JP2003032710A - Program distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To distribute a program selected by clients to displays in clients' equipment to know the audience rating of the broadcast program in actual number. SOLUTION: Clients 2, a content server 1 and an audience rating server 3 are connected over an internet line NET. The clients 2 are specified public equipment e.g. hospitals. The content server 1 distributes a program to the hospitals 2 which then telecast the program on displays 7 in waiting rooms. The audience rating server 3 receives distributed program information about the program telecast in the hospital 2 and collected audience information about visitors (patients) to the hospitals, totals the distributed program information and collected audience information per hospital, calculates the audience rating of the telecast program in each hospital as program information, and feeds the calculation result back to sponsors 6 being program providers as audience rating information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program distribution system for distributing information related to a facility in a specific facility using a display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Taking a specific facility, for example, a waiting room of a hospital as an example, a television receiver is often installed in the waiting room of the hospital. The TV set placed in the waiting room of the hospital is used while waiting for the outpatients waiting for the examination order, and the TV set placed in the rest room is used during the rest period of the inpatient.

By the way, television broadcasting is broadcast of programs transmitted from NHK and other private broadcasters, and the broadcasted programs and advertisements are produced or selected by each broadcast station. is there. Even if information about a specific area or facility is distributed, that information is produced exclusively as a program of the broadcasting station.

[0004] However, there is a cable television as a means for distributing information related to the facility in a specific area or facility. According to the cable television broadcasting station, familiar information peculiar to a region or a specific facility can be delivered as compared with NHK and other private television broadcasting stations.

Particularly, when a cable television broadcasting station is opened in a specific facility such as a hospital, school, or public hall, necessary information is distributed to a person who uses the facility or a resident of the facility through a television receiver. It is possible to do so. Taking a hospital, especially an obstetrics hospital, as an example, those who visit the hospital as outpatients do not necessarily have a disease as a patient, but their physical and mental health for the children to be born. I have a great deal of anxiety such as the knowledge I need to know as a pregnant woman, such as maintaining physical health, childbirth, health management for infants and future child care, and coping with problems when they occur.

This also applies to patients who are hospitalized after giving birth. Of course, doctors and nurses play an important role as counselors for such patient's worries, but doctors and nurses are also busy, and doctors and nurses have all concerns and worries of patients. Can not be solved. According to the cable TV broadcasting station, it is possible to show various problems and their solutions by video and audio, and it is not possible to solve all the worries and worries of patients, but the cable TV broadcasting station is a powerful It must be an effective means.

[0007]

However, according to the cable television broadcasting station, even if the familiar information peculiar to a specific facility can be distributed, the facilities of the broadcasting station can be secured and the production of the program can be further ensured. It requires manpower and a huge amount of money to operate it, including hospitals, and facilities such as hospitals cannot easily open cable TV stations.

Another major problem faced by television broadcasting stations is the so-called "audience rate" problem. Other commercial television stations other than NHK are commercial providers (Commerci
It is operated by the advertising charges of sponsors (mainly companies) who have posted on Al Messages) and spot commercials, and as a company, it is called how many viewers watch programs sponsored by themselves. "Audience rating" is a serious concern.

[0009] The audience rating is the "ratio of the number of units receiving the program to the total number of receiving units in the area", and is an important factor for calculating the advertising cost. Although there are various methods of estimating the audience rating, these are only estimated values, not real numbers.

An object of the present invention is to provide a program distribution system for distributing a program selected by a client to a display of a client facility. Another object of the present invention is to provide a program distribution system in which the audience rating of the program broadcast on the display of the client is controlled by a real number. In the present invention, the display means
It is a display device such as a television receiver and a computer using display elements such as CRT, EL, liquid crystal, and gas discharge (plasma).

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, in a program distribution system according to the present invention, a client, a content server and an audience rating server are connected through an Internet line, and the client has a public nature. It is a specific facility, has a display that allows visitors to the facility to watch it, distributes programs from the content server to clients, and the audience rating server receives programs from the content server and broadcasts programs on the client facility Information and customer attraction information about visitors to the client facility are distributed from the client, and the distributed program information and customer attraction information are aggregated on a client-by-client basis, and the program broadcast at each client facility is viewed as program information. The rating is calculated, and the calculation result is used as audience rating information. It is intended to be fed back to the provider.

Further, the content server distributes the program index to the client, and the client collects the program combination from the content server, downloads it to the storage device of the personal computer, reads it from the storage device of the personal computer, and reads it from the television. It is broadcast to the receiver.

Further, the client holds the program information including the program name of the program broadcast on the display of the facility and the broadcast start time of the program as LOG data, and the audience rating server receives the program distributed from each client. The GRP and CPM are calculated from the information and the customer attraction information including the number of customers who visit each client facility on an hourly basis.

