EX1046
`EX1046
`
`

`

`(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2007/0006077 A1
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Jan. 4, 2007
`Grubbs
`
`US 20070006077A1
`
`(54) SECTORIZING A DISPLAY TO PRESENT
`AUDIENCE TARGETED INFORMATION
`WITHIN DIFFERENT ONES OF THE
`SECTORS
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor: Andrew Grubbs, Seffner, FL (US)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`AKERMAN SENTERFITT
`P.O. BOX 3.188
`WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33402-3188 (US)
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee: i7 CORP. Tampa, FL
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.:
`
`11/172,044
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`Jun. 30, 2005
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`H04N 5/44
`(2006.01)
`H04N 5/445
`(52) U.S. Cl. .............................................. 715/716; 725/38
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A media presentation method can include the step of iden
`tifying a display capable of presenting audio/video content.
`A viewing area of the display can be divided into more than
`one sector. Programmatically established criteria can be
`used to selecting a media production from a pool of available
`productions to be presented in each of the sectors. The
`selected media productions can be simultaneously presented
`within the display. In the method, a broker can determine a
`set of media productions available for selection and can
`establishes at least a portion of the programmatically estab
`lished criteria used to select media productions. The broker
`can be a media distributor that does not commercially
`distribute the media productions for presentation in non
`sectorized displays.
`
`00
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`AV Presentation 310
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`Dynamically Placed
`Temporary Space 340
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`Intra-presentation
`Advertisement 324
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`Advertisement 322
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`Info 332
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`Ticker 340
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`Patent Application Publication Jan. 4, 2007 Sheet 1 of 4
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`AV Media
`Source 112
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`Other Media
`Source 14
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`100
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`Captive Location
`130
`S)
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`Broker 120
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`Media
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`DSP 130
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`
`s
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`Locals MIS
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`FIG. 1
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`Broker 210
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`Media 212
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`->
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`9:00-9:30
`9:30-10:00
`9:10-10:00
`9:14-9:16
`9:18-9:26
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`Sector 234
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`Sector 236
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`Schedule Table 224
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`w
`FG, 2
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`Patent Application Publication Jan. 4, 2007 Sheet 2 of 4
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`
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`AV Presentation 310
`
`30
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`Dynamically Placed
`Temporary Space 340
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`Intra-presentation
`Advertisement 324
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`Advertisement 322
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`Info 332
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`Ticker 340
`
`FIG. 3
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`Patent Application Publication Jan. 4, 2007 Sheet 3 of 4
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`Identify a display capable of presenting AV content
`405
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`OO
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`Divide a viewing area of the display into two or
`Ore SectOrS
`410
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`For each sector, identify available media
`productions that could be placed within the sector
`45
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`Obtain information pertaining to the viewing
`audience at the location where the display is
`located
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`- 420
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`Compare viewing audience information with media
`production information associated with the
`available media productions
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`425
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`Select media productions based on the comparing
`of information
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`430
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`Assign a selected media production to each sector
`of the display
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`435
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`Simultaneously present the selected media
`productions in the display as assigned
`
`440
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`F.G. 4
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`Patent Application Publication Jan. 4, 2007 Sheet 4 of 4
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`Identify multiple displays that a broker controls for
`purposes of content distribution
`
`505
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`00
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`For each controlled display, divide the viewing area
`into sectors
`
`510
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`Reserve one sector in each display for presenting
`AV media supplied by a commercial source
`515
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`Reserve at least one sector (advertising sector) in
`each display for advertising
`
`520
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`Sell presentation space in the advertising sector
`525
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`Simultaneously display AV media in the AV sector
`and advertiser specified content within the
`advertising sector in accordance with advertiser
`purchases
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`530
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`Optionally receive target audience criteria from the
`advertisors
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`535
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`Optionally present advertiser specified content only
`upon those displays having an identified audience
`approximately matching the target audience criteria
`540
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`FIG.S
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
`
`Jan. 4, 2007
`
`SECTORIZING A DISPLAY TO PRESENT
`AUDIENCE TARGETED INFORMATION WITHN
`DIFFERENT ONES OF THE SECTORS
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`0001)
`1. Field of the Invention
`0002 The present invention relates to the field of media
`distribution and, more particularly, to presenting audience
`targeted information upon a sectorized display.
