GENERATION OF ENLARGED PARTICIPATORY BROADCAST AUDIENCE

摘要

A system and method for wagering and for evaluating responses to broadcast programs, such as television programs, includes an instructional signal modulated onto a signal transmitted concurrently with the television program, or time-multiplexed with a television. At each of a plurality of remote receiving stations (16, 18), one or more members of a remote audience (94) has the opportunity to respond to a situation presented in the television program by entering a response on a keyboard (44). The system includes, at each remote receiving station, a response unit (22) having a memory (106) responsive to the instructional signal for storing acceptable responses, a comparison circuit (116) for comparing responses entered at the keyboard with those stored in the memory, circuitry (104) for scoring responses in accordance with commands from the instructional signal, and a recording device (46) for providing a permanent record of the audience score at the remote station. For conducting a sweepstakes, numbers or other responses are entered at the remote stations and are stored at a central facility for verification. The program may be presented live conducted by a host at a central station (12), or by a prerecorded message accessible by telephone from a remote station with regulation from a central station, and may be transmitted via satellite simultaneously to numerous central stations for rebroadcast to an enlarged participatory audience.