Profit Optimization for Wireless Video Broadcasting Systems Based on Polymatroidal Analysis

This study addresses the problem of profit maximization between wireless service providers (WSPs) and content providers (CPs) in wireless broadcasting systems, while simultaneously providing high quality of experience for end-users (EUs). We first study the profit model in wireless broadcasting networks with a particular attention to the heterogeneous requirements of EUs, e.g., different display sizes and variable channel conditions. Then, we propose a profit formulation that describes the requirements of wireless service providers and content providers, as well as the satisfaction of EUs that essentially depends on video quality and service charges. We propose a new polymatroidal theoretic framework for maximizing the resulting three-side achievable profit through proper bandwidth allocation. Our framework exploits two particular structures, namely the underlying polymatroidal structure of the profit region and the contra-polymatroidal structure of the rate region. We then propose a profit maximization solution by finding a rate allocation vector on the sum-rate facet that satisfies the maximal achievable profit among the WSP, CPs, and EUs. Experiments on different broadcasting scenarios demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The WSP is capable of generating more revenues by applying the proposed approach to their marketing strategies while satisfying the demands from CPs and EUs.