`0003 2. Description of the Related Art
`0004 Waiting rooms are often equipped with audio/video
`displays. Such as television sets or computer monitors,
`which occupy the attention of individuals present in the
`waiting rooms. Typically, media productions presented
`within waiting room television sets are obtained from stan
`dard broadcast sources, including network television sources
`and cable television sources. Video and/or DVD media
`productions can also be presented upon the displays instead
`of standard broadcast productions.
`0005. A few attempts have been made to present media
`productions upon the displays, where the media productions
`are derived from non-standard sources. For example, many
`airports provide an airport specific broadcast that is pre
`sented upon displays located within airports. In another
`example, a number of retail chains, such as BLOCK
`BUSTER and WALMART, have established a chain-specific
`broadcast lineup and/or a series of video presentations that
`are presented upon displays located within multiple retail
`chain locations.
`0006 Conventional methodologies utilize the entire
`viewing area of the display to present content provided by a
`single source. Additionally, media productions presented
`upon displays at locations (referred to as captive locations)
`having audiences (referred to as a captive audience) that are
`constrained to wait in the locations for at least a period of
`time fail to customize media productions towards charac
`teristics of the captive audiences. Accordingly, an opportu
`nity for targeted advertising and/or for targeted content
`distribution is lost. What is needed is a content distribution
`methodology capable of customizing media productions for
`captive audiences, where space of the displays at captive
`locations can be reserved for advertiser-provided content in
`a manner independent of other broadcast media productions
`presented upon the displays.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`0007. The present invention provides a technique for
`sectorizing a display so that different media productions can
`be presented within different sectors at the same time. The
`sectors can contain media obtained from different sources,
`Such as a television broadcast source, a data repository
`Source, an Internet video streaming source, an advertiser
`Source, and the like.
`0008. In one embodiment, the display can be contained in
`a captive location having a captive audience. Such as a
`physicians office. Information and characteristics of the
`captive audience can be gathered and used to select media
`productions appropriate for the captive audience. For
`example, one sector of the display can present a movie
`believed to be appealing to the captive audience, while
`
`another sector of the display can present advertisements
`targeted to the captive audience.
`0009. The entity that assigns the different media produc
`tions to the various sectors of the display can be a value
`added media distributor that controls the sectorization of
`multiple displays. For example, the media distributor can
`sell advertising space and information space upon sectorized
`displays to interested parties. Unlike a traditional media
`broadcaster that sells a time division (such as a division for
`a thirty second commercial) within a designated media
`production, the media distributor sells a space division
`within one or more viewing sectors of one or more space
`divided displays.
`0010 When multiple displays are utilized, each display
`can be assigned display-specific media productions. For
`example, different displays can be viewed by different
`audiences for which audience-specific characteristics are
`known. Media productions selected for presentation within
`each display can be based in part upon the audience-specific
`characteristics, which causes the media productions selected
`for each display to differ from one display to the next.
`0011 Additionally, when multiple displays are utilized,
`media productions can be coordinated among the multiple
`displays. For example, multiple displays can include digital
`billboards that target automobile drivers. Each billboard can
`be configured to display content in a sequenced fashion, so
`that a vehicle driver is presented with part one of a media
`production within a first billboard, part two of the media
`production within a second billboard a designated distance
`from the first billboard, part three within a third billboard,
`and so forth. For purposes of the present invention, vehicle
`drivers viewing the billboards can be considered a captive
`audience and the sequence of billboards along a highway
`can be considered a captive location.
`0012. The present invention can be implemented in
`accordance with numerous aspects consistent with material
`presented herein. For example, one aspect of the present
`invention can include a media presentation method. The
`method can include the step of identifying a display capable
`of presenting audio/video content. A viewing area of the
`display can be divided into more than one sector. Program
`matically established criteria can be used to select a media
`production from a pool of available productions to be
`presented in each of the sectors. The selected media pro
`ductions can be simultaneously presented within the display.
`0013 In one embodiment of the method, a broker can
`determine a set of media productions available for selection
`and can configure at least a portion of the programmatically
`established criteria used to select media productions. The
`broker can be a media distributor that does not commercially
`distribute the media productions for presentation in non
`sectorized displays. That is, the broker can be a “value
`added media distributor that re-formats existing media
`productions for presentation in the sectorized displayS.
