Patent ID: 7146627

Claim:
A method to deliver customized linear video programming to each of a plurality of individual viewers, comprising: receiving at least two simultaneous streams of video programming, each programming stream including a set of discrete alternative video programming segments, the video programming segments defining a plurality of content elements unrelated to one another; subdividing each video programming stream into its component set of discrete video programming segments, such that sequential display of the video programming segments results in an apparently linear video program; processing information indicative of preferences of each of the plurality of viewers to develop viewer characteristics target information for each of the viewers; choosing particular ones of the discrete alternative video programming segments from each of the video programming streams based upon the viewer characteristics information; configuring the chosen alternative video programming segments for each viewer, such that content elements of one programming stream meet the viewer characteristics target information for each of the viewers and are interspersed with unrelated content elements of the other programming stream which also meet the viewer characteristics target information for each of the viewers; and assembling the chosen alternative video programming segments from each of the video programming streams into a customized and apparently linear program for linear delivery to each of the plurality of viewers in accordance with the viewer characteristics information, the assembly performed without regard to a characteristic time duration of any one of the chosen alternative video programming segments so long as the apparently linear program runs within a given time period.