The American National Standards Institute has approved ANSI/SCTE 35 2016, "Digital Program Insertion Cueing Message for Cable." SCTE 35 is the core signaling standard for video advertising and distribution control (e.g., blackouts) of content for content providers and content distributors. SCTE 35 is being applied to QAM/IP, Title VI/TVE (TV Everywhere), and live/time shifted (DVR, VOD, etc.) delivery. SCTE 35 signals can be used to identify advertising breaks, advertising content, and programming content (ex. specific Programs and Chapters within a Program).
The standard is available at http://www.scte.org/SCTE/Standards/Download/SCTE/Standards/Download_SCTE_Standards.aspx.