METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING EFFICIENT AND ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF TV VIEWERSHIP RATINGS

摘要

A method for providing an efficient and accurate estimate of a TV audience rating through a distributed computer system comprising multiple computers is disclosed. The method includes receiving an inquiry from a client in a distributed computer system; Dynamically selecting one or more computers according to a predetermined sharding function; Determining, at each of the selected computers, a count of event records authorized to satisfy the query; Aggregating respective counts of privileged event records determined by the selected computers; Statistically projecting an aggregated count of privileged event records to an estimated total count of privileged event records on a distributed computer system; And returning an estimated total count of authorized event records to the requesting client.