Apparatus and method for blocking television commercials and displaying alternative programming

#The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for blocking undesired television commercials and displaying alternative programming instead of the blocked commercials.

#Debates today rage about both the delivery and funding of informational content in all of its forms. On the Internet, many content providers are moving away from their advertisement-based business models and moving towards subscription-based business models. Despite rapid advances in technology, the delivery mechanisms and methods of generating revenue for content delivered through television broadcasts have been relatively stagnant, when compared to the delivery mechanisms and methods of generating revenue for the Internet and web delivery systems. In television broadcasts, advertisers still attempt to reach users using the same techniques that they have used for decades which are the thirty and sixty second commercials interspaced throughout specific television programs. In addition to technology, the viewer is becoming increasingly sophisticated and is demanding that every second of their time, whether engaged in work or leisure pursuits, be well spent. For the vast majority of television viewers, time engaged in viewing undesired advertisements is not considered time well spent. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method of preventing a television viewer from viewing unwanted commercials.

#Additionally, television viewers generally do not prefer to have periods of interrupted programming or “dead air” when they are viewing a program. It would be preferable if the blocked commercial could be replaced with user-defined alternative programming. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for replacing a blocked commercial with alternative programming which is more acceptable to the television viewer.

#FIG. 1 is an illustration of the invention interacting with a cable provider and a television.

#FIG. 2A is a flowchart of the commercial blocking program.

#FIG. 2B is a flowchart of the alternative programming logic.

#The term “multiplex” as used herein means the process of funneling several different streams of data over a common communications line. The term “cable provider” as used herein means a company which provides television service to multiple users and includes satellite television providers. The term “buffering” as used herein means a process of examining the closed captioning text or audio signal associated with television signals and configuring the examined signal such that it may be searched for specific keywords. As used herein, the term “alternate viewing” means content displayed in place of a blocked commercial and may include one or more of the following: (1) a brief message displayed to inform the viewer that alternative programming will be presented during the commercial interval; (2) an on-screen counter, showing how many seconds are left before the planned return to primary viewing and (3) directions to the tuner to go to a particular station. The directions to the tuner may be universal, by commercial, by originating station, by time of day or by definition of an elaborate viewing hierarchy. As used herein, the term “universal” means using content from a particular station to replace all blocked commercials. As used herein, the term “by commercial” means using content from a particular station to replace the specifically identified commercial. As used herein, the term “by originating station” means using the original station to determine the alternative content which will replace all blocked commercials. As used herein, the term “by time of day” means using the time of day to determine which station to use as alternative content for all blocked commercials. As used herein, the term “elaborate viewing hierarchy” means a combination of a plurality of universal, by commercial, by originating station, or by time or day alternative viewing formats As used herein, the term “unique digital identifying tag” means a number sequence before the header and after the trailer of each commercial. The number sequence is assigned according to an industry standard that allows each commercial to be identified from every other commercial. As used herein, a “component signature” is a group of variables, based on a time component, an X video component, a Y video component, and an audio component, that is used to identify a commercial from all other commercials when a “unique digital identifying tag is not available. As used herein, the term “cumulative digital signature” means the aggregation of one or more selected characteristics of a data sequence to provide a unique number for identification of the complete data sequence. FIG. 1 is an illustration of the invention 100 interacting with a cable provider and a television set. The depiction of the cable provider is by way of illustration only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Persons skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be used with either a cable or wireless data transmission system. The cable provider (not shown) provides a television signal through a coaxial cable 102 that runs through the user's wall 104 and into the logical unit 106. Logical unit 106 analyzes the cable signal as described below and displays the information on television 110 via television connection 108. Logical unit 106 can optionally be combined with television 110. Alternatively, logical unit 106 may be placed at the same location as the cable provider such that it is unnecessary to have logical unit 106 at the user's location.

#FIG. 2A is a flowchart of commercial blocking program 200 which operates inside logical unit 106. Commercial blocking program 200 starts (202) whenever multiplexed cable signals are broadcast (204). In the preferred embodiment, each commercial has a unique digital identifying tag, similar to a serial number, which identifies a particular commercial. Logical unit 106 recognizes a particular commercial based on the unique identifying tag.

#In an alternate embodiment, logical unit 106 identifies commercials by a “component signature.” Multiplexed cable signals are defined by four components: a time component, an X video component, a Y video component, and an audio component. Every television program and/or commercial can be readily identified by these components. There is generally allowed some amount of time skew in the synchronization of the four components to identify the absolute beginning of a program or commercial. By taking the time skew into consideration, commercial blocking program 200 can identify a particular commercial. For example, a given pattern of video/audio signals occurring at a time “delta” (perhaps but not necessarily in the order of 500 microseconds) around the nominal beginning of an advertisement, may point back to a specified commercial.