[11] Less common names for the system include program cue interrupt (PCI) and switched talkback.
[12][13] IFB is often facilitated using an earpiece that on-air persons wear to get cues, feedback or direction from their control rooms.
Sometimes IFB is accomplished by the director talking to off-camera personnel who visually cue the on-camera talent.
The IFB is a special intercom circuit that consists of a mix-minus program feed sent to an earpiece worn by talent via a wire, telephone, or radio receiver (audio that is being "fed back" to talent) that can be interrupted and replaced by a television producer's or director's intercom microphone.
In electronic news gathering (ENG), the IFB can be sent through a telephone hybrid, or some other return link in a broadcast auxiliary service.