Control system for satellite delivered pay-per-view television system

A system for providing automated ordering of television programs by a subscriber of a local cable television system by direct toll-free telephone dialing an originating source which provides television programs according to a predetermined schedule to a network of cable television systems including said subscriber's local cable television system for delivery, in turn, to respective subscribers according to a predetermined local schedule with each program identified by the time of day at which it is scheduled to start, said originating source including means for receiving toll-free telephone calls and providing Automatic Number Identification (ANI) information for callers, said system comprising:

• data processing means at said originating source interconnected with said means for receiving telephone calls to receive ANI information regarding a caller and wherein the data processing means is programmed to compare area code and telephone exchange information contained in said ANI information with stored area code and telephone exchange information identifying the site of each said one or more local cable television systems for determining which of said local cable television systems serves the caller and, provided the telephone call is received within a prescribed time period relative to the scheduled start of an offered program, to automatically assemble and communicate to the local cable television system determined to serve the caller a message signal containing information signifying that an identified one of its subscribers has ordered a particular program.

A system for providing automated ordering of television programs offered and distributed by a program originating source by a subscriber of a local cable television system by direct toll-free dialing said originating source, comprising:

• an originating source which provides television programs according to a pre-arranged schedule to a network of one or more local cable television systems including said subscriber's local cable television system;
• first data processing means at said originating source including first memory means for storing for each said one or more local cable television systems the following information:
• area code and telephone exchange, which of the programs offered by the originating source it wishes to receive and the time or times at which it wishes to present each to one or more subscriber, and the technical specifications of its addressable head-end scrambling equipment, and wherein said first data processing means is programmed to automatically periodically assemble and communicate to the head-ends of all local cable television systems of said network a binary message which contains area code and telephone exchange information and desired program schedule information for each local cable television system;
• second data processing means at the head-end of each local cable television system of said network including second memory means for storing command information for effecting future switching of its scrambling equipment to achieve delivery to its subscribers of its offered schedule of programs, wherein each second data processing means is programmed to accept only that portion of said binary message that is addressed to it for updating said stored command information;
• and
• means at said originating source for receiving toll-free telephone calls and providing to said first data processing means Automatic Number Identification (ANI) information concerning a caller for comparison with the area code and telephone exchange information stored in said first memory to determine which local cable television system of said network serves said caller and, if the telephone call is received within a prescribed time period relative to the scheduled start time of an offered program, to automatically assembly and communicate to the head-end of the local cable television determined to serve the caller a message which contains ANI information signifying that one of its subscribers has ordered a particular program.