Abstract:
This is a method to use an individual&#39;s specific interests to appropriately select for television programming that matches these interests. Once the matching television programming is found, the individual is then notified through any number of communication means of upcoming matching television programming, ensuring that the individual never has to sit and flip through channels to find something they like and further never miss a television program that matches their interest.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    Individuals use television listings to decide what to watch on television. Knowing where and when to find a program one is interested in is critical to enjoying television in a world of hundreds of channels available today through typical cable, satellite or internet-tv providers. However, this is not easily achieved with technology that is available today. Current “television guides” in paper form are not searchable by electronic means, therefore it is impossible to find the necessary information unless one spends hours perusing each page of the guide. Current “television guides” in electronic form, also known as “Electronic Program Guide” do not solve this issue either, as it they are searchable only by the name of the television program and not be description. While descriptions are available, since they are not organized by keywords and are not searchable, valuable viewing time is lost looking through each description of each program that one might be interested in to see if it is indeed a program that matches one&#39;s interests. In the world of cable and satellite programming which often provides several hundred channels of entertainment, it is indeed impossible to have any good idea of what is available for viewing at any given time. Thus, at the present time, television viewing is limited by the inability to match one&#39;s personal interest to television programming in an efficient, time-saving and consistent manner. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]    The invention is a process which facilitates decision-making for television viewers. It is a process whereby all television programming content is catalogued and tagged. The invention solves the problem of having hundred of channels and having to flip through all of them to see what&#39;s on. Additionally, it provides notification to the user of upcoming television programming that exactly matches their indicated interests. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]    The foregoing summary and the following detailed description are better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several drawings, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings: 
           [0004]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a database of television programming wherein each program is described with descriptive tags 
           [0005]      FIG. 2  is a lock diagram of a search script enabling the user to search the database for descriptive tags that match his interest and obtain a result of appropriate television programs. 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an “alert service” which uses current television listings and programs matching user keyword queries through their tags to notify the user when such a program will be on the air in their coverage area and on their specific television provider. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]    The invention comprises the following parts: 
         [0008]    A database  100  of all available television programming, where each individual television program  101  (film, show, sports event, series sitcom etc) is tagged with searchable keywords  102  for the following categories (not limited): theme, actors, location, producer, time period, language, culture, television-rating etc. These tags can be in any number of currently available web or programming languages, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), cgi, ASPX etc and stored in any appropriate format, such as database. The assigning of the tags may be done manually  103 , or may be done automatically  104  through any means currently available, or to be developed in the future. 
         [0009]    Examples of theme: “world war II” “reality television” “cooking” “financial advice” “wimbledon final” “mafia” etc 
         [0010]    Themes can then be narrowed by selecting sub-themes: Theme=cars, sub-theme=antiques, repair, racing, auction, history, making etc. . . . 
         [0011]    Actor includes: actor credited in a film or series, person appearing on a talk show, athlete involved in a sporting event. 
         [0012]    A web site script or computer program  107 , again in any suitable web or computer programming language currently available or to be developed, that will allow a user  105  to select their interests, to obtain a result  109  from the database of all television programs whose descriptive tags match their criteria using a matching algorithm or script  108 . For example, a user selecting “Edward Norton” as an actor, and selecting PG-13 as their desired television-rating (so they can, for example, watch their favorite actor with the kids), would get “Keeping the Faith” as a result, but not “American History X”, which is a film intended for mature audiences and carries a TV-M rating. Furthermore, this same search would return not only films in which Edward Norton acted, but also, for example, an episode of the “Jay Leno Show” on which Edward Norton was a guest. The searchable database and tags are updated as frequently as possible to ensure accuracy and best user experience. 
         [0013]    The third part of the invention is a script, program or other automated means of “alert service”, which when setup by the user according to their parameters  117  (any combination of keywords “tags”, time of day, channel etc) will, through a notification script or program  112  notify the user when their desired television programming (as specified by the results of search  109  stored in the “matching programs database”  110  will be available by consulting a database of TV listings  111  specific for the user&#39;s coverage air and television service provider. This allows the user to be notified of programs according to their interest, without knowing the exact name of the program. For example, a user specifying Peyton Manning as an “actor”, will be notified of all American football games where the athlete Peyton Manning is playing, as well as talk shows on which he is featured as a guest. Such a notification will be either on the website  113 , program  116  or proprietary system on which the database and search is based, or can be through any other means including but not limited to email  114 , instant messaging, Short Message System (SMS), Multimedia Message System (MMS)  115  which includes pictures and/or clips of television programming of which the user is notified) or other message software, hardware or means to be developed in the future. The notification may further be integrated with existing or future software or hardware  118  (Media Center PC, TiVo, etc) for the purpose of recording the television programming of interest. The alert service will use publicly available television listings or licensed television listings in a format searchable by the program, script or other automated means for the purpose of knowing when the specific program the user has requested through the search will be available on the user&#39;s television. The television listings will encompass all US television providers, including cable, “on demand”, over the air, satellite, fiber optic and IPTV and be specific to each user&#39;s coverage area which the user will indicate by providing their zip code when setting up the alert service  117 . 
         [0014]    The invention is presented for use to the consumer through several means. It can be operated as an internet website, a stand alone PC or Macintosh application, a “widget” for PC or Macintosh operating system, an embeddable Extensible Markup Language (XML)/Java/ActiveX or any other programming language “applet” component that may be embedded into any website, such as a portal website. Further it can be integrated into proprietary hardware, such as a cable box or the television itself. Therefore, the invention may be programmed in any programming language or standard, including any language or standard developed in the future, suitable for the platform (website, computer, phone etc) that it is being presented on.