a number of channels of data , including audio , image , text , and support data are collected at one or more centralized servers . the individual channels are edited and processed for content and format , including the deletion and insertion of advertising content and markers to indicate locations for additional content . these channels are then sent to a plurality of transmission servers for processing one or more of the channels including the insertion of content at designated markers and the combination of the channels of data into a single , packetized data transfer stream . the transmission servers broadcast the data transfer stream to a plurality of receiving units which de - packetize the original data channels and present any selected channel to the user of the receiving unit . the receiving units send status information back to the centralized servers where the data is processed and analyzed to evaluate the present and future use of advertisements .