JP5417049B2 - Program information providing apparatus, program information providing system, and program information providing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a program information providing apparatus, a program information providing system, and a program information providing method for providing information on a television program.

Conventionally, as this type of technology, for example, there is a technology described in Patent Document 1.
In the technique described in Patent Document 1, first, information superimposed on a television program viewed by a user and various operations such as recording / playback performed on the recording apparatus by the user are detected. Subsequently, the user's preference is detected based on the detection results. And based on the detected preference, the information of the television program suitable for a user's preference is provided to a user.

JP 2007-104312 A

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, information on a TV program to be provided is selected based only on a criterion for determining whether or not the user's preference is met. Therefore, for example, there is a possibility that information on a television program in a time zone that is suitable for the user's preference but cannot be viewed by the user may be provided.
The technical problem of the present invention is to provide users with more appropriate TV program information by paying attention to the above points.

In order to solve the above technical problem, each aspect of the present invention has the following configuration.
The program information providing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is
A program information providing device that provides information on a television program (for example, a personal program guide in FIG. 2) to a program information presentation device (for example, corresponding to the user terminal device 4 in FIG. 2). Viewing history information acquisition means (for example, corresponding to the viewing history information receiving unit 18 in FIG. 2) for acquiring viewing history information (for example, genre, performer, program content in FIG. 3), and the viewing history information Based on the viewing history information acquired by the acquisition means, preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference (for example, corresponding to the viewing preference analysis unit 22 in FIG. 2) and the viewing history information acquisition means Based on the viewing history information, viewable time zone predicting means (for example, steps S201 to S201 in FIG. 8) for predicting a viewable time zone in which the user can watch a television program for each day of the week. S 03, corresponding to steps S401 to S403 in FIG. 10), program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future (for example, corresponding to the program guide information receiving unit 20 in FIG. 2), Based on the user preference analyzed by the preference analysis unit, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction unit, and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit, the program information acquisition unit is configured as described above. Program selection means (for example, in FIG. 2) that selects a TV program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week from the TV program from which the program information has been acquired and that is suitable for the user's preference. Corresponding to the program guide information extraction unit 29) and program information providing means for providing the program information presentation apparatus with information on the TV program selected by the program selection means (for example, the number in FIG. 2) A tabular information corresponding to the transmitting unit 30), and a recording program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a television program that the user is recorded in the viewable video recording device recording contents, the viewing history information acquisition unit Further acquires viewing program type information indicating whether the TV program viewed by the user is a real-time program broadcast during viewing or a recorded program recorded in the recording device, and the viewing history The program selection unit further includes a viewing program type prediction unit that predicts which of the real-time program and the recorded program the user views for each day of the week based on the viewing program type information acquired by the information acquisition unit. If the viewing program type prediction means predicts that a real-time program will be viewed on the set day of the week, the preference analysis means analyzes The program information acquisition unit acquires the program information based on the user preference, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction unit, and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit. A television program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone on the set day of the week is selected from the television programs, and the viewing program type predicting means is selected on the set day of the week. When it is predicted that the recorded program is viewed, the user preference analyzed by the preference analysis unit, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction unit, and the recorded program information acquisition unit are acquired. Based on the program information, the recorded program information acquisition means acquires the program information from the television program before the settable day of the week on the viewable time period. User viewable, and wherein the you to select a television program that is suitable to the preferences of the user.
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.
The program information providing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is
A program information providing device for providing information on a television program to a program information presentation device, which acquires information on a viewing history of a television program by a user and program time length information indicating a program time length of the television program viewed by the user. Viewing history information acquisition means; preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means; and the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means. Based on the information, for each day of the week, a viewable time zone predicting means for predicting a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a TV program, and program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future are acquired. Program information acquisition means, recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content, and Based on the program time length information acquired by the listening history information acquisition means, the viewing program time length prediction means for predicting the program time length of the TV program viewed by the user for each day of the week, and the preference analysis means analyzed. The user preference, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means, the program information obtained by the program information acquisition means, the program information obtained by the recorded program information acquisition means, and the viewing program Based on the program time length predicted by the time length prediction means, the program information acquisition means obtains either the TV program from which the program information was obtained, or the recorded program information acquisition means obtains from the TV program from which the program information was obtained. , The user can view during the viewable time zone of the set day of the week, the program time length matches the predicted program time length, and the user's preference Wherein the program selecting means for selecting a television program that is suitable, and the program information providing means for providing information of a television program that the program selecting means selects the program information presentation device, in that it comprises a.
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.

In addition, the preference analysis unit analyzes the user's preference for each day of the week, and the program selection unit analyzes the preference of the user on the set day of the week as the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis unit. It is good also as a structure which selects the said television program using an analysis result .
According to such an aspect, even if a user's preference changes for every day of the week, the television program information suitable for the user's preference can be provided to the user.

