Patent ID: 9723371
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: H04N

Claim:
1. A method for handling broadcast television commercials, the method comprising: outputting, by a television receiver, an alternate content presentation selection interface that allows a user to: define a streaming content provider distinct from the television service provider, and define a selection criteria used to select streaming content from the streaming content provider; receiving, by the television receiver, from a television service provider, metadata that indicates: (1) a commencement of a television commercial break during a television broadcast, and (2) an expected duration of the television commercial break, wherein the metadata is broadcast by the television service provider as part of a same serial stream of packet data that comprises the television broadcast; initiating, by the television receiver, a timer based on the received metadata indicating the commencement of the television commercial break during the television broadcast; identifying, by the television receiver, a piece of content to request from the streaming content provider, such that the piece of content is identified based on: (1) the selection criteria defined by the user via the alternate content presentation selection interface, and (2) having a duration that is determined to be equal to or less than the expected duration indicated in the received metadata; receiving, by the television receiver, the piece of content; outputting, by the television receiver, for presentation to a display device, the piece of content during the television commercial break; and outputting, by the television receiver, for presentation to the display device, a picture-in-picture view of the television broadcast overlaid on the piece of content in response to the timer reaching a user-defined reference time value.