Patent ID: 7340457

Claim:
An apparatus for customizing television content operable to run on a computing platform electrically coupled to a receiver which is electrically coupled to a display device, the apparatus operable to receive supplemental data from a supplemental data database maintained by a television service provider, the apparatus comprising: a television tuner/decoder operable to receive television signals from the television service provider and decode the received television signal; an input device operable with said television tuner/decoder enabling a viewer to select for viewing one television signal received by said television tuner/decoder; a supplemental data extractor operable to receive supplemental data from the television service provider; a profile database operable to store a viewer profile; a filter module electrically coupled to said profile database and to the supplemental data extractor, said filter module operable to access the viewer profile and the supplement data and, in response, to select a preferred display component according to the one television signal selected by the viewer via said input device, the viewer profile and the supplemental data, the preferred display component consisting of supplemental data selected by said filter module according to the viewer profile from among plural supplemental data corresponding to the one television signal selected by the viewer operable to target a particular viewer relative to other viewers by supplementing television content; and an overlay disposed proximate to the display device and remote from the television service provider, said overlay coupled to said television tuner/decoder and to said filter module to substantially simultaneously receive the decoded television signal and the preferred display component, said overlay operable to integrate said decoded television signal and said preferred display component for combined display via a display device.