A program information providing system according to one aspect of the present invention is provided.
A program information providing device that provides information on a television program (for example, a personal program guide in FIG. 2), and a program information presentation device that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing device to a user (for example, 2 corresponding to the user terminal device 4 in FIG. 2, wherein the program information providing device is information on the viewing history of the TV program by the user (for example, the genre and appearance in FIG. 3). Viewing history information acquisition means (for example, corresponding to the viewing history information receiving unit 18 in FIG. 2) and the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means, On the basis of the viewing history information acquired by the preference analysis unit (for example, corresponding to the viewing preference analysis unit 22 in FIG. 2) and the viewing history information acquisition unit that analyzes user preferences, A viewable time zone predicting means (for example, corresponding to the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 in FIG. 2) for predicting a viewable time zone in which the user can watch a TV program, and a TV program to be broadcast in the future Program information acquisition means (for example, corresponding to the program guide information receiving unit 20 in FIG. 2), the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, and the viewable time zone prediction means predicted Based on the viewable time zone and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition unit, the TV program information acquisition unit acquires the program information from the TV program set in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week. Program selection means (for example, corresponding to the program guide information extraction unit 29 in FIG. 2) for selecting a TV program that can be viewed by the user and suitable for the user's preference, and the program selection means Recorded program information providing means for providing information of the selected television program in said program information presentation device (e.g., corresponding to the program table information transmitting unit 30 of FIG. 2) and, in the user viewable video recording device recording contents Recorded program information acquiring means for acquiring program information of the television program being played, wherein the viewing history information acquiring means is a real-time program in which the TV program viewed by the user was broadcast at the time of viewing, and the recording The viewing program type information indicating which of the recorded programs has been recorded in the device is further acquired, and based on the viewing program type information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means, the user Viewing program type prediction means for predicting whether to watch a real-time program or a recorded program is further provided, and the program selection means includes the viewing program type prediction When the means predicts that the real-time program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means, and the program Based on the program information acquired by the information acquisition unit, the user can view the television program from which the program information acquisition unit has acquired the program information in the viewable time zone of the set day of the week, and the When the television program suitable for the user's preference is selected and the viewing program type predicting unit predicts that the recorded program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user's preference analyzed by the preference analyzing unit, Based on the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction unit and the program information acquired by the recorded program information acquisition unit, the recording number is recorded. From the TV program information acquisition means has acquired the program information, the user can view and select the TV program suited to the preference of the user in the viewing time zone of the set day of the week, the program information The presentation device includes preference program information acquisition means (for example, corresponding to the program guide information reception unit 14 in FIG. 2) that acquires information of a television program suitable for the user's preference provided by the program information providing device; Program information presenting means for presenting the television program information acquired by the favorite program information obtaining means to the user, for example, corresponding to the program guide information display unit 16 in FIG. 2).
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.
A program information providing system according to one aspect of the present invention is provided.
A program information providing system comprising: a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program; and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user, wherein the program information The providing apparatus includes: viewing history information acquisition means for acquiring information about a viewing history of a television program by the user and program time length information indicating a program time length of the television program viewed by the user; and the viewing history information acquisition means On the basis of the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquired by the preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preferences based on the viewing history information and the viewing history information acquisition means, the user can A viewable time zone predicting means for predicting a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which a video can be viewed, and a program for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future Information acquisition means, recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a television program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content, and the program time length information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means And a viewing program time length prediction means for predicting a program time length of a television program viewed by the user for each day of the week, and the user preference and the viewable time zone prediction means analyzed by the preference analysis means. Based on the predicted viewable time zone, the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means, the program information acquired by the recorded program information acquisition means, and the program time length predicted by the viewing program time length prediction means Thus, any one of the television program from which the program information acquisition unit has acquired the program information and the television program from which the recorded program information acquisition unit has acquired the program information The program selection means for selecting a television program that can be viewed by the user during the viewable time zone of the set day of the week, the program time length matches the predicted program time length, and that is suitable for the user's preference. And program information providing means for providing the program information presenting apparatus with information on the television program selected by the program selecting means, wherein the program information presenting apparatus provides the user preference provided by the program information providing apparatus. A preference program information acquisition unit that acquires information on a TV program suitable for the program, and a program information presentation unit that presents the TV program information acquired by the preference program information acquisition unit to the user. .
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.

