Device and method for efficient delivery of redundant national television signals

A broadcasting system comprising:

• an uplink facility generating a broadcast signal signal
• a receiving device for receiving the broadcast signal, said receiving device including an overlay memory storing an overlay;
• a receive circuit for receiving a broadcast signal;
• a geographic identifier memory storing a receiver geographic identifier;
• and
• a controller for overlaying said overlay signal onto said broadcast signal in response to said receiver geographic identifier.

A receiving device for a broadcasting system comprising:

• an overlay memory storing an overlay;
• a receive circuit for receiving a broadcast signal;
• a geographic identifier memory storing a geographic identifier;
• and
• a controller and signal processing circuit for overlaying said overlay signal an said broadcast signal in response to said geographic identifier.

A method of broadcasting comprising the steps of:

• storing a user geographic identifier in a receiver;
• generating an emergency message signal having an emergency message geographic identifier;
• comparing the user geographic identifier to the emergency message geographic identifier in a receive circuit;
• and
• displaying said emergency message signal when the user geographic identifier corresponds to the emergency message geographic identifier.

A data transmission system having a transmission processor for accepting input data streams and transmitting them over a plurality of broadcast resources, and a reception processor for receiving data transmitted via broadcast resources and generating output data streams therefrom, comprising:

• at least a first input data stream and a second input data stream, wherein said second input data stream has a degree of similarity to said first input data stream during at least a first time period;
• a first output data stream intended to correspond to said first input data stream,
• a second output data stream intended to correspond to said second input data stream, and
• a local map at said reception processor for selectively associating selected broadcast resources to said output data streams.
• an overlay memory at said reception processor for storing overlays therein;
• a user geographic identifier memory at said reception processor storing a user geographic identifier;
• wherein said broadcast resources carry only one of said first and second input data streams during at least a portion of said first time period, by means of a selected broadcast resource;
• and
• wherein said local map selects for each output data stream an overlay corresponding in response to said only one of said first and second input data streams in response to said geographic identifier;
• the local map associates both said first and second output data streams to said selected broadcast resource during said at least a portion of said first time period;
• wherein said overlay memory associates an overlay at least partially in response to said user geographic identifier.

A method of carrying a first number of input data streams on a lesser number of broadcast resources in a communication system, comprising:

• detecting a period of substantially common content in two or more input data streams;
• during at least part of said period of substantially common content, transmitting the substantially common content over an allocated number of broadcast resource(s) which is at least one but fewer than said first number;
• generating at a receiver, from said allocated broadcast resource(s), a number of output data streams greater than said allocated number of broadcast resources, said output data streams being substantially identical in relevant content to a similar number of said input data streams;
• retrieving an overlay in response to a geographic identifier;
• and
• overlaying the overlay on each of said output data stream in response to said geographic identifier.

A method of revenue sharing between a plurality of local stations and a primary station comprising the steps of:

• providing a common signal to a rebroadcaster corresponding to said plurality of local stations and said primary station;
• monitoring viewership;
• and
• dividing advertising revenue from the common signal between the plurality of local stations and the primary station.