Patent ID: 8255963

Claim:
A method for use in real-time monitoring of programming content transmitted over a broadcast signal, comprising the steps of: providing a content monitoring receiver computer configured to receive a broadcast signal from at least one broadcasting station and a rebroadcast signal from at least one consumer; receiving at said content monitoring receiver computer a broadcast signal from a broadcasting station, wherein said broadcast signal comprises first programming content transmitted by said broadcasting station and intended for delivery to at least one intended consumer of said broadcast signal, said first programming content having a first subject matter; receiving at said content monitoring receiver computer at least one rebroadcast signal from said at least one intended consumer of said broadcast signal, wherein said rebroadcast signal comprises second programming content received by said at least one intended consumer of said broadcast signal, said second programming content having a second subject matter; causing said content monitoring receiver computer to compare at least a portion of said broadcast signal to at least a portion of said rebroadcast signal, wherein said portion of said broadcast signal comprises signal data that is native to said broadcast signal; and based upon a result generated in said comparing step, causing said content monitoring receiver computer to determine whether a third party has replaced said first subject matter with said second subject matter by determining whether said second programming content differs from said first programming content beyond a predetermined threshold.