Method and apparatus for providing demographically targeted television commercials

A television system for providing substitute television programming during commercial breaks in a primary program, comprising:

• a headend for transmitting television signals, including a first television channel comprising television programs with periodic commercial messages and a second television channel comprising another viewer selected backup program;
• means for receiving said first channel from said headend;
• means for determining when a commercial message break is about to occur on said first television channel;
• and
• means responsive to said determining means for receiving said second channel instead of said first channel during the duration of the commercial message break.

Headend apparatus for broadcasting different commercial messages to different demographically targeted television audiences, comprising:

• means for transmitting a television signal containing television programs and periodic commercial message breaks on a first television channel on a television signal distribution network;
• a library of recorded television commercial for playback under the control of a system controller;
• means for concurrently transmitting, on separate television channels on said distribution network, a plurality of different television commercials played back under the control of said system controller during a periodic commercial message break for selective receipt of different commercials by a universe of viewers;
• means for recording data indicative of the number of viewers that are provided with a given commercial transmitted on said distribution network from said library;
• and
• means responsive to said recording means for billing an advertiser based on said data.

A system for automatically selecting television programs and commercials for a viewer, based on data pertaining the viewer, comprising:

• means for storing data indicative of predetermined characteristics of said viewer;
• means, responsive to said stored data, for causing a television signal receiver to select from a plurality of programs a television program targeted to viewers having said characteristics;
• and
• means, responsive to said stored data during a commercial message break of said selected television program, for directing said television signal receiver to select, from a plurality of commercials, a television commercial targeted to viewers having said characteristics.