IP television devices may be unique and addressable, dramatically increasing the value to the advertiser (and increasing ad revenue). Unfortunately, more than one person may share the same television in a home, which means it is desirable to discover who is specifically watching the television.

Traditional television or media viewing systems offer no simple way to know who is watching the television. New television systems that offer thousands or even millions of channels can benefit

The VPIS, which may be installed in the headend of a television system, identifies and provides programs and profile category data, a distribution system that can transfer programs and data, and a viewing system that analyzes the content and user actions to identify the viewer or characteristics of the viewer.

The headend system provides programs (such as television channels) along with channel identification and channel descriptive information (metadata). The headend system may use the viewer profile

 from knowing what type of viewer is watching to recommend programs that are likely to be of interest to the viewer (recommendation engine).

Viewers may be unwilling to register or identify themselves for a variety of reasons including privacy, being unlisted, and impatience. The viewer may also change without the knowledge of the system when one viewer leaves and a new viewer starts watching (such as when a mother leaves the room and a son changes the soap channel to a sports channel).

identification information to determine what additional media will be selected and provided (such as advertising commercials). The headend system may also store viewer profiles or viewer profile categories that can be sent and used by the viewing system to standardize the categories and characteristics associated with each viewer profile. The distribution system from the headend to the consumer viewing device can be a single type (such as a cable television system) or it

Automatic viewer identification is made possible by using one or more algorithms to help identify which viewer profile should be selected. These options can range from an explicit viewer selection system, which asks the viewer to select which viewer they are during certain conditions, such as when the television is turned on, during idle periods, or during the selection of services (such as "channel guide" or "menu" selection), to viewing pattern discovery such as preferred channels and/or viewing habits (channel surfing). A viewer profile identification system (VPIS) can be used to monitor the incoming programming content, use a list of viewer profiles or profile categories, and process viewer actions to determine a viewer profile.

 may be a combination of multiple communication systems (such as cable TV and an Internet data connection).

The viewing device (such as a set top box) receives media programs (such as television channels), along with their identification codes (channel numbers) and other descriptive information (program guides and metadata). Software program modules (identification algorithms) are stored in the viewer's set top box or in the media selection system (such as a cable television headend) and can be used to analyze and associate a viewer control pattern (such as channel changing) with a viewer profile record that is also stored in the set top box. Examples of identification algorithms include channel changing, channel metadata, and viewer control devices. Identification algorithms may be modified, added, or deleted by the VPIS.

Figure 1., Viewer Profile Identification System

A channel changing algorithm analyzes the channels that a viewer commonly cycles through when they are watching television, including which channels they are watching (channel numbers) and how fast they change channels (channel surfer). The channel metadata algorithm analyzes the associated descriptive data (program metadata) to find common metadata categories (sports, news, and technology). The viewer control device algorithm reviews the type of access device (such as a personal remote control) the viewer is using and how they are operating it (last channel).

After a viewer profile has been identified in the local profile data table, the information may be transmitted back to the headend of the system to allow changes to the media programming to occur. The viewer profile data may be used by an advertising server to determine which advertising commercials should be inserted into the media program that the viewer is watching.

Figure 1 shows a viewer profile identification system that is composed of a headend system, distribution system, and a viewing system. This example shows that the media server in the headend is broad

casting one of multiple (simulcast) broadcast channels through the television distribution system to the viewer's set top box. The viewer can select this channel or other channels by viewing it on the electronic programming guide and using the remote control. The STB contains various identification algorithms that are used by the STB microprocessor to identify channel selection and other actions that may help to identify a viewer profile that is contained in the local profile data file. The profile data file contains data records that categorize and group user characteristics into profiles. When the usage characteristics, such as channel changing, channel metadata, or viewing devices, can be associated with a specific profile, this profile identification (1,2,3, or 4) can be sent to the ad server in the headend system via a data communication system. The ad server can use this viewer identification profile information to help select advertising commercials that are suitable for the viewer. This diagram also shows that a profile server may be used to help gather and distribute profile data between the headend system and the viewer system.