You know how upset the networks got over ad-skipping DVRs? Well get ready for a new battle. Apple has filed a new patent, which, when applied to a cable box, or a Google TV-style device, will detect the start of a commercial, and automatically kick on alternative content until your show is back on. The unwritten application of this patent is that they could also use it to serve up their own ads instead, likely without your knowledge it’s even happening.
You know, if I were Apple, trying to negotiate with content providers and the cable companies to build a cable box and redefine the content-distribution ecosystem for TV shows and movies, I wouldn’t be threatening a huge portion of their income by bypassing or blocking the ads they show that support their shows. If nothing else, you have to admire Apple’s hubris. Or maybe the TV thing that Steve Jobs cracked was a new revenue paradigm–who knows?
Anyway, patent diagrams and details on this new channel-replacing system are at the source link below.