A system and method for permitting viewership behavior on a cable television system, or satellite system, to be analyzed while guaranteeing the anonymity of the individual viewers. Using this system and method, the content of the message initiated by a consumer device, that is configured to receive television programming content, cannot be known by the cable operator even though the cable operator can identify the source of the message; alternatively, the entity that analyzes viewership behavior cannot know the source of the message but can know the content of the message.