The program information providing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A program information providing device that provides information on a television program (for example, a personal program guide in FIG. 2), and a program information presentation device that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing device to a user (for example, 2 corresponds to the user terminal device 4 in FIG. 2), and the program information providing method acquires the viewing history information of the television program by the user. (For example, corresponding to step S702 in FIG. 13), and the program information providing apparatus analyzes the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step ( For example, the program information providing apparatus corresponds to step S703 in FIG. 13) and the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step. And a viewable time zone prediction step (for example, corresponding to step S704 in FIG. 13) for predicting a viewable time zone in which the user can watch a television program for each day of the week, and the program information The program information acquisition step (for example, corresponding to step S705 in FIG. 13) in which the presentation device acquires program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future, and the user analyzed by the program information providing device in the preference analysis step Based on the preference, the viewable time zone predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step, and the program information acquired in the program information acquisition step, from the television program that acquired the program information in the program information acquisition step the user can view the viewing time period of the set day of the week, and select a television program that is suitable to the preferences of the user A program selection step (for example, corresponding to step S706 in FIG. 13), and a program guide information providing step in which the program information providing device provides the program information presentation device with information on the television program selected in the program selection step ( For example, it corresponds to step S707 in FIG. 13), and the program information presentation device acquires a preference program information acquisition step (for example, step S708 in FIG. 13) for acquiring information on the television program provided by the program information providing device. And a program information presentation step in which the program information presentation device presents the television program information acquired in the preference program information acquisition step to the user (for example, corresponding to step S709 in FIG. 13), The program information presenting device displays program information of a TV program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content. A recording program information acquisition step for acquiring, wherein in the viewing history information acquisition step, the television program viewed by the user is a real-time program broadcast at the time of viewing, and a recorded program recorded in the recording device Viewing program type information that indicates whether the program information presentation device is real-time for each day of the week based on the viewing program type information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step. A viewing program type prediction step for predicting whether to watch a program or a recorded program, and the program selection step predicts that a real-time program is viewed on the day of the week set in the viewing program type prediction step The user's preference analyzed in the preference analysis step, the viewable time zone prediction step Based on the predicted viewable time zone and the program information obtained in the program information obtaining step, the viewable time on the set day of the week from the television program obtained in the program information obtaining step. If the user selects a TV program that can be viewed by the user and is suitable for the user's preference and predicts that the recorded program will be viewed on the set day of the week in the viewing program type prediction step, the preference Based on the user preference analyzed in the analysis step, the viewable time zone predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step, and the program information acquired in the recorded program information acquisition step, the recorded program information acquisition step The user can view the television program from which the program information has been acquired during the viewable time zone of the set day of the week. And characterized you to select a television program that is suitable to the preferences of the user.
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.
The program information providing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A program information providing method executed by a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program, and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user, A viewing history information acquisition step in which a program information providing device acquires viewing history information of a television program by the user and a program time length information representing a program time length of the television program viewed by the user; A preference analysis step of analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step, and the viewing history acquired by the program information providing apparatus in the viewing history information acquisition step. Viewing that predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a TV program, for each day of the week based on the information of An active time zone prediction step, a program information acquisition step in which the program information providing device acquires program information of a television program to be broadcast in the future, and a recording device in which the program information providing device allows the user to view the recorded contents Recorded program information acquisition step for acquiring program information of a TV program recorded in the program, and the program information providing device, for each day of the week based on the program time length information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step, A viewing program time length prediction step for predicting a program time length of a TV program viewed by a user, and the program information providing apparatus predicts in the user preference and the viewable time zone prediction step analyzed in the preference analysis step. The viewable time zone, the program information acquired in the program information acquisition step, and the program acquired in the recorded program information acquisition step And the TV program that acquired the program information in the program information acquisition step, and the recorded program information acquisition step acquired the program information based on the program time length predicted in the viewing program time length prediction step A TV program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone on a set day of the week from any TV program, the program time length matches the predicted program time length, and is suitable for the user's preference. A program selection step to select, a program guide information providing step in which the program information providing device provides the program information presentation device with information on the television program selected in the program selection step, and the program information presentation device has the program information A preference program information acquisition step for acquiring information of the television program provided by the information providing device, and the program information presentation device includes the preference number; A program information presentation step of presenting the television program information acquired in the group information acquisition step to the user.
According to such an aspect, it is possible to provide information on a television program that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows schematic structure of the program information provision system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the user terminal device 4 and the program information provision apparatus 5. FIG. It is a figure which shows the information accumulate | stored in the viewing history information storage part 19. FIG. It is a figure which shows the information accumulate | stored in the viewing-and-listening lifestyle accumulation | storage part 25. FIG. It is a figure which shows the information accumulate | stored in the viewing-and-listening lifestyle accumulation | storage part 25. FIG. It is a figure which shows the information accumulate | stored in the viewing-and-listening lifestyle accumulation | storage part 25. FIG. It is a flowchart showing the content of the arithmetic processing which the viewing-and-listening lifestyle analysis part 24 performs. It is a flowchart showing the content of the 1st viewable time slot | zone prediction process. It is a flowchart showing the content of the 1st viewing tendency detection process. It is a flowchart showing the content of the 2nd viewable time zone prediction process. It is a flowchart showing the content of the 2nd viewing tendency detection process. It is a flowchart showing the content of the arithmetic processing which the program information provision apparatus 5 performs. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a program information provision system. It is a figure showing the television receiver 2 which displayed the information of the television program.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing referred to in the following description, components equivalent to those in the other drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The program information providing apparatus 5 according to the present embodiment provides the user with TV program information suitable for the user's preference based on the TV program viewing history of the user.
In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the description will be made assuming that there is one user.

(Configuration of program information providing system 1)
First, the configuration of the program information providing system 1 of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of a program information providing system 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, the program information providing system 1 includes a television receiver 2, a recording device 3, a user terminal device 4, and a program information providing device 5.
The television receiver 2 is a device possessed by a user. The television receiver 2 displays a television program according to a user operation. Television programs include real-time programs and recorded programs. A real-time program is a television program broadcast during viewing. The recorded program is a television program recorded in the recording device 3. As the television receiver 2, for example, a stationary television receiver can be used.

