US Patent 9131339 Criteria-associated media content

A content item may be associated with criteria that are to be performed to unlock the content items. In response to a user action, a determination as to whether the user action satisfies the criteria may be made. In response to determining that a user satisfied the criteria, the content item may be unlocked with respect to that user, meaning that the content item may become available to that user, such as via a corresponding user device. If it is determined that the criteria is not satisfied, the content item will remain unavailable to the user. Either a service provider or a user may associate the criteria with the content item, which may include video content, audio content, textual content, or image content.