1. An apparatus for regulating the presentation of electronic media content to a consumer via a presentation medium, said apparatus comprising: an interface arrangement which receives media content comprising a plurality of segments, wherein each segment includes cost factor data associated therewith; a controller which examines said cost factor data, attributes credit values to said plurality of segments based on said cost factor data, and maintains a credit balance associated with said consumer based on the attributed values, wherein said controller attributes a positive credit value to received media content construed as credit-bearing content and attributes a negative credit value to received media construed as debit-bearing content, and adjusts the attributed credit value of the received media content based on said cost factor data and at least one additional predetermined criterion external to the received media content; uses the balance in the account to determine the rules for future behavior of content presentation; is programmed with consumer demographic profile and preference information, wherein, based upon the demographic and preference information, a modulated credit value for credit-bearing content is obtained; and a regulator which applies rules for presenting the media content based on the credit balance; wherein the presentation medium is a television; and wherein the modulated credit value has a higher credit value when the credit-bearing content is being presented to a consumer who is known to be in a demographic group that has a high probability of purchasing a product featured in said credit-bearing content.