Abstract: Systems and methods of content scheduling are disclosed in this application. Methods of the inventive subject matter facilitate scheduling of streaming content that is hosted on websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Schedules can be different based on the time zone in which a client computer attempts to access the content on the schedule. Methods disclosed in this application make it easy to quickly schedule an entire season of a show to run during a time period based on time zone. Methods disclosed in this application also facilitate modifying, creating, or implementing channel schedules across one or more time zones, where the channel schedule includes episodes of video content.

Abstract: In this application, methods of facilitating serving advertisements to users are described. Methods of the inventive subject matter allow for delivery of advertisement videos, both in the form of commercials and in the form of product placement, such that users can interact with one or more buttons that are included in an interactive overlay on the advertisement video. Buttons in an interactive overlay can prompt a user to provide an input to a client to bring about a desired effect, e.g., to make a purchase or to request more information. Interaction with a button does not cause an interruption in any video content that includes an interactive overlay prompting a user for input.

Abstract: Systems and methods of managing online streaming content are contemplated in this application. A new data structure is discussed. The new data structure is useful for the organization and delivery of streaming content—especially live content. Systems and methods make it possible for a broadcast manager to determine when advertisements can be played during a live broadcast (e.g., during a time out in a basketball game). Episode containers (the new data structure) include different segments, including both video-segments and advertisement-segments, where segments can be used to broadcast video from different sources. This can be particularly useful for broadcasting of content online where advertisement videos can be hosted elsewhere from where the broadcast content is hosted, allowing users to seamlessly watch a program with advertisements without experiencing interruption when they are transitioned to an advertisement from the broadcast.

Abstract: A system for distributed content distribution is presented which enables and facilitates distributed content programming. According to the system, a list of content segments that make up an episode and episode metadata are distributed from server to client. The client uses the list of content segments and the episode metadata to present a streamlined viewing experience to the user, notwithstanding different locations, formats, encoding schemes, and packetization schemes of the content underlying the list of content segments.

Abstract: Methods of delivering episodic content according to time zone specific schedules are disclosed. Video content is scheduled and delivered via complex interactions between clients and servers, where a service host can be used to coordinate delivery of content from a content host. It is contemplated that, in the event video content is unavailable at a scheduled time, an error message can be delivered to a client while a prompt to rectify the error condition can be delivered to a channel manager via the service host.

Abstract: Systems and methods of content scheduling are disclosed in this application. Methods of the inventive subject matter facilitate scheduling of streaming content that is hosted on websites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Schedules can be different based on the time zone in which a client computer attempts to access the content on the schedule. Methods disclosed in this application make it easy to quickly schedule an entire season of a show to run during a time period based on time zone. Methods disclosed in this application also facilitate modifying, creating, or implementing channel schedules across one or more time zones, where the channel schedule includes episodes of video content.