`0014) Another aspect of the present invention can include
`a media distribution method that includes the step of iden
`tifying two or more displays located at multiple locations. A
`viewing area of each of the displays can be divided into two
`or more defined sectors. Each sector can be configured to
`present a sector-specific media production. One of the
`defined sections, which by viewing area can be the largest of
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`Jan. 4, 2007
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`the defined sectors, can present an audio/video media pro
`duction provided by an audio/video media Source. Another
`of the defined sectors can present advertising media. Accord
`ingly, presentation space of advertising sectors can be sold
`to advertisers. Purchased presentation space can permit
`advertisers to display advertiser-specified content within one
`or more advertising sectors of one or more displayS.
`0015. It should be noted that various aspects of the
`invention can be implemented as a program for controlling
`computing equipment to implement the functions described
`herein, or a program for enabling computing equipment to
`perform processes corresponding to the steps disclosed
`herein. This program may be provided by storing the pro
`gram in a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductor
`memory, any other recording medium, or can also be pro
`vided as a digitally encoded signal conveyed via a carrier
`wave. The described program can be a single program or can
`be implemented as multiple Subprograms, each of which
`interact within a single computing device or interact in a
`distributed fashion across a network space.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`0016. There are shown in the drawings, embodiments
`which are presently preferred, it being understood, however,
`that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements
`and instrumentalities shown.
`0017 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for
`presenting media content within sectorized displays in
`accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein.
`0018 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system for
`associating media productions with sectors of a display in
`accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein.
`0.019
`FIG. 3 is an illustrate screen of a sectorized display
`in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein.
`0020 FIG. 4 is a method for presenting media within a
`sectorized display in accordance with an embodiment of the
`inventive arrangements disclosed herein.
`0021
`FIG. 5 is a method for distributing media content in
`accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`0022 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 for
`presenting media content within sectorized displays in
`accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein. System 100 can include a captive
`location 130 having a captive audience 132, a display 134,
`and/or a media box 136. Captive location 130 can be linked
`to location management information system (MIS) 138 via
`network 146 and to broker 120 via network 144. A media
`digital signal processor 130 can also be linked to network
`144. Broker 120 can be communicatively linked to AV
`media source 112, other media source 114, and advertiser
`116 via network 140.
`0023. As used herein, a captive location 130 can be any
`location that includes one or more people for a duration.
`
`Captive location 130 can include a waiting room where
`people gather while waiting for a desired service. The
`captive location 130 can also include a geographical region
`within which people are confined, which can include both
`indoor and outdoor locations. For example, captive location
`130 can include a physicians waiting room, an airport
`waiting area, a den area of a house, an area viewable from
`line to a service station/cash register, an area along a
`highway along which a series of billboards are located, and
`the like. A captive audience 132 can include one or more
`people proximately positioned within or about the captive
`location 130.
`0024. The display 134 can be any device capable of
`presenting media productions including, but not limited to,
`a television, a computer monitor, a media projection device,
`a mobile communications device, a wearable-computing
`device, and similar equipment. In one embodiment, the
`display 134 can present streamed audio video content. In
`another embodiment, the display 134 can receive a file or
`packet containing digitally encoded content, can decode the
`content, and can present the decoded media production
`using a visual presentation means and/or an audio presen
`tation means.
`0025 Media productions can include audio/video pro
`ductions, such as movies, television shows, cartoons, broad
`cast sporting events, and similar programs. Media produc
`tions can also include pictures, photos, graphical content,
`text-based documents, icons, and logos. Additionally, media
`productions can include songs, speech, and other audibly
`presentable content. Further, media productions can include
`live broadcasts, previously recorded productions, and inter
`active productions. Interactive productions can be defined as
`productions permitting viewer interaction, Such as live call
`in shows, chat or other Internet-enabled forums, and the like.
`0026.
`It should be appreciated that any of a variety of
`technologies can be used in conjunction with presenting the
`media productions. In an embodiment where one of the
`media productions includes an interactive production, indi
`viduals of the captive audience 132 can interact with pre
`sented content of the interactive production using a short
`message service (SMS), a text messaging service, a trans
`mission control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), or
`other information conveyance technology.
