US 6,698,020 · Granted 2004-02-24

The 2004 Patent That Invented Household-Level Ad Targeting

Before streaming apps knew what ads to show you, this patent figured out how to pause a TV show and insert an advertisement specifically chosen for your household. It combined info about where you live, what you watch, and who's in your family to pick ads way more likely to interest you than random commercials.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a method and system for selecting advertisements from a pool and inserting them into a video feed at specific moments, using household-level demographic data, geographic location, and individual viewing habits to choose which ad appears. What's protected here is the combination of monitoring a video feed for a triggering event, interrupting at that moment, and displaying a pre-selected advertisement based on characteristics of the household and viewers—not just showing random ads to everyone.

Why it matters

This patent represents an early technical blueprint for targeted advertising in the home, a capability that became fundamental to modern streaming and cable systems. By allowing advertisers to aim content at specific households rather than broadcast-wide audiences, it created a business model where ad value could be calculated at a granular level. The patent was filed in 1998 and granted in 2004, spanning the era when internet-connected home entertainment devices were beginning to emerge, making household-level data collection technically feasible for the first time.

Real-world use

When you're watching TV through a cable box or streaming device that knows your address and viewing history, and a specific ad appears designed for your area or interests, you're seeing this patent's core idea in action.

Original USPTO abstract

A system and method for selecting and inserting advertisements into a video programming feed at the household level. An advertisement insertion device in a home entertainment system receives a plurality of advertisements from an advertisement source. The advertisement insertion device selects one of the advertisements for display to a viewer according to advertisement selection criteria combined with viewer and system information. The video programming is displayed to a viewer while the advertisement insertion device monitors the programming feed for a triggering event indicating an appropriate time to display the selected advertisement. At the appropriate time, the video programming feed is interrupted and the selected advertisement is displayed. Selecting advertisements at the household level allows advertisers to target viewers with a high degree of specificity. In particular, the advertisement selection criteria may take into account, for example, demographic data relating to the household, the geographical location of the household, of individual viewing habits. The method optionally includes monitoring and reporting viewer response to the selected advertisements.

Patent details

Publication number: US 6,698,020
Filing date: 1998-06-15
Grant date: 2004-02-24
Assignee: Webtv Networks, Inc.
Inventor(s): ZIGMOND DANIEL J., GOLDMAN PHILLIP Y.
CPC class: H04N7/0887

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