Methods and apparatus for identification and insertion of content targeted to a particular audience within a content-based network, such as a cable television or satellite network. In one embodiment of the invention, audience qualities are identified and distributed to an advertisement decision maker, which uses the information to fulfill advertisement placement opportunities. Qualifiers about an existing or projected audience are classified utilizing an algorithm for qualifier weight and variance in order to determine the proximity any given qualifier may be to a target audience for an advertisement. Subscriber privacy and anonymity is also optionally maintained via e.g., hashing or encrypting data relating to the CPE and/or subscriber, thus ensuring that audience data is not traceable to a specific user account. Business methods are also disclosed.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses are described herein for providing alternate content in place of other content based on an issue associated with receiving the other content. The alternate content may be an advertisement associated with the other content. Output of the other content may resume once the issue is resolved and/or after output of the alternate content has concluded.

A media presentation and distribution system is communicatively coupled to a client device, which handles presentation of overlay-graphic items at the client device. The client device receives a media stream from the media presentation and distribution system via a network. The received media stream includes media content and one or more tags. The client device further identifies in the received media content, the one or more tags, which corresponds to the overlay-graphic items. The client device further identifies candidate time-periods in the media content based on the identified one or more tags in the media content. At least one presentation attribute for the overlay-graphic items is identified based on the identified one or more tags in the media content. The client device further presents the overlay-graphic items at the candidate time-periods om the media content based on the identified at least presentation attribute.

A media presentation and distribution system includes a verification server that handles dynamic verification of playback of media assets on a client device. The client device receives an asset stream of media assets that comprises one or more tags embedded in the media assets. The client device detects an asset identifier associated with each of the media assets during playback of each media asset on the client device, based on identification of a tag of the one or more tags. The verification server verifies the playback of the media assets on the client device based on received support information from the client device. The playback of the media assets are verified to satisfy defined asset delivery criteria and to identify and debug a deviation or one or more errors with the playback of the media assets.

A system is described for maintaining synchrony of operations among a plurality of devices that have independent clocking arrangements. The system includes a task distribution device that distributes tasks to a synchrony group comprising a plurality of devices that are to perform the tasks distributed by the task distribution device in synchrony. The task distribution device distributes each task to the members of the synchrony group over a network. Each task is associated with a time stamp that indicates a time, relative to a clock maintained by the task distribution device, at which the members of the synchrony group are to execute the task. Each member of the synchrony group periodically obtains from the task distribution device an indication of the current time indicated by its clock, determines a time differential between the task distribution device's clock and its respective clock and determines therefrom a time at which, according to its respective clock, the time stamp indicates that it is to execute the task.

In a network comprising a plurality of synchrony groups, including at least a first synchrony group and a second synchrony group, wherein a first zone player is a member of the first synchrony group and a second zone player is a member of the second synchrony group, a method comprising: transmitting, by the first zone player while the first zone player is playing a first audio information, a second audio information to the second zone player, wherein the second audio information is different from the first audio information; and playing, by the second synchrony group, the second audio information while the first synchrony group is playing the first audio information.

A system and method for contextually enriching a concept database. The method includes determining, based on at least one signature of a first multimedia data element (MMDE) and signatures of a plurality of third concepts stored in the concept database, at least one matching first concept among the plurality of third concepts; generating a reduced representation of the first MMDE; comparing the reduced representation of the first MMDE to signatures representing a plurality of second MMDEs to determine a plurality of matching MMDEs among the plurality of second MMDEs; generating, based on the reduced representation of the first MMDE and the signatures representing the plurality of matching MMDEs, a second concept; and generating at least one context based on the second concept and the plurality of third concepts, wherein each context includes at least one common pattern among the second concept and at least one of the plurality of third concepts.

A media presentation and distribution system (MPDS) that handles rules-based presentation of non-programming media items, receives a user request (which includes user parameters) for delivery of programming media content at a first client device and transmits a media stream that includes the programming media content with a plurality of identifiers present with the programming media content. The MPDS further receives a request that includes one or more user preferences from the first client device, based on a detection of the plurality of identifiers. The MPDS further determines a set of non-programming media items for delivery to first client device based on the user parameters, targeting parameters, goals associated with a non-programming media item. The MPDS further generates rules and constraints information for non-programming media items and instructs a delivery of the set of non-programming media items and the rules and constraints information to first client device.

Systems and methods are provided herein for identifying viewers who are engaged in a media asset but unlikely to consume secondary content, and presenting, to the identified viewers, some secondary content designed to incentivize the identified viewers to consume secondary content. These systems and methods determine that a viewer is engaged in a media asset upon determining level of engagement of the viewer in the media asset is greater than a threshold value. These systems and methods determine that the viewer is unlikely to consume secondary content upon determining level of engagement of the viewer in secondary content is less than a threshold value. These systems and methods, upon determining that the viewer is engaged in the media asset but unlikely to consume secondary content, generate for display secondary content related to the media asset during breaks in the media asset.

Systems and methods are provided herein for identifying viewers who are engaged in a media asset but unlikely to consume secondary content, and presenting, to the identified viewers, some secondary content designed to incentivize the identified viewers to consume secondary content. These systems and methods determine that a viewer is engaged in a media asset upon determining level of engagement of the viewer in the media asset is greater than a threshold value. These systems and methods determine that the viewer is unlikely to consume secondary content upon determining level of engagement of the viewer in secondary content is less than a threshold value. These systems and methods, upon determining that the viewer is engaged in the media asset but unlikely to consume secondary content, generate for display secondary content related to the media asset during breaks in the media asset.