`0027. For example, using a fixed/constant telephone
`number, an advertisement contained within an interactive
`production can include a unique code for that advertisement
`or a unique code for that advertisement and the captive
`location 130 at which the advertisement is displayed. The
`display 134 can conspicuously display instructions on how
`to send an advertisement code via a mobile phone using
`SMS text messaging. Responsive to sending the code, the
`phone user can obtain advertiser contact information, a
`coupon, a Sweepstakes entry, and the like. Obtained infor
`mation can be presented upon the display 134 and/or upon
`the mobile phone. The same code can be sent from the same
`mobile device a second time to indicate a willingness to
`allow an agent of the advertiser to directly contact the
`individual at the mobile device's number. The second send
`ing of the code from the same mobile device can have other
`meaning. For example, the second (or Subsequent) sending
`of the code can include a desire for an advertisement, a
`request for additional information, an agreement to purchase
`an advertised item, and the like.
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`0028. It should be appreciated that media programs can
`also use the same technique for audience participation
`activities including Voting, Submitting a question, partici
`pating in a quiz show, and the like.
`0029 Media box 136 can include an electronic device
`communicatively linked to the display 134 that permits the
`presentation of selected media production within assigned
`sectors. Media box 136 can be a stand alone electronic
`device, can be a software device executing within a com
`puter, can be a device integrated with display 134, and can
`be a device integrated into another appliance. Such as a cable
`box, a personal video recorder, or a television gaming
`system.
`0030. In one embodiment, media box 136 can generate a
`single media stream containing multiple media productions,
`each presented within an assigned sector. The media stream
`can be generated from one or more different files and
`or/streams, each containing a media production. For
`example, media box 136 can receive a television broadcast
`from audio/video media source 112 via an analog media
`stream, can receive an advertisement audio/video production
`from other media Source 114 via a digital media stream, can
`retrieve stock and weather information from Internet
`Sources, and can access data store 122 maintained by broker
`120 to obtain advertising media. After receiving the media
`productions, the media box 136 can assign each of these
`media productions to a sector of the display 134. The media
`box 136 can adjust the content of each media production to
`fit within an assigned sector. The media box 136 can then
`generate a signal formatted for presentation within the
`display 134 that includes the adjusted media content.
`0031. In another embodiment, the media box 136 can
`include criteria for selecting media productions. The media
`box 136 can use these criteria to programmatically deter
`mine which media productions from a set of available media
`productions are to be presented within particular sectors. In
`one embodiment, the criteria used by the media box 136 can
`include a schedule associating media productions with time
`slots and sectors.
`0032. In yet another embodiment, the criteria can include
`an explicit user selection. For example, a member of the
`captive audience 132 and/or captive location 130 owner can
`decide what media presentation is to be presented within one
`or more of the sectors. A remote control or a television
`switch can be used by the member or owner to select which
`media presentation is to appear within a sector of the display
`134. Moreover, an option exists to move from one sector to
`another, allowing for a user selection of content within each
`sector of the display 134.
`0033. In one embodiment, the television switch can be a
`switch contained within a Web site. Viewers, administrators,
`or any authorized personnel can access the Web site via a
`Web browser. The user can input commands into the Web
`browser to select one or more media presentations for the
`display 134. In response, the selected media productions can
`appear within display 134. Additionally, the Web site can
`permit the scheduling of media productions within one or
`more of the displays 134 at user specified times.
`0034. In still another embodiment, the criteria can
`include a series of logical rules that permit a situational
`selection of media productions for different sectors. For
`
`example, the criteria can be based upon characteristics of the
`captive audience 132 and corresponding characteristics
`specified by advertisers. Comparing these characteristics can
`enable an advertiser to target advertising to a known audi
`CCC.
`0035 Media selection criteria and rules can also be based
`upon media that is to be simultaneously presented in other
`sectors. That is, content presented within one sector can
`affect content that is to be presented within another sector.
`For example, when a television program contained within
`one sector is presenting media relating to beer, an adver
`tisement for beer can be selected for presentation within
`another one of the sectors.
`0036) Information pertaining to the characteristics of the
`captive audience 132 and/or content being presented in
`sectors can be obtained from one or more external sources,
`one such source being broker 120. Another external source
`can include a location management information system
`(MIS) 138. As used herein, MIS 138 can be any system that
`contains information about the captive location 130, the
`captive audience 132, and/or people within the captive
`audience 132. The MIS 138 can include or be communica
`tively linked to a customer relationship management system
`(CRMS).
