A number of recent patent filings from Google were published at the USTPO, and may provide some insights into Google’s advertising models for Television, Radio, and Podcasts.
I’ve linked to the patent filings below, and included the abstracts from those rather than an analysis of the filings. Most of those abstracts are pretty good summaries.
If you’re also interested in what Google might be doing with mobile search results, Nadir at SEO Principle has a nice analysis of a Google patent application on blending mobile search results, ranking and mixing mobile specific pages with Web pages during a mobile search.
Google Television Advertising
Television advertisements and associated advertisement parameters are received from advertisers. The television advertisements are automatically selected for airing during an advertisement availability based on the associated advertisement parameters. Data related to the selected television advertisements are provided to a television provider to facilitate airing of the selected television advertisements during the advertisement availability. Reporting data related to television advertisement airings and impressions are received from the television provider.
Advertising parameters and associated television advertisements are received from advertisers. The television advertisements can be designated as pending approval. An automated approval process and a television provider approval process can be utilized to approve or disapprove of the television advertisements pending approval. Approved television advertisements can be provided to the television provider, e.g., by a download process over a network.
Set top box logs are received from a television provider and processed to identify channel tunes and channel tune times. The channel tunes and channel tune times of the log data can be compared to expected air times of television advertisements on channels, and an impression value, e.g., projected viewers, can be generated for each television advertisement.
Reporting data related to content processing devices, e.g., television devices, are processed to identify channel tunes and corresponding tune times of the content processing devices. Automatically generated channel tunes based on the corresponding tune times are identified. Content items that are aired during a period defined by the corresponding tune times can be adjusted.
Google Podcast Advertising
Systems and methods for delivering audio content to listeners. In general, one aspect can be a method that includes receiving a request to download a podcast, and determining a targeted advertisement to be inserted into the podcast. The method also includes inserting the targeted advertisement into the podcast dynamically at a predetermined time. Other implementations of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products
Dynamic Podcast Content Delivery
Systems and methods for delivering podcast content dynamically in an automated podcast platform. In general, one aspect can be a method that includes receiving a request to download a podcast, and determining an item of audio content to be inserted into the podcast. The method also includes inserting the item of audio content into the podcast dynamically at a predetermined time. Other implementations of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.
Google Radio Advertising
Estimating Off-Line Advertising Impressions
A computer-implemented method for monitoring the effectiveness of advertisements broadcast is described. The method includes detecting that an advertisement has been aired by a broadcast station, monitoring a network for a duration after the airing of the advertisement for activity attributable to the airing of the advertisement, and developing a quantitative relationship between the activity and many listeners of the advertisement.
Sharing Media Content Among Families of Broadcast Stations
Sharing media content among families of broadcast stations includes receiving information relating to media content from families of broadcast stations, storing the information such that the information is accessible to at least two of the families of broadcast stations via a computer network, receiving a query for specific media content from a broadcast station, searching the stored information by the query to identify the specific media content; and enabling the broadcast station to access to the specific media content if the specific media content is identified among the stored information.
Leader and Follower Broadcast Stations
An apparatus includes a plurality of software-controlled broadcast stations, each station capable of operating in a leader mode or a follower mode during a simulcast. Each station in the follower mode is configured to broadcast the same programs as a station in the leader mode during common program periods and to selectively broadcast programs that are different from those broadcast by the station in the leader mode during independent program periods.
Multi-Station Media Controller
A system including a plurality of software-controlled broadcast stations each having at least one media asset, and a controller to allow a user to link a first media asset of a first one of the stations to a second media asset of a second one of the stations. When the user schedules the first station to broadcast the first media asset at a specified time, the controller automatically causes the second station to broadcast the second media asset at the specified time.