Patent ID: 8863167

Claim:
A system providing sponsored content to an end device, the system comprising: a data storage device storing a broadcast segment schedule, wherein the broadcast segment schedule contains a plurality of broadcast segments, each broadcast segment having: a broadcast channel and a time of broadcast, an item identification (ID) corresponding to an item in the broadcast segment, and a sponsor ID identifying a corresponding sponsor for the item ID; an input/output module interface that receives an indication of selection of an item from a plurality of items in a broadcast segment of the plurality of broadcast segments from an end device; a server containing a processor that is configured to execute the following: a segment sponsor module that identifies the broadcast segment using the indication of selection of the item and the broadcast segment schedule, identifies an item ID of the item using the identified broadcast segment and the broadcast segment schedule, and identifies a corresponding sponsor of the item using the item ID and the identified broadcast segment; a messaging module that generates an anonymized message, wherein the anonymized message includes the item ID, and a request for information based on the indication of the selection of the item, and the anonymized message conceals the identity of an end user of the end device to the corresponding sponsor, and maintains validity for a reply to the end user for a limited time; and wherein the input/output module interface further-sends the anonymized message to the corresponding sponsor, receives a reply from the corresponding sponsor, and forwards the reply from the corresponding sponsor to an end user contact.