Patent ID: 7003790

Claim:
A broadcast-program selection history information acquisition apparatus operable in a system including a multiplicity of said broadcast-program selection history information acquisition apparatuses and a notification destination, said broadcast-program selection history information acquisition apparatus comprising: storage means operable to store selection information regarding the selection of broadcast programs at predetermined acquisition times from among programs broadcast on a plurality of channels; and transmission means operable to periodically transmit selection history information to the notification station at a transmission timing assigned at random in accordance with an intrinsic random number, and not in response to a data transfer request received from a device external to said broadcast-program selection history information acquisition apparatus, said selection history information including a plurality of pieces of said selection information stored at a plurality of said acquisition times, said transmission timing being assigned within a predetermined restricted range of hours beginning at a predetermined time of day in which said multiplicity of said broadcast-program selection history information acquisition apparatuses are restricted to transmit.