Patent ID: 7369744

Claim:
A broadcast signal receiving apparatus comprising: a selection circuit for selecting a channel in a received broadcast signal; a recording device that is capable of recording a program broadcasted on the selected channel selected by the selection circuit; an operation unit for setting an elapsed time threshold that is compared to a selected time period during which the channel broadcasting the program is selected by the selection circuit, in order for the program to be recorded automatically; a control unit for performing control with regard to measuring the selected time period and recording the program; and a memory unit for storing the selected time period measured by the control unit, wherein the control unit (a) measures a selected time period during which the channel broadcasting the program is selected while correlating the selected time period with program information of the program in a case where the selection circuit selects the channel, (b) interrupts measuring the selected time period while storing the selected time period into the memory unit in a case where the selected channel is changed to another channel and restarts the measurement in a case where the channel is selected again so as to view a program relating to the selected time period stored in the memory unit, and (c) performs control to record the program broadcasted on the selected channel on the recording device in a case where the measured time period exceeds the elapsed time threshold set via the operation unit.