`0037 For example, when the captive location 130 is a
`physicians waiting room, a physicians intake system (part
`of MIS 138) can provide information of which patients are
`actually present within the captive location 130. Addition
`ally, the physician’s MIS 138 can also include substantial
`personal information for each patient within the waiting
`room. The media box 136 can receive this information and
`select media productions for sectors accordingly.
`0038 For instance, if one of the patients in the captive
`location 130 is suffering from allergies as recorded by MIS
`138, the media box 136 can receive this information, and can
`responsively select an advertisement for ALLEGRA or
`CLARITIN to be presented in one of the sectors. It should
`be appreciated that because the media box 136 is configured
`to perform its selections automatically based upon program
`matically established criteria, privacy information from the
`MIS 138 used by media box 136 is not disclosed to any third
`party and confidentiality of the information can be main
`tained.
`0.039 Media digital signal processor (DSP) 130 can be a
`computing device capable of performing digital signal pro
`cessing operations against media productions. For example,
`media DSP 130 can be utilized by the media box 136 to
`convert media productions from an initial format into a
`format capable of fitting within an assigned sector. In one
`embodiment, broker 120 can utilize media DPS 130 to
`modify media content obtained from media source 112 or
`114 in accordance with advertiser 116 goals. For instance, a
`sign included within a movie can advertise PRODUCT A.
`Broker 120 can use media DSP 130 to modify the in-movie
`advertisement to advertise PRODUCT B instead.
`0040. It should be appreciated that Media DSP 130 can
`utilize any variety of known techniques in the art to perform
`DSP functions on audio, images, and video. Processing of
`media productions can require manual manipulations by
`skilled technicians or can be an automated process.
`0041. For example, optical character recognition tech
`nologies can be used to optically recognize text presented
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`within images and/or video and speech recognition tech
`nologies can be used to speech recognize utterances within
`audio. Additionally, a closed-caption feed or other type of
`feed can be scanned to obtain “recognized text”. Recognized
`text can be compared against an established list (Such as
`product names). Each item in the list can be associated with
`a replacement text, which can be substituted within the
`media stream (using audio processing techniques in the case
`of audio Substitutions and graphical processing techniques in
`the case of visual substitutions).
`0042.
`In such a manner, a spoken product name appear
`ing in a media production can be automatically Substituted
`with a different spoken product name. Similarly, visually
`presented products shown in a media production, such as a
`container of DRINKA, can be substituted with a different
`product, such as a container of DRINK B. Operations
`performed by the Media DSP 130 can occur in a time
`delayed fashion or can occur in real time or in near-real time.
`0.043 Networks 140, 144, and 146 can represent any
`communication mechanism capable of conveying analog or
`digitally encoded information. Each of the networks 140,
`144, and 146 can include a telephony network like a public
`switched telephone network (PSTN), a mobile telephone
`network, a computer network, a cable network, a satellite
`network, a broadcast network, and the like. Further, each of
`the networks 140, 144, and 146 can use wireless as well as
`line-based communication pathways.
`0044 Digitally encoded information can be conveyed via
`network 140, 144, and 146 in accordance with any commu
`nication protocol, Such as a packet-based communication
`protocol or a circuit-based communication protocol. Addi
`tionally, information conveyance across networks 140, 144,
`and 146 can occur in an open or secured fashion. For
`example, communications over networks 140, 144, and 146
`can use Secured Socket Layer (SSL) connections, can use
`private/public key encryption techniques, and can utilize
`Virtual Private Network (VPN) technologies.
`0045. In operation, a broker 120 can control the presen
`tation of content via displays 134 located within multiple
`captive locations 130. The broker 120 can obtain media
`productions from at least one audio/video media Source 112
`as well as from other media sources 114. The obtained media
`productions can be presented within defined sectors of one
`or more displays 134 at one or more captive locations 130.
`A media box 136 can be used to control the presentation of
`media content within the defined sectors. A media digital
`signal processor 130 can be used to modify media produc
`tions supplied by media sources 112 and 114.