Further, a sponsor, a content company, and an advertising agency are further connected to the Internet line, and the programs distributed from the content server to the client are:
The sponsor acts as an advertiser and is produced through an agency or directly by a content company. The content company delivers the content of the created program to the content server, and the audience rating information calculated by the audience rating server. Is distributed to sponsors, content companies, and advertising agencies.

The audience rating is calculated for each client, each client area, each industry, each prefecture, and each hour.

Further, the client is a hospital or a clinic, the display is placed in a waiting room of the hospital or the clinic, the visitors of the facility are patients (and their families, attendants), and the content server sends the client to the client. The program distributed by is the information to be transmitted from the hospital to the patient or from the patient to the hospital.

Further, the client can be accessed from the general household through the Internet line, and the program provided to the client can be viewed on the personal computer of the general household.

All programs registered in the content server are sponsored by a program provider or an advertiser, and the program production costs and broadcasting charges are borne by the sponsor.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of a program distribution system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the program distribution system according to the present invention is realized in a form in which a content server 1, a client 2, and an audience rating server 3 are connected to an Internet line NET by broadband. However, the content server 1 and the audience rating server 3 are functionally distinct, and the same server may have two functions.

The internet line NET is further connected to an advertising agency 4, a content company 5, a company that is a sponsor 6, and the like, and they can communicate with each other using a personal computer or other communication terminals.

In the present invention, the client 2 is a specific facility, such as a hospital, which has a public nature in which a large number of unspecified or specified people gather. A television receiver is provided in the facility as a display 7 to be viewed by a person who visits the facility (outpatient in the case of a hospital). In the case of a hospital, it is a display prepared for an outpatient waiting room. In this example,
On behalf of our clients, we show A obstetrics and gynecology and B clinics (clinics are hospitals or clinics).

The content server 1 is a client 2
It is an institution that distributes various kinds of information including information on childbirth as program contents to programs such as maternity hospitals as programs through the Internet line NET. The program is produced by the content company 5, is provided with a program provider and an advertiser as a sponsor 6, and is registered in the content server 1 through the advertisement agency 4 as a program provided by the sponsor 6.

The content server 1 uses several types of electronic television program guides (EPG (Elec
tric Program Guide)), and shows the TV program guide to the client 2, and the client 2 selects a combination of programs to be used in his / her hospital from the TV program guide displayed from the content server 1. The selected program is downloaded to the storage device (hard disk) of the personal computer, the program data is sequentially read from the hard disk, and the program is broadcast on the display 7 in the facility according to the order of the selected TV program guide. The program information broadcast on the display 7 of the client is stored as LOG.

The audience rating server 3 is an organization that aggregates audience ratings based on LOG (history) for each client and reports the aggregated results to the sponsor 6, the advertising agency 4, and the content company. A procedure for distributing a program from the content server to the client and calculating an audience rating from the program actually broadcast on the display of the client will be described below with reference to FIG.

(1) Program Content The content company 5 creates a program at the request of the content server 1 or the advertising agency 4, and registers the program a, b, c, ... In the content server 1. All programs registered in the content server 1 are provided with a sponsor 6 as a program provider or an advertiser, and the sponsor 6 bears the production costs and broadcasting charges of the programs.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a program. If the client 2 is a hospital, the display 7 is placed in the waiting room of the hospital or clinic. Visitors to the facility are patients, their families, and attendants. The programs distributed from the content server 1 to the clients 2 are from hospitals to patients,
Or it is the information that the patient should tell the hospital. At an obstetric hospital or clinic, the visitor is a pregnant woman. Therefore,
The contents of the program are mainly information useful for pregnant women.

FIG. 3 (a) is a title part of a guide for childbirth, (b) is a part of the guide, and (c) is a Q & B.
The title part of the A corner, (d) is a part of its contents,
(E) is a guide for accepting questions, (f) is the title part of hospital information, (g) is its menu, (h).
Is an explanation about meals in the hospital. The above is an example of a program, and the present invention is not limited to this, and may be medical news such as (i) or advertisement in a nearby shopping mall such as (j). 3A to 3J, it seems that a still image is shown, but it goes without saying that a moving image is also included.

(2) Program Information Index The content server 1 creates a program information index based on the registered programs. The program information index is a table of contents of programs, and is a material for a client to select a combination of programs to be broadcast on a display installed in his facility.

(3) Creation of TV program guide (EPG) The client refers to the index presented by the content server 1 and the TV program guide (EPG) (programs A, B, C・ ・ Etc.) The EPG is a combination of programs extracted from the index. FIG. 4 shows an example of the program structure. As shown in this program configuration example, the programs are not limited to those created by the content server 1, but may include public broadcast news, weather forecasts, and the like.

