Patent ID: 8863172

Claim:
A method for providing emergency alert messages, comprising: receiving, at a network switching device located at a hub site, coupled to a plurality of customer premise devices, a first emergency alert control message indicating that an emergency alert is in effect; accessing, at said hub site a program channel map table, said program channel map table including for each of a first plurality of individual program channels corresponding emergency alert content stream identification information, emergency alert content stream identification information corresponding to an individual program channel in the first plurality of program channels indicating an emergency alert content stream to be output in place of the corresponding individual program channel content when an emergency alert is in effect; and switching, on a per program channel basis, at said network switching device, when the emergency alert is in effect, from outputting program content to customer premise devices on the program channel being switched, to outputting on the program channel being switched, emergency alert message content communicated by the emergency alert content stream indicated by said program channel map table to correspond to the individual program channel being switched, said switching including switching each of the first plurality of individual program channels.