(Content ID, viewing content type)
Further, the television receiver 2 acquires information on the content ID and viewing content type (“viewing program type information” in a broad sense) of the displayed television program. The content ID is an identification mark that enables each television program to be identified. The content ID is acquired from a broadcast wave when the television receiver 2 displays a real-time program, for example. Further, when the television receiver 2 displays a recorded program, it is acquired from the recording device 3. The viewing content type is information indicating whether the television program viewed by the user is a real-time program or a recorded program. Then, the television receiver 2 together with the acquired content ID, the content viewing date, the content viewing day, the content viewing time zone (“viewable time zone” in a broad sense), the content time length (“program time length information in a broad sense)” )) And the information on the viewing content type are transmitted to the user terminal device 4 as viewing program information. For example, the viewing program information is transmitted via the communication cable 6 that enables the television receiver 2 and the user terminal device 4 to communicate with each other. The viewing program information is transmitted after the user finishes viewing the television program.

(Such as content viewing date)
The content viewing date is the date when the television program indicated by the content ID is viewed. Here, the determination of whether or not the TV program is viewed is considered to be that the TV program is viewed when the TV program is displayed on the TV receiver 2, for example. The content viewing day is the day of the week on which the TV program indicated by the content ID is viewed. That is, the information represents the day of the week when the user has watched the television program. Further, the content viewing time zone is a time zone during which the TV program indicated by the content ID is viewed. That is, the information represents the time zone when the user viewed the television program. For example, it represents the time of viewing such as 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock. The content time length is the time length of the television program represented by the content ID. That is, the information represents the program time length of the TV program viewed by the user.

  At the same time, the television receiver 2 measures the content viewing time. The content viewing time is the length of time that the television program represented by the content ID is viewed. Then, the television receiver 2 transmits the measured content viewing time length to the user terminal device 4 as viewing time information. Viewing time information is transmitted via the communication cable 6. The viewing time information is transmitted together with the transmission of the viewing program information after the user finishes viewing the television program.

(Recording device)
The recording device 3 is a device possessed by the user. The recording device 3 records and reproduces a television program in accordance with a user operation. The TV program is recorded by targeting the TV program specified by the input information by allowing the user to input the recording reservation date and time, the recording completion date and time, and broadcast station information. The scheduled recording date and time is the date and time when recording is started. The recording completion date and time is the date and time when recording ends. The reproduced television program is displayed on the television receiver 2. As a result, the user can view the content recorded by the recording device 3. For example, a hard disk recorder can be used as the recording device 3.

In addition, the recording device 3 acquires the content ID of the TV program being recorded. The content ID is acquired from the broadcast wave received for recording. Then, the recording device 3 transmits the recording reservation date / time and the recording completion date / time of the television program represented by the content ID together with the acquired content ID to the user terminal device 4 as recording reservation information. The recording reservation information is transmitted through a communication cable 7 that enables the recording device 3 and the user terminal device 4 to communicate with each other.
Furthermore, the recording device 3 holds the acquired content ID and program time length information as accumulated recording program information. The program time length is the time length of the broadcast of the television program represented by the content ID. Then, the recording device 3 transmits the stored stored recording program information to the user terminal device 4. The stored recorded program information is transmitted via the communication cable 7.

Next, specific configurations of the user terminal device 4 and the program information providing device 5 in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the user terminal device 4 and the program information providing device 5.
(User terminal device)
The user terminal device 4 is a device possessed by the user. As the user terminal device 4, for example, a set top box can be used.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 4 includes a recording reservation information acquisition unit 8, a viewing program information acquisition unit 9, a viewing time information acquisition unit 10, a viewing history information transmission unit 11, and stored recording program information. Transmitter 12 (“recorded program information acquisition means” in a broad sense), program guide information acquisition request transmitter 13, program guide information receiver 14, personal program guide information storage unit 15, and program guide information display unit 16 (broad sense) Includes “program information presenting means”).

The recording reservation information acquisition unit 8 receives the recording reservation information transmitted from the recording device 3. The recording reservation information is received via the communication cable 7. Then, the recording reservation information acquisition unit 8 outputs the received recording reservation information to the viewing history information transmission unit 11.
The viewing program information acquisition unit 9 receives viewing program information transmitted from the television receiver 2. The viewing program information is received via the communication cable 6. Then, the viewing program information acquisition unit 9 outputs the received recording reservation information to the viewing history information transmission unit 11.

The viewing time information acquisition unit 10 receives the viewing time information transmitted from the television receiver 2. The viewing time information is received via the communication cable 6. Then, the viewing time information acquisition unit 10 outputs the received viewing time information to the viewing history information transmission unit 11.
The viewing history information transmission unit 11 adds the user ID to the output from each of the recording reservation information acquisition unit 8, the viewing program information acquisition unit 9 and the viewing time information acquisition unit 10, and transmits it to the program information providing apparatus 5 as viewing history information. To do. The user ID is an identification mark that allows the user to be identified. As the user ID, for example, a sign that can identify the user terminal device 4 from other user terminal devices 4 is used. The viewing history information is transmitted via a communication line 17 that enables the user terminal device 4 and the program information providing device 5 to communicate with each other. As the communication line 17, for example, a communication line of a mobile phone that performs communication via the Internet or a base station can be used.

