coefficients and the first set of attribute values. A second character rating of the second character is calculated using the plurality of preference coefficients with the second set of attribute values. A media rating is calculated based on the first and second salience values and the first and second character ratings. A media is recommended based on the media rating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Rachel Payne, Meghana Bhatt, Natasha Mohanty
  • Patent number: 11978071
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to determine reach with time dependent weights are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein includes determining a first subset of panelists exposed to media at a first time; determining a second subset of the panelists exposed to the media at a second time; applying a first plurality of weights to the first subset of panelists to generate first weighted exposures; applying a second plurality of weights to the second subset of the panelists to generate second weighted exposures; for a first panelist in the first and second subsets, determining a first cumulative weighted exposure by determining which of the first and second weighted exposures is largest for each of the first panelist; for a second panelist in one of the first and second subsets, determining a second cumulative weighted exposure by based on the weight applied to the second panelist; and determining a reach of the media for the first and second times by combining the first and second cumulative weighted exposures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Michael Sheppard, Ludo Daemen, Stephen S. Bell, Jonathan Sullivan
  • Patent number: 11978275
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to monitor environments are disclosed. Example audience measurement devices disclosed herein execute, in connection with a first frame of data, a three-dimensional recognition analysis on an object detected in an environment within a threshold distance from a sensor. Disclosed example audience measurement devices also detect that the object has moved outside the threshold distance from the sensor in a second frame subsequent to the first frame. Disclosed example audience measurement devices further execute a two-dimensional recognition analysis on the object in the second frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Morris Lee, Alejandro Terrazas
  • Publication number: 20240146635
    Abstract: Methods to predict end of streaming media using a prediction model are disclosed herein. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, instructions in the apparatus, and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to generate a prediction model using a mean value of a bandwidth of a transmission of a streaming media to a user device and an amplitude of the streaming media, and identify an end of a streaming media session when an output of the prediction model satisfies a threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Applicant: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Jan Besehanic
  • Patent number: 11971922
    Abstract: Disclosed examples determine a unique audience exposed to media while reducing memory resources of a computing device. Example instructions program programmable circuitry to log a plurality of impressions corresponding to media accessed at client devices; generate a first value based on a count of the impressions and a count of users of a database proprietor that accessed the media; generate a second value based on the first value and a count of demographic impressions logged by the database proprietor; and determine a unique audience size based on the second value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Michael R. Sheppard, Jonathan Sullivan, Peter Lipa, Matthew B. Reid, Peter C. Doe, Peng Fei Yi
  • Patent number: 11973576
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems are disclosed for estimating panel attrition. An example apparatus includes at least one memory, machine readable instructions, and processor circuitry to execute the machine readable instructions to determine a beta distribution of a non-parametric survival curve estimate based on panel meter data associated with a cohort of panelists, determine confidence intervals for a set of beta distribution parameters associated with the survival curve estimate, and output a panelist attrition estimate generated based on the confidence intervals for the survival curve estimate, the panelist attrition estimate to represent panelist retention over time based on an installation date of the panel meter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Michael Sheppard, Christie Nicole Summers, Molly Poppie
  • Patent number: 11973816
    Abstract: Methods, apparatus, systems, storage media, etc., to perform media monitoring for mobile platforms using messaging associated with adaptive bitrate streaming are disclosed. An example media platform disclosed herein is to detect an outgoing message to be sent by the mobile platform to stream media in accordance with an online streaming protocol, and associate resource identifier information included in the outgoing message with a time value. The disclosed example media platform is also to transmit the outgoing message to a first server to cause the media to be streamed to the mobile platform, and transmit the resource identifier information and the time value to a second server different from the first server to cause a media impression associated with the mobile platform to be monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Jan Besehanic
  • Publication number: 20240137609
    Abstract: Example local devices disclosed herein include memory including a set of reference fingerprints corresponding to media, the set of reference fingerprints from a remote device different from the local device and one or more processor circuits to execute machine readable instructions to generate a monitored fingerprint of the media presented at a location and compare the monitored fingerprint to at least some of the set of reference fingerprints from the remote device. Additionally, the one or more processor circuits are to determine an amount of time that has passed since the media started and after a match between the monitored fingerprint and one or more reference fingerprints of the set of reference fingerprints, cause transmission of audience measurement information to identify the media, the audience measurement information including data indicative of the amount of time that has passed since the media started.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 1, 2024
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Applicant: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventor: Francis Gavin McMillan
  • Patent number: 11968413
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media are disclosed. An example apparatus includes for measurement of exposure to streaming media includes at least one memory, instructions in the apparatus, and processor circuitry to execute the instructions to: access metadata identifying media presented to a user, and cookie data, the metadata and the cookie data provided by a client device; determine whether the cookie data identifies the user to a database proprietor; in response to a determination that the cookie data does not identify the user to the database proprietor, send a redirect message instructing the client device to retransmit the metadata to a next-hop location; and in response to a determination that the cookie data does identify the user to the database proprietor, provide the metadata and a user identifier to a central facility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: The Nielsen Company (US), LLC
    Inventors: Arun Ramaswamy, Alan Bosworth, Kevin K. Gaynor, Narasimha Reddy Goli