Systems and methods are configured to manage streaming video content. A first time length specification for a content pod is accessed. If a determination is made that a response to a request for ancillary content of a duration corresponding to the first time length of the content pod includes ancillary content of insufficient duration to populate the first time length of the content pod, the content pod time length is reduced. Ancillary content items associated with the response to the request are streamed to a user device as part of a streaming channel comprising primary content having scheduled start times. A primary content item, having a scheduled start time, is streamed to the user device after the items of ancillary content, and earlier than the scheduled start time of the item of primary content.

Systems and methods for providing user generated and curated video content streaming on-demand to facilitate and incentivize digital competition are provided. Video clips are uploaded to a platform and made available for electronic interaction. Certain of said video clips are selected for incorporation into highlight presentations. Advertising is inserted into at least some of the highlight presentations and payments are disbursed to content generators associated with the video clips in the highlight presentations for which payment is received.

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.

Methods and systems are described for a media guidance application that limits the incentive for authorized users to share content with unauthorized users, while still allowing users to access content virtually anywhere. Specifically, the media guidance application allows an authorized user to receive only a portion of a media asset that he or she is authorized to access on a different device, after a designated time period, and/or when the remaining portion of the media asset is inaccessible.

A content server may receive from a user device a request for a content asset and may send to the playback device a permit for accessing the content asset. The permit may be used by the content server in order to enforce a concurrency restriction, or a number of concurrent playbacks of one or more content assets desired or permitted by the playback device. In response to receiving a request for a content asset segment associated with a content asset, the content server may determine whether the number of permits currently granted to the playback device exceeds the number of desired or permitted accesses by the playback device, or a group of playback devices, to the content asset or one or more content assets. If so, then the content server may discontinue sending to the playback device any further content asset segments associated with that content asset.

A system for distributing live videos includes: one or more computer processors that: distribute first live videos provided by a distributor to viewers; manage a value of a predetermined parameter associated with the distributor for each of the viewers, wherein for each of the viewers, the predetermined parameter increases as one or both of viewing time and a number of times of viewing of the first live videos increases; notify a start of distribution of a second live video provided by the distributor to one or more of the viewers whose predetermined parameter is less than a predetermined value, but not to the other viewers whose predetermined parameter is greater than or equal to the predetermined value.

Provided is a content utilization platform system including an image production device configured to produce and output an image output by applying augmented reality (AR) content to a captured subject; a server configured to extract AR content based on at least one of the number of users, ticket information, viewing information, reservation information, and a subject image, to provide the extracted AR content to the image production device, to receive an image produced by the image production device from the image production device, and to provide a virtual space using the produced image; and a user terminal configured to connect to the virtual space provided from the server.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to extend a timestamp range supported by a watermark without breaking backwards compatibility are disclosed. An example watermark encoder includes a counter to increment symbols of a watermark timestamp and a controller to control the counter to increment the symbols of the watermark timestamp based on a key, the controller to cause the counter to restrict ones of the symbol values to increment over one of a first range of symbol values or a second range of symbol values based on a value of the key, the second range of symbol values different from the first range of symbol values.

A computing system compares various reference fingerprints each representing a reference media stream broadcast on a different respective known channel, and the computing system determines that a plurality of the reference fingerprints match each other, thus defining a multi-match group of the matching reference fingerprints. In response, the computing system identifies a fingerprint feature that could define a distinction between the reference fingerprints, and the computing system resolves the multi-match based on the identified feature, thereby determining the channel carrying the media stream being rendered by the media presentation device. And the computing system could then take channel-specific action based on the determined channel.

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture are disclosed to generate a signature based on signature candidates. An example apparatus disclosed herein includes first means for determining an alignment point of a first candidate signature segment and a second candidate signature segment, the first candidate signature segment and the second candidate signature segment include time data and signature data, the alignment point based on the time data of the first candidate signature segment and the time data of the second candidate signature segment, means for comparing a first signature to a second signature at the alignment point, the first signature representative of media included in the first candidate signature segment, the second signature included in the second candidate signature segment, and means for stitching the second signature to the first signature based on the comparison to generate a stitched signature, the stitched signature to be used for media crediting.