Patent ID: 7996277

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of data processing for processing bids in an auction, the auction having a live phase during which bids are accepted and an auction close following which bids are no longer accepted, comprising: receiving a plurality of bids for an item in an auction; assigning a time stamp to each bid received; storing data comprising a bidder identity, the time stamp, and a bid amount; preprocessing by a processor of a data processing system each bid to obtain auction status information during the live phase of the auction; and subsequently processing the stored data to determine at least one winning bidder, wherein at least one bid is received in a first format over a first input channel and at least one bid is received in a second format over a second input channel and at least one of the bid received over the first input channel and the bid received over the second input channel is reformatted on receipt for storage and preprocessing, formatting the auction status information for broadcast over a first output medium with a first input/output interface, the first output medium comprising the Internet, and formatting the auction status information for broadcast over a second output medium with a second input/output interface, the second output medium comprising a television broadcast system; and simultaneously broadcasting the auction status information over the first and the second output mediums, wherein a video output is broadcast over the second output medium, the video output incorporating the auction status information.