Concurrent has received a patent that will enable the insertion of ads during trick-play activity in VOD, network DVR and time-shifted TV.
U.S. Patent No. 8,079,052 covers a means of presenting advertisements while consumers fast forward and rewind – including through the commercials already embedded in the video.
And that, of course, is the point. As Concurrent explains: “This technology provides a way for operators to protect advertising revenue without restricting consumers’ control of video content. For applications, such as network DVR, trick mode advertising is a valuable tool that can help ensure the linear ad programming is preserved, even when consumers have interactive playback control over TV content.”
There is at least one other patent already awarded for displaying ads during trick play (7,440,674, covering ads during rewind in pre-recorded media), and literally dozens more applied for stretching back at least to 2001, with companies such as General Instrument (now Motorola), Scientific Atlanta (now Cisco) and Microsoft (still Microsoft) having submitted applications.
The distinction of Concurrent’s patent appears to be its applicability in multi-screen environments.
“Concurrent continues to build our portfolio of patents related to network DVR and interactive video delivery,” said Bob Chism, chief technology officer for Concurrent. “We believe network DVR services will be embraced by operators as a core multi-screen service offering.”
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