The stored recorded program information transmission unit 12 receives the stored recorded program information transmitted from the recording device 3. The stored recorded program information is transmitted through the communication line 17. Then, the stored recorded program information transmitting unit 12 transmits the received stored recorded program information to the program information providing apparatus 5.
The program guide information acquisition request transmission unit 13 transmits a program guide acquisition request signal to the program information providing apparatus 5. The program guide acquisition request signal is a signal for requesting the program information providing apparatus 5 to transmit information on a television program provided to the user. The transmission of the program guide acquisition request signal may be triggered by a user operation or may be performed every time the set time is reached.

The program guide information receiving unit 14 receives the personal program guide information transmitted from the program information providing apparatus 5. The personal program guide information is received via the communication line 17. Personal program guide information is information representing a television program to be provided to a user. Then, the program guide information receiving unit 14 outputs the received personal program guide information to the personal program guide information accumulating unit 15.
The personal program guide information storage unit 15 stores the personal program guide information output from the program guide information reception unit 14. As the personal program guide information storage unit 15, for example, a hard disk storage device capable of storing / reading information can be used.

When the user performs an operation for requesting display of recommended (ie recommended viewing) television program information, the program guide information display unit 16 receives the personal program guide information from the personal program guide information storage unit 15. Is read. As an operation for requesting display of recommended television program information, for example, an operation of pressing a specific button on the remote control device of the television receiver 2 can be used. Then, the program guide information display unit 16 displays the read personal program information on the television receiver 2.
With such a configuration, the user terminal device 4 can transmit viewing history information and stored recorded program information to the program information providing device 5. Therefore, based on the transmitted information, the program information providing device 5 can generate a TV program suitable for the user's preference.

(Program information providing device)
The program information providing apparatus 5 is an apparatus possessed by a television program information providing company. The program information providing apparatus 5 can be configured using, for example, a well-known server apparatus.
Specifically, the program information providing apparatus 5 includes a viewing history information receiving unit 18 (“viewing history information acquiring unit” in a broad sense), a viewing history information storage unit 19, and a program guide information receiving unit 20 (“program in a broad sense”). Information acquisition means "), program guide information storage unit 21, viewing preference analysis unit 22 (" preference analysis means "in a broad sense), viewing preference storage unit 23, viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24, viewing lifestyle storage unit 25, storage Recorded program information receiving unit 26, recorded program information accumulating unit 27, program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28, program guide information extracting unit 29 (“program selection means” in a broad sense), and program guide information transmitting unit 30 (in a broad sense) Comprises "program information providing means").
The viewing history information receiving unit 18 receives viewing history information transmitted from the user terminal device 4. The viewing history information is received via the communication line 17. Then, the viewing history information receiving unit 18 outputs the received viewing history information to the viewing history information storage unit 19.

  The viewing history information storage unit 19 stores the viewing history information output from the viewing history information receiving unit 18. The viewing history information accumulating unit 19 includes the viewing history information, content viewing days (weekdays / holidays), content viewing ratio, viewing content genre, viewing program performers, and viewing program content information (in a broad sense, “by user”). TV program viewing history information ") is accumulated. The content viewing day (weekday / holiday) is information indicating whether the content viewing day is a user's holiday or a weekday. A holiday is a day when a user takes a rest from work. Weekdays are days other than holidays. The content viewing ratio is a division result obtained by dividing the content time length of the viewing history information included in the viewing history information by the content viewing time. The viewing content genre is the genre of the TV program represented by the content ID. That is, the information represents the genre of the TV program viewed by the user. For example, there are variety, comedy, and sports. The viewing program performers are information representing performers such as actors, singers, and talents appearing in the television program indicated by the content ID. For example, there are variety performer A (name), singer B, and the like. The viewing program content is information representing all the detailed information handled by the television program represented by the content ID. For example, there is restaurant information (name, place, etc.) introduced in a gourmet program, movie information (title, performer, genre, etc.) introduced. As the viewing history information storage unit 19, for example, a hard disk storage device capable of storing / reading information can be used.

(Viewing history information storage unit)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing information stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19.
Further, the viewing history information storage unit 19 forms a database with the stored information. As shown in FIG. 3, the database of the viewing history information accumulation unit 19 has a plurality of records. The fields of each record are “user ID”, “content ID”, “recording reservation date”, “recording completion date”, “content viewing date”, “content viewing day”, “content viewing day (weekday / holiday)”. , “Content viewing time zone”, “viewing content type”, “content time length”, “content viewing ratio”, “viewing content genre”, “viewing program performer”, and “viewing program content”.
Of these fields, the recording reservation date and time and the recording completion date and time are referred to as recording information.
Content viewing date, content viewing day, content viewing day (weekday / holiday) content viewing time zone, viewing content type, content duration, content viewing time, content viewing ratio, viewing content genre, viewing program performer, and viewing The program content is called viewing program information.

