Patent ID: 7864248

Claim:
A method of processing signals at a receiver station based on at least one of a broadcast transmission and a cablecast transmission, said method comprising performing at said receiver station the steps of: (a) receiving a programming transmission comprising first mass medium programming and at least one control signal in said at least one of a broadcast transmission and a cablecast transmission; (b) outputting said first mass medium programming at least one output device at said receiver station; (c) detecting the presence of said at least one control signal; (d) passing said detected at least one control signal to a processor at said receiver station; and (e) outputting personalized advertising at said at least one output device in accordance with said at least one control signal, said personalized advertising including personalized information for a specific user of said receiver station, wherein said personalized advertising comprises second mass medium programming and is output for a duration of time, only some of said duration of time including a time interval of specific relevance between said personalized information and said first mass medium programming, and wherein said personalized information is selected from generally applicable information stored at said receiver station prior to receiving said programming transmission and is output during said time interval of specific relevance.