Systems and method for timing commercial breaks

1. A method for handling broadcast television commercials, the method comprising:

outputting, by a television receiver, an alternate content presentation selection interface that allows a user to: define a streaming content provider distinct from the television service provider, and define a selection criteria used to select streaming content from the streaming content provider;

receiving, by the television receiver, from a television service provider, metadata that indicates: (1) a commencement of a television commercial break during a television broadcast, and (2) an expected duration of the television commercial break, wherein the metadata is broadcast by the television service provider as part of a same serial stream of packet data that comprises the television broadcast;

initiating, by the television receiver, a timer based on the received metadata indicating the commencement of the television commercial break during the television broadcast;

identifying, by the television receiver, a piece of content to request from the streaming content provider, such that the piece of content is identified based on: (1) the selection criteria defined by the user via the alternate content presentation selection interface, and (2) having a duration that is determined to be equal to or less than the expected duration indicated in the received metadata;

receiving, by the television receiver, the piece of content;

outputting, by the television receiver, for presentation to a display device, the piece of content during the television commercial break; and

outputting, by the television receiver, for presentation to the display device, a picture-in-picture view of the television broadcast overlaid on the piece of content in response to the timer reaching a user-defined reference time value.

2. The method for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the television receiver, a user-defined time period; and

outputting, by the television receiver, the remaining duration for presentation to the display device in response to the remaining duration equaling or being less than the user-defined time period.

3. The method for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the television receiver, a command from a remote control requesting the remaining duration; and

outputting, by the television receiver, the remaining duration for presentation to the display device in response to the command.

4. The method for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 1 , further comprising:

causing the identified piece of content to be presented by the display device instead of at least a portion of the television commercial break.

5. The method for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 1 , wherein the metadata is received from a third-party provider via a network connection, the third-party provider being distinct from the television service provider.

6. The method for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 1 , further comprising buffering, by the television receiver, the identified piece of content prior to outputting the identified piece of content for presentation.

7. A system for handling broadcast television commercials, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory memory communicatively coupled with and readable by the one or more processors and having stored therein processor-readable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

output, to a display device, an alternate content presentation selection interface that allows a user to:

define a streaming content provider distinct from the television service provider, and

define a selection criteria used to select streaming content from the streaming content provider;

receive metadata that indicates: (1) a commencement of a television commercial break during a television broadcast, and (2) an expected duration of the television commercial break, wherein the metadata is broadcast by the television service provider as part of a same serial stream of packet data that comprises the television broadcast;

initiate a timer based on the received metadata indicating the commencement of the television commercial break during the television broadcast;

identify a piece of content to request from the streaming content provider such that the piece of content is identified based on: (1) the selection criteria defined by the user via the alternate content presentation selection interface, and (2) having a duration that is determined to be equal to or less than the expected duration indicated in the received metadata;

receive the piece of content;

output, to the display device, the piece of content during the television commercial break; and

output for presentation to the display device, a picture-in-picture view of the television broadcast in response to the timer reaching a user-defined reference time value.

8. The system for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 7 , wherein the processor-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

receive a user-defined time period; and

cause the remaining duration to be output for presentation to the display device in response to the remaining duration equaling or being less than the user-defined time period.

9. The system for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 7 , wherein the processor-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

receive a command from a remote control requesting the remaining duration; and

cause the remaining duration to be output for presentation to the display device in response to the command.

10. The system for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 7 , wherein the processor-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to: cause the identified piece of content to be presented by the display device instead of at least a portion of the television commercial break.

11. The system for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 7 , wherein the metadata is received from a third-party provider via a network connection, the third-party provider being distinct from a television service provider.

12. The system for handling broadcast television commercials of claim 7 , wherein the processor-readable instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to:

buffering the identified piece of content prior to outputting the identified piece of content for presentation.

13. A non-transitory processor-readable medium for handling broadcast television commercials comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to:

output an alternate content presentation selection interface that allows a user to: define a streaming content provider distinct from the television service provider, and define a selection criteria used to select streaming content from the streaming content provider;

receive metadata that indicates: (1) a commencement of a television commercial break during a television broadcast, and (2) an expected duration of the television commercial break, wherein the metadata is broadcast by the television service provider as part of a same serial stream of packet data that comprises the television broadcast;

initiate a timer based on the received metadata indicating the commencement of the television commercial break during the television broadcast;

identify a piece of content to request from the streaming content provider such that the piece of content is identified based on having: (1) the selection criteria defined by the user via the alternate content presentation selection interface and (2) having a duration that is determined to be equal to or less than the expected duration indicated in the received metadata;

receive the piece of content;

output to a display device, the piece of content during the television commercial break; and

output for presentation to the display device, a picture-in-picture view of the television broadcast overlaid on the piece of content in response to the timer reaching a user-defined reference time value.

14. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the processor-readable instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to cause the identified piece of content to be buffered prior to the commercial break.