Patent attributes
A method and mechanism for selecting and conveying ads in an interactive television system. An ad stream is conveyed concurrently with a broadcast programming stream in an interactive television system. The ad stream includes multiple streams of ads wherein each stream of ads includes multiple ads. An ad selector mechanism detects programming and ad requests. Requests may be indicated by a viewer, a received cue, or by an interactive application. Based on programming and ad selection data, a viewer profile is created which may be used to select targeted ads for display. In response to a detected request, the ad selector mechanism searches the ad stream for an ad to meet the request. An ad is selected according to a viewer profile or a particular viewer action. The selected ad may be used to meet the request by filling an unused avail or by providing further information to a viewer. A particular ad may appear in more than one of the multiple streams and at different start times. Additionally, a particular ad may appear multiple times in a single stream. The multiple appearances of a particular ad offers multiple possible start times for the ad.
