Automation of sponsor initiated content delivery

Number: 11825158
Published: 2023-11-21
Filed: 2022-03-10
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Lesser; Max Ades et al.
CPC: H04L63/10; G06F21/10; G06Q10/101; G06Q10/107; G06Q10/40; G06Q30/0185; G06Q30/0214; G06Q30/0235; G06Q30/0236; G06Q30/0251; G06Q30/0631; H04N21/25875; H04N21/44204; H04N21/6125
Verdict: Set aside sponsor/ad content delivery, business
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

Abstract

A content delivery system includes a computing platform having processing hardware and a system memory storing software code, a user account database, and a content database. The processing hardware executes the software code to receive, from a user device utilized by a user, a request for access to a first content of a plurality of contents, the request including an identifier of a sponsor of the request, to verify, using the identifier, an authorization status of the sponsor, and transmit to the user device, based on verification of the authorization status of the sponsor, content access data enabling access to the first content by the user. The processing further executes the software code to detect that the user is accessing the first content, and to offer, in response to detecting that access, an opportunity to the user to obtain access to the plurality of contents.

Background

BACKGROUND (1) There are many situations in which a user who has access to content they enjoy may want their friends to be able to enjoy that content as well. For example, a user having a subscription to a content delivery service hosting a proprietary television (TV) series enjoyed by the subscribing user may want to introduce a non-subscribing friend to that TV series by providing access to a particular episode or other limited sample of the series content. In instances in which the content delivery service to which the user subscribes offers a free trial subscription, the subscribing user may encourage their non-subscribing friend to sign up for the free trial period. However, for a variety of business reasons, some content delivery services may decline to offer free trials. In those situations, the subscribing user may be inclined to share their own subscriber credentials with their friend. However, sharing such credentials typically grants full access to the account held by the subscribing user. Moreover, in instances where third-party Identity Providers (IDPs) such as Facebook® or Google® are used to authenticate the subscribing user, enabling access to the subscriber account may undesirably include providing full access to those third-party accounts as well. Nevertheless, the interests of the subscribing user in sharing their content consumption experience with friends, as well as the interests of the content delivery service in promoting its proprietary content would

Claims

1. A content delivery system comprising: a computing platform having a processing hardware and a system memory storing a software code; the processing hardware configured to execute the software code to: receive, from a user device utilized by a user, a request for access to a first content of a plurality of contents, the request including an identifier of a sponsor of the request; verify, using the identifier, that the sponsor has not exceeded a number of allocated guest invitations; transmit to the user device, based on verification that the sponsor has not exceeded the number of allocated guest invitations, content access data enabling the access to the first content by the user; detect that the user is accessing the first content; and offer, in response to detecting, an opportunity to the user to obtain access to the plurality of contents. || 11. A method for use by a content delivery system including a computing platform having a processing hardware, and a system memory storing a software code, the method comprising: receiving from a user device utilized by a user, by the software code executed by the processing hardware, a request for access to a first content of a plurality of contents, the request including an identifier of a sponsor of the request; verifying, by the software code executed by the processing hardware and using the identifier, that the sponsor has not exceeded a number of allocated guest invitations; transmitting to the user device, by the software code executed by the processing hardware based on verification that the sponsor has not exceeded the number of allocated guest invitations, content access data enabling the access to the first content by the user; detecting, by the software code executed by the processing hardware, that the user is accessing the first content; and offering, by the software code executed by the processing hardware in response to detecting, an opportunity to the user to obtain access to the plurality of contents.