(Program guide information receiver etc.)
Returning to FIG. 2, the program guide information receiving unit 20 is a program guide information (“program information” in a broad sense) of a TV program to be broadcast in the future within a set number of days (for example, one week) from a broadcast wave or the Internet. To get. The program guide information is information representing the genre, the broadcast day of the week, and the broadcast time zone of the broadcast TV program. The program guide information is superimposed on broadcast waves or disclosed on a website on the Internet. Then, the program guide information reception unit 20 outputs the acquired program guide information to the program guide information storage unit 21.
The program guide information storage unit 21 stores the program guide information output from the program guide information reception unit 20. For example, a hard disk storage device can be used as the program guide information storage unit 21.

  When the viewing history information is stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 stores information stored in each of the viewing history information storage unit 19, the program guide information storage unit 21, and the viewing preference storage unit 23. Based on the above, the user's preference is analyzed. User preferences are analyzed for each day of the week such as Monday user preferences, Tuesday user preferences, Wednesday user preferences, and the like. In addition, the analysis is performed for each weekday / holiday such as weekday user preference, holiday user preference, and the like. Then, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 outputs the analyzed user preference information to the viewing preference storage unit 23 as viewing preference information.

(Analysis of user preferences)
In the user preference analysis, for example, the user likes to watch a real-time program or a recorded program, what kind of television program the user likes, and what kind of TV program the user likes to watch Analyze whether or not
Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, first, a record in which the field value of the field “viewing content type” is “real time program” is searched from the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19. Subsequently, a record in which the field value of the “viewing content type” is “recorded program” is searched. Subsequently, based on these search results, it is determined which of the number of records whose field value is “real-time program” and the number of records whose record value is “recorded program” is larger. When it is determined that the number of records whose field value is “real-time program” is large, it is determined that the user likes to view the “real-time program”. On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of records whose field value is “recorded program” is large, it is determined that the user prefers viewing the “recorded program”. Also, when it is determined that the number of records whose field value is “real-time program” and the number of records that are “recorded program” are the same, the user views “real-time program” and “recorded program”. Judge that he likes both viewing and listening.

In the database, for each field value of the field “viewing content genre” (for example, variety, comedy, quiz, etc.), the total value of the field values of the field “content viewing ratio” is calculated, and the field value having the largest total value is calculated. Is determined to be the user's favorite television program genre.
Furthermore, the largest field value is searched from the field values (for example, actor A, comedy B, pin entertainer C, etc.) of the field “viewing program performers” from the database. Then, it is determined that the performer represented by the most field value among the searched is the performer of the user's favorite television program.

Further, in the database, feature words of field values are extracted from all field values of the field “viewed program content” using, for example, morphological analysis, TF / IDF, and the feature words are characteristic keywords for the user. judge.
The viewing preference accumulation unit 23 accumulates the viewing preference information output from the viewing preference analysis unit 22. As the viewing preference storage unit 23, for example, a hard disk storage device can be used.

When the viewing history information is stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19, the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 will be described later based on information stored in each of the viewing history information storage unit 19 and the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25. The arithmetic processing to be executed is executed. As information stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19, a user ID, a content ID, and viewing program information are used. Then, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 outputs the processing result of this calculation processing to the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25 as viewing lifestyle information.
The viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25 accumulates the viewing lifestyle information output from the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24. As the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25, for example, a hard disk storage device can be used.

(Accumulated information in the Viewing Lifestyle Accumulation Department)
4 to 6 are diagrams showing information stored in the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25. FIG.
In addition, the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25 configures a first viewing lifestyle table, a second viewing lifestyle table, and a viewing lifestyle database with the accumulated information. One first viewing lifestyle table and one second viewing lifestyle table are provided for each user.
As shown in FIG. 4, the first viewing lifestyle table has a plurality of records. The field of each record includes “time zone”, “all days” and “viewing days” for each day of the week from Monday to Sunday.

  The total number of days on Monday is the number of days representing the number of Mondays since the start of the acquisition of the user's viewing history information. The number of viewing days on Monday is the number of days that represents the total number of Mondays in which the television program was viewed in the time zone indicated by the field value of the field “time zone” since the acquisition of viewing history information of the user was started. The same applies to the definitions of the total number of days and viewing days for other days of the week, such as Tuesday and Wednesday. The field values of these fields are set by the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 based on the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19.

As shown in FIG. 5, the second viewing lifestyle table has a plurality of records. The fields of each record are composed of “time zone”, weekday / holiday “total days” and “viewing days”.
The total number of days on weekdays is the number of days representing the number of weekdays since the start of the acquisition of user viewing history information. The weekday viewing days are the days representing the total number of weekdays on which the television program was viewed in the time zone indicated by the field value of the field “time zone” since the acquisition of the viewing history information of the user was started. The same applies to the definition of the total number of holidays and the number of viewing days. The field values of these fields are set by the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 based on the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19.

As shown in FIG. 6, the viewing lifestyle database has a plurality of records. The fields of each record are composed of “user ID”, “target date type”, “viewable time zone”, “viewing content type”, and “content length pattern”.
The target day type is a type of Monday, Sunday, weekday or holiday. The viewable time zone is information representing prediction of a time zone during which the user can watch a television program for each day of the week from Monday to Sunday, weekdays, and holidays. Furthermore, the viewing content type is information that represents a prediction of whether the user views a real-time program or a recorded program for each day of the week, weekday, and holiday. The content length pattern is information representing the prediction of the program time length of the television program viewed by the user for each day of the week, weekday, and holiday.