(4) EPG broadcast client 2 broadcasts a program (program a, lo, ha ...) on the display 7 of its facility based on the completed EPG.
..) are downloaded from the content server 1 and downloaded to the hard disk, which is the storage device of the personal computer, and the saved programs are read out from the hard disk in the set order, and the EPG is displayed on the display 7 in the facility. Broadcast.

(5) Distribution of program information and customer attraction information The program information broadcast on the display 7 of the client 2 is recorded (saved) in the storage device of the personal computer of the client as LOG data. The LOG data is the program name, the broadcast start time of the program, and the broadcast time. LO
The G data is transmitted to the audience rating server through the Internet line NET as the program information together with the customer attraction information.
The customer attraction information is the number of customers who visit the client's facility on an hourly basis.

In the case of a hospital, this is the number of patients who entered the outpatient waiting room. The number of outpatients can be counted by a medical examination ticket. Table 1 shows an example of LOG data. If there are 160 outpatients a day at a hospital and the treatment time is 8 hours, the average number of patients per hour is 20. For example, 60 from 10 am to 11 am on one day
When the program "i" is broadcast in a minute, it is considered that 20 people have watched the program "i". In the example of Table 1, there are 20 viewers of the "B" program and 20 viewers of the "C" program.

[0033]

[Table 1]

However, if the medical examination card of the magnetic card is used, the visit time of the patient can be counted in minutes and seconds. As described above, when counting the number of people who visit the hospital, the number of patients can be counted by the examination ticket, but it is difficult to count the number of persons other than patients as a practical problem. Of course, if you can count the number of attendants other than patients and the number of visitors, you can count these as viewers, but if you do not include these, the number of viewers is the number of patients who are underestimated. Is.

(6) Calculation of audience rating information The audience rating server 3 collects LOG data for each client, and based on the collected LOG data, various viewpoints (region, industry, prefecture) as audience rating information. Other than the audience rating based on time and time), the required GRP (Gross Ra
ting Point), CPM (Cost Per Mill), etc. are calculated. Here, GRP is “total audience rating” represented by R (arrival) × F (frequency). CPM is the unit price per 1000 households.

(7) Audience Rating Calculation Procedure The audience rating information calculated by the audience rating server is fed back to the advertising agency, the sponsor, the content company, etc., and the value of the production cost and the broadcasting fee of the program borne by the sponsor is evaluated. Will be considered. Next, the procedure for calculating the audience rating will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, daily visitor data for each client is collected from the client (step S1). The number of hourly visitors (hourly visitor data) for each client is calculated from the daily visitor data for each client (step S2).

Next, LOG data for each client (daily and hourly data) is calculated (step S3), and average viewing data for each program is calculated from the data of steps S2 and S3 (step S4). The average viewing data for each program is calculated for each client (step S5), and the average viewing data for each client and each program is calculated (step S5).
6).

Table 2 shows hospital A (average number of outpatients per hour: 10 / total number of outpatients: 80), clinic B (average number of outpatients per hour: 20 / total number of outpatients: 160), C clinic (1 Average number of outpatients per hour: 5 / Total number of outpatients: 40
2) shows an example of calculating the average audience rating for each program when the programs “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” are broadcast for each person.

[0039]

[Table 2]

Program "A" audience rating = Hospital "A" audience rating + B clinic "A" audience rating + C Clinic "A"
Audience rating of program “a” = 10/80 + 20/160 + 5/40 = 37.5% Similarly, audience rating of program “b” = 10/80 + 20/160 + 5/40 = 37.5% program “ha” Rating = 10/80 + 5/40 = 25.0%, viewer rating of program “d” = 20/160 = 12.5%.

Data for each age, gender, and medical treatment can be extracted from the examination tickets of outpatients who have visited A hospital, B clinic, and C clinic, and the audience rating for each client can be calculated. , About hospitals and clinics nationwide,
Furthermore, in addition to audience ratings by region, type of industry, prefecture, and time, GRP, CPM, etc. can be calculated if necessary, and the data can be shown to the sponsor as a record.

The system according to the present invention can be applied to any facility as long as it is a facility of a client having a public nature, but the contents of information requested by a visitor to the facility are common. Is desirable. The more people who request specific information, the more valuable the information provided.

In that sense, a facility such as a hospital, particularly an obstetrics hospital, a driving school, or an esthetic salon is desirable. When these facilities are used as clients, if the visitor's request to the client's facility is a driving school, everyone wants to obtain a driver's license,
If it's an esthetic salon, people who want to be beautiful will gather. In this way, the more the people who desire common wishes and common information gather, the higher the advertising effect of the program broadcast on the display of the facility.

In particular, it is considered that the advertising effect in clinics and maternity hospitals is remarkably high. Hospitals are facilities where sick people come to receive treatment, but obstetric hospital patients are pregnant women, not sick people. Pregnant women as well as their families must prepare for childcare and prepare themselves for the new life that will be born. The marketability of products and services required for that purpose is great. Therefore, it can be said that the advertising effect of this system in maternity hospitals is extremely large.

