US Patent 7945474 Unified automated billing

Various aspects can be implemented for providing a unified automated billing system for offline media (e.g., radio, television, newspaper, and the like) advertising that spans across different time zones based on the concept of a station local time (e.g., the local time where the broadcast station is located) for the broadcast advertising spots. In general, one aspect can be a method that includes recording a local time for an allocated advertising spot when the ad played during the allocated advertising spot, such that the allocated advertising spot is in a broadcast time zone different from a billing time zone of the advertiser. The method also includes generating a station local time for the allocated advertising spot. The method further includes generating a billing event based on the station local time. Other implementations of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.