(Accumulated recording program information receiving unit 26, etc.)
Returning to FIG. 2, the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26 receives the stored recorded program information transmitted from the user terminal device 4. Then, the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26 outputs the received stored recorded program information to the recorded program information storing unit 27.
The recorded program information storage unit 27 stores the stored recorded program information output from the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26. As the recorded program information storage unit 27, for example, a hard disk storage device can be used.
The program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28 acquires a program guide information acquisition request signal transmitted from the user terminal device 4. Then, the program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28 outputs the acquired program information acquisition request signal to the program guide information extracting unit 29.

When the program guide information acquisition request signal is output from the program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28, the program guide information extracting unit 29 is based on information stored in the viewing preference storage unit 23 and the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25, respectively. Then, the arithmetic processing described later is executed. Then, the program guide information extraction unit 29 transmits the personal program guide information, which is the processing result of this calculation process, to the program guide information transmission unit 30. Personal program guide information is information relating to a television program suitable for the user's preference.
The program guide information transmitting unit 30 transmits the personal program guide information output from the program guide information extracting unit 29 to the user terminal device 4. The personal program guide information is transmitted via the communication line 17.
With such a configuration, the program information providing apparatus 5 can provide information on a television program in a time zone that the user can view. Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided.

(Processing of the viewing lifestyle analysis department)
Next, the contents of the arithmetic processing executed by the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 of the program information providing apparatus 5 will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of the arithmetic processing executed by the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24.
Note that the arithmetic processing in FIG. 7 is executed seven times for one user every day at the set time. In each execution, the analysis target day of the week is sequentially switched to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

As shown in FIG. 7, first, in step S101, a viewing lifestyle database, a first viewing lifestyle table, and a second viewing lifestyle table are acquired from the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25.
Then, it transfers to step S102 and performs the 1st viewable time zone prediction process mentioned later. The first viewable time zone prediction process predicts a time zone in which the user can view a TV program from each time zone of the analysis target day of the week based on the first viewing lifestyle table acquired in step S101. It is processing.

  Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S103, and it is determined whether or not a viewable time zone exists on the analysis target day based on the processing result of step S102. The viewable time zone is a time zone during which the user can watch a television program. If it is determined that there is a viewable time zone on the analysis target day (Yes), the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no viewable time zone on the analysis target day (Yes), the process proceeds to step S105.

In step S104, after performing a first viewing tendency detection process described later, the process proceeds to step S105. The first viewing tendency detection process is a process for detecting a tendency of a TV program viewed by the user during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day.
In step S105, it is determined whether or not the total number of days A of the analysis target day is equal to or greater than a set number of days B (for example, 4 days). If it is determined that the total number of days A of the analysis target day is equal to or greater than the set number of days B (Yes), the calculation process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the total number of days A of the analysis target day is smaller than the set number of days B (No), the process proceeds to step S106.

In step S106, a second viewable time zone prediction process described later is executed. The second viewable time zone prediction process is based on the second viewing lifestyle table acquired in step S101, and allows the user to view a TV program from each time zone in the weekday / holiday category to which the analysis target day belongs. This is a process for predicting a time zone. The weekday / holiday classification is a classification indicating whether the analysis target day is a weekday or a holiday for the user.
Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S107, and after executing a second viewing tendency detection process described later, this calculation process ends. The second viewing tendency detection process is a process for detecting a tendency of a TV program viewed by the user during the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday division.

(Content of the first viewable time zone prediction process)
Next, the content of the first viewable time zone prediction process will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the contents of the first viewable time zone prediction process.
Note that the arithmetic processing of FIG. 8 is repeated 24 times once it is executed. And each time it repeats, the analysis object time zone which is a parameter is changed in order at 0 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, ..., 21 o'clock, 22 o'clock and 23 o'clock.
As shown in FIG. 8, first, in step S201, it is determined whether or not the analysis target time zone of the analysis target day is a time zone in which the user can view the television program.

  Specifically, in step S201, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the viewing days C and the total days D in the analysis target time zone of the analysis target day are acquired from the first viewing lifestyle table. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the acquired viewing days C are (total days D / 2) or more. And when it determines with the viewing days C being (all days D / 2) or more (Yes), it transfers to step S202. On the other hand, if the number of viewing days C is smaller than (total number of days D / 2) (No), the process proceeds to step S203.

Returning to FIG. 8, in step S <b> 202, after determining that the analysis target time zone of the analysis target day is a time zone in which the user can view the television program, the calculation process is terminated.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the variable value (for example, 0 o'clock) of the analysis target time zone is stored as the field value of the field “viewable time zone” of the retrieved record.
Returning to FIG. 8, in step S <b> 203, after determining that the analysis target time zone of the analysis target day is not a time zone in which the user can view the television program, the calculation process is terminated.
Then, the analysis target time is sequentially switched, and when a total of 24 computation processes are completed, the process returns to the original process. With this return, the process proceeds to step S103 of the original process.