According to the present invention, a system is constructed so that a general household can access a client (for example, an obstetric hospital) through the Internet line NET,
By viewing the programs provided to clients on a personal home computer or display, pregnant women and their families can watch various programs on the display of the client (eg, maternity hospital) while staying at home. Information is available.

Furthermore, by using the Q & A (Question & Answer) corner to ask a question by e-mail, the content server or client (for example, an obstetric hospital) can be comfortably taken without directly asking the busy doctor or nurse. You can get answers from. Also, images taken by a digital camera can be sent to a hospital by e-mail for diagnosis.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, the audience rating of the program broadcast at the client facility is calculated from the program information of the program broadcast on the display of the client facility and the customer attraction information about the visitors of the client facility. In particular, the LOG data of the program information including the program name of the program broadcasted on the display of the facility, the broadcast start time of the program, and the customer attraction information including the number of visitors per hour visiting the facility of each client, By calculating GRP and CPM by unit, client's area, type of industry, prefecture, and time, and feeding back the calculation result to the program provider as audience rating information, the actual program not estimated by the sponsor Can provide the audience rating, and the sponsor can accurately understand the advertising broadcasting cost of the provided program. .

Further, according to the present invention, the content server distributes the program index to the client, the client collects the program combination from the client and downloads it to the storage device of the personal computer,
Since the program is read from the storage device of the personal computer and is broadcast on the television receiver, it is possible to broadcast a program suitable for the client's facility, and not only to provide information to the client's visitors, It can also exert a great effect on advertising of client facilities.

Moreover, by sponsoring all the programs, the client does not have to bear the cost of creating the programs, and the content server will disseminate the system by placing the system of the present invention in the client facility. As a client, it is possible to broadcast a program close to the original in the facility without having a broadcasting facility in its facility.

The system according to the present invention can be applied to any facility as long as it is a specific facility having publicity where people gather, but a medical institution where the visitor of the client facility has the same request. The effect is particularly great when applied to obstetric hospitals and clinics. Furthermore, the programs provided to clients through the Internet line can be expanded even further by enabling viewing even on a personal home PC. It has the effect that

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network that realizes a system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a system of the present invention.

3A to 3J are diagrams showing examples of programs, respectively.

FIG. 4 is an example of a program structure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a viewer rating calculation procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Content server 2 clients 3 audience rating server 4 Advertising agency 5 content companies 6 sponsors 7 display NET Internet line

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Jun Inagaki             1351-1 Miho-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture             Rest Buildings Miho 10-306 F term (reference) 5C061 BB20                 5C064 BA07 BB10 BC18 BC23 BC25                       BD02 BD08

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A client, a content server, and an audience rating server are connected via an Internet line, and the client is a specific facility having a public nature, and is provided with a display for allowing a visitor of the facility to view. From the client to the client, and the audience rating server receives from the client the program information about the program that was distributed from the content server and was broadcast at the client facility, and the customer attraction information about the visitors at the client facility. The collected program information and customer attraction information are aggregated for each client, the audience rating of the program broadcast at each client facility is calculated as the program information, and the calculation result is fed back to the program provider as the audience rating information. Characteristic program distribution system. 2. The content server delivers the program index to the client, and the client collects the program combination from the content server, downloads it to the storage device of the personal computer, and reads it from the storage device of the personal computer. The program distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the program is broadcast on a television receiver. 3. The client holds, as LOG data, program information including the program name of the program broadcast on the display of the facility and the broadcast start time of the program, and the audience rating server delivers the program distributed by each client. 2. The program distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the GRP and CPM are calculated from the information and the customer attraction information including the number of visitors per hour visiting the facility of each client. 4. A sponsor, a content company, and an advertising agency are further connected to the Internet line, and for the program distributed from the content server to the client, the sponsor serves as the advertiser and requests the content company through the agency or directly. The content company distributes the content of the created program to the content server, and the audience rating information calculated by the audience rating server is delivered to the sponsor, the content company, and the advertising agency. The program distribution system according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The program distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the audience rating is calculated for each client, each client's area, each industry, each prefecture, and each hour. 6. The client is a hospital or a clinic, the display is placed in a waiting room of the hospital or the clinic, the facility visitor is a patient, and the program delivered from the content server to the client is a hospital. The program distribution system according to claim 1, which is information to be transmitted from the patient to the patient or from the patient to the hospital. 7. The program according to claim 6, wherein the client can be accessed from an ordinary home through an Internet line, and the program provided to the client can be viewed on a personal computer of the ordinary home. Delivery system. 8. A program provider or advertiser sponsors all programs registered in the content server, and the sponsors bear the cost of program production and broadcasting. The program distribution system according to Item 1.