METHODS AND APPARATUS TO PERFORM COMPUTER-BASED MONITORING OF AUDIENCES OF NETWORK-BASED MEDIA BY USING INFORMATION THEORY TO ESTIMATE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL UNIONS

20240104586

18/366001

August 07, 2023

Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture to perform computer-based monitoring of audiences of network-based media using information theory to estimate intermediate level unions are disclosed. An example apparatus to determine a deduplicated, census-based audience metric of media includes panel union calculator circuitry to calculate a threshold statistic corresponding to an intermediate union of a panel hierarchy, and census union calculator circuitry to calculate a deduplicated audience value corresponding to the intermediate union of the census hierarchy based on the threshold statistic.

1. A computing system comprising a processor and a memory, the computing system configured to perform a set of acts comprising: calculating a threshold statistic corresponding to an intermediate union of a panel hierarchy; and calculating a deduplicated audience value corresponding to the intermediate union of a census hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, the deduplicated audience value representative of accesses to media by audience members via network-connected devices.

2. The computing system of claim 1, wherein: the panel hierarchy comprises bottom nodes that are connected to and below the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy, each bottom node representing a respective audience that accesses a respective media content item, and the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy represents a deduplicated audience of the bottom nodes.

3. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the respective media content items are respective websites.

4. The computing system of claim 2, wherein the threshold statistic is a pseudo-universe estimate that is derived from the respective audiences of each bottom node and a deduplicated audience of the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy.

5. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the set of acts further comprises calculating a sufficient statistic corresponding to the intermediate union of a panel hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, wherein the deduplicated audience value is further based on the sufficient statistic.

6. The computing system of claim 5, wherein the sufficient statistic is derived from the threshold statistic and a universe estimate.

7. The computing system of claim 1, wherein the set of acts further comprises reporting the deduplicated audience value using a communication interface.

8. A method comprising: calculating, by a computing system, a threshold statistic corresponding to an intermediate union of a panel hierarchy; and calculating, by the computing system, a deduplicated audience value corresponding to the intermediate union of a census hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, the deduplicated audience value representative of accesses to media by audience members via network-connected devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: the panel hierarchy comprises bottom nodes that are connected to and below the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy, each bottom node representing a respective audience that accesses a respective media content item, and the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy represents a deduplicated audience of the bottom nodes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the respective media content items are respective websites.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the threshold statistic is a pseudo-universe estimate that is derived from the respective audiences of each bottom node and a deduplicated audience of the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising calculating a sufficient statistic corresponding to the intermediate union of a panel hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, wherein the deduplicated audience value is further based on the sufficient statistic.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the sufficient statistic is derived from the threshold statistic and a universe estimate.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising reporting the deduplicated audience value using a communication interface.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions that, upon execution by one or more processors, cause a computing system to perform a set of acts comprising: calculating a threshold statistic corresponding to an intermediate union of a panel hierarchy; and calculating a deduplicated audience value corresponding to the intermediate union of a census hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, the deduplicated audience value representative of accesses to media by audience members via network-connected devices.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein: the panel hierarchy comprises bottom nodes that are connected to and below the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy, each bottom node representing a respective audience that accesses a respective media content item, and the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy represents a deduplicated audience of the bottom nodes.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the respective media content items are respective websites.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the threshold statistic is a pseudo-universe estimate that is derived from the respective audiences of each bottom node and a deduplicated audience of the intermediate union of the panel hierarchy.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the set of acts further comprises calculating a sufficient statistic corresponding to the intermediate union of a panel hierarchy based on the threshold statistic, wherein the deduplicated audience value is further based on the sufficient statistic.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the sufficient statistic is derived from the threshold statistic and a universe estimate.

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