A system and a concomitant method for providing programming content in response to an audio signal. The programming content and the audio signal are transmitted in a network having a forward channel and a back channel. In one embodiment, the system comprises a local processing unit and a remote server computer. A first user provides a first audio signal containing a request for programming content from a service provider. The local processing unit receives the first audio signal and transmits the received first audio signal to a service provider via the back channel. The remote server computer receives the first audio signal from the back channel, recognizes the first user and the request for programming content, retrieves the requested programming content from a program database and transmits the programming content to the local processing unit via the forward channel.