`0046 Broker 120 can sell sectorized advertising space
`within display 134 to one or more advertisers 116. An
`advertiser 116 purchasing space can be allowed to present
`advertiser-specific content upon the display 136. The pur
`chased advertising space can include space within a sector of
`the display 134.
`0047. In one embodiment, advertising space can be sold
`based in part upon characteristics of audience 132 of the
`captive location 130. The characteristics can be general
`characteristics for an audience expected to be in the captive
`location 130 or can be characteristics associated with indi
`viduals determined to be located at the captive location 130.
`For example, individual specific characteristics can be
`
`obtained from data store 139 associated with location man
`agement information system 138.
`0048. It should be appreciated that the arrangements
`shown in FIG. 1 are for illustrative purposes only and that
`the invention is not limited in this regard. The functionality
`attributable to the various components can be combined or
`separated in different manners than those illustrated herein.
`0049. In one contemplated embodiment, for example,
`system 100 can operate without a media box 136. In the
`embodiment, a server from a centralized location, Such as
`from a location local to broker 120, can construct at least one
`display presentation signal, which includes multiple sector
`ized media productions, and convey the constructed signal
`to multiple displays 134 in a display targeted fashion.
`Displays 134 can be targeted based upon a uniquely iden
`tified IP address, MAC address, site key number, or some
`other identifier. Displays 134 can also receive multiple
`media streams (each stream including a complete set of
`sectorized media productions) sent from the centralized
`server, can select one of these streams using filtering criteria
`local to the display 134, and can present media contained
`within the selected stream.
`0050. In another contemplated embodiment, the broker
`120 need not be a separate entity from the audio/video media
`sources 112, the other media source 114, and/or advertiser
`116. Similarly, the media sources 112 and 114 need not be
`separate entities from advertiser 116. For example, the
`broker 120 can advertise space for sale within display 134,
`at which point the broker 120 operates as both advertiser 116
`and broker 120. Broker 120 can also present broker-created
`media programs within one or more sectors of display 134,
`which would allow broker 120 to be a media source, such as
`media source 112 or 114. Similarly, media source 112 can
`choose to advertise one or more programs, which would
`allow media source 112 to operate as both a media source
`and as advertiser 116.
`0051
`FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system 200 for
`associating media productions with sectors of a display in
`accordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrange
`ments disclosed herein. In system 200, broker 210 can
`provide multiple media productions 212 to media box 220.
`A portion of these media productions can be stored in data
`store 220 accessible to media box 220 to be utilized when
`needed.
`0.052 The media box 220 can include a schedule table
`224 that establishes criteria for presenting media within
`display sections at particular times. In one embodiment, the
`schedule table can be generated or configured by broker 210.
`The schedule table 224 can be also automatically generated
`by the media box 220 based upon established media pro
`gram selection criteria and selection rules.
`0053 Schedule table 224 can include columns for media,
`time, and sector. For example, media A can be associated
`with a time of 9:00 to 9:30 and can be associated with sector
`234. Only one media program can be associated with a
`particular sector for a designated time. Different media,
`however, can be associated with different sectors. For
`example, media C can be associated with sector 232 and a
`time of 9:10 to 10:00.
`0054) One or more additional tables can be used in
`cooperation with the schedule table 224. For example, an
`
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`US 2007/0006077 A1
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`Jan. 4, 2007
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`available media table (not shown) can list, for a time slot,
`one or more available media presentations. Within the
`available media table, media D, E, F, G, H, and I can be
`associated with time slot 9:00 to 9:30 and with sector 236.
`The media box 220 can select media programs from the
`available media table to generate entries of the schedule
`table. For example, media D and E can be selected from the
`available media table, resulting in media D being assigned
`time 9:14 to 9:16 for sector 236 in the schedule table and
`media E being assigned time 9:18 to 9:26.
`0055. In one embodiment, when no media is associated
`with a sector for a given time, a default media program, Such
`as a blank Screen area or a logo presentation, can be provided
`for that sector. Alternatively, a fall back media presentation
`can be assigned to the sector for the unassigned duration. In
`a particular embodiment, advertisers can receive a dis
`counted rate for advertising media within unassigned sec
`tors. In another embodiment, when one sector is unassigned
`for a significant duration (defined as a duration exceeding a
`previously established threshold), the sectorized display can
`be dynamically readjusted to remove the unassigned sector,
`thereby expanding the viewing space of non-removed sec