(First viewing tendency detection process)
Next, the content of the first viewing tendency detection process will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the contents of the first viewing tendency detection process.
As shown in FIG. 9, in step S301, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the field value of the field “content viewing day of the week” matches the analysis target day of the week from the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19, and A record in which the field value of the field “content viewing time zone” matches the viewable time zone is searched. Subsequently, the real-time viewing number E and the recorded viewing number F are counted from the retrieved records. The real-time viewing number E is the number of records whose field value of the field “viewing content type information” is “real-time program”. The recorded viewing number F is the number of records in which the field value of the field “viewing content type information” is “recorded program”.

Returning to FIG. 9, subsequently, in steps S <b> 302 to S <b> 306, it is determined whether the user views the real-time program or the recorded program during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day.
Specifically, first, in step S302, (E / (E + F)) is a set value G (for example, 0.7) or more based on the real-time viewing number E and the recorded viewing number F acquired in step S301. It is determined whether or not. And when it determines with it being more than the setting value G (Yes), it transfers to step S303. On the other hand, if it is determined that (E / (E + F)) is smaller than the set value G (No), the process proceeds to step S304.

In step S303, after determining that the user views the real-time program during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day, the process proceeds to step S307.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “real time”.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S <b> 304, it is determined whether (F / (E + F)) is greater than or equal to a set value G. And when it determines with it being more than the setting value G (Yes), it transfers to step S305. On the other hand, if it is determined that (F / (E + F)) is smaller than the set value G (No), the process proceeds to step S306.
In step S305, after determining that the user views the recorded program during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day, the process proceeds to step S307.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “recording”.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S306, after it is determined that the user views both the real-time program and the recorded program during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day, the process proceeds to step S307.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “real time, recording”.

  In the step S307, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the field value of the field “content viewing day of the week” matches the analysis target day of the week from the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19, and the field “content viewing time zone”. Search for records whose field value matches the viewable time zone. Subsequently, an average value of the field values of the field “content time length” of each searched record is calculated, and the calculation result is set as a content average time length H.

Returning to FIG. 9, subsequently, in steps S308 to S311 (“viewing program time length prediction means” in a broad sense), how long the user views a TV program during the viewable time zone of the analysis target day of the week. judge.
Specifically, first, in step S308, it is determined whether or not the content average time length H calculated in step S307 is 30 minutes or less. And when it determines with it being 30 minutes or less (Yes), it transfers to step S309. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is longer than 30 minutes (No), the process proceeds to step S310.

In step S309, after it is determined that the user views a television program of 30 minutes or less in the viewable time zone of the analysis target day of the week, the process returns to the original process after the calculation process is terminated. With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “30 minutes or less”.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S310, it is determined whether or not the content average time length H calculated in step S307 is equal to or shorter than one hour. And when it determines with it being 1 hour or less (Yes), it transfers to step S311. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is longer than one hour (No), the process proceeds to step S312.
In step S311, after it is determined that the user views a television program that is longer than 30 minutes and shorter than 1 hour in the viewable time zone of the analysis target day, the process returns to the original process even after the calculation process is terminated. With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “more than 30 minutes and not more than 1 hour”.

Returning to FIG. 9, in step S <b> 312, after it is determined that the user views a television program longer than 1 hour in the viewable time zone of the analysis target day of the week, the process returns to the original process after the calculation process is terminated. With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “longer than 1 hour”.

(Second viewable time zone prediction process)
Next, the content of the second viewable time zone prediction process will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of the second viewable time zone prediction process.
Note that the arithmetic processing of FIG. 10 is repeated 24 times once it is executed. And each time it repeats, the analysis object time zone which is a parameter is changed in order at 0 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, ..., 21 o'clock, 22 o'clock and 23 o'clock.
As shown in FIG. 10, first, in step S401, it is determined whether or not the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday division is a time zone in which the user can view the television program.

  Specifically, in step S401, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the viewing days I and the total days J in the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday division are acquired from the second viewing lifestyle table. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the acquired viewing days I is (total number of days J / 2) or more. If it is determined that the number of viewing days I is (total number of days J / 2) or more (Yes), the process proceeds to step S402. On the other hand, if it is determined that the viewing days I is smaller than (total days J / 2) (No), the process proceeds to step S403.

Returning to FIG. 10, in step S <b> 402, after determining that the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday division is a time zone in which the user can view the television program, the calculation process is terminated.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the variable value (for example, 0 o'clock) of the analysis target time zone is stored as the field value of the field “viewable time zone” of the retrieved record.
Returning to FIG. 10, in step S403, after determining that the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday division is not a time zone in which the user can view the television program, the calculation process is terminated.
Then, the analysis target time is sequentially switched, and when a total of 24 computation processes are completed, the process returns to the original process. With this return, the process proceeds to step S107 of the original process.

(Second viewing tendency detection process)
Next, the content of the second viewing tendency detection process will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the content of the second viewing tendency detection process.
As shown in FIG. 11, in step S501, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the field value of the field “content viewing day of the week (weekday / holiday)” is obtained from the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19 as a weekday / holiday category. And a record in which the field value of the field “content viewing time zone” matches the viewable time zone is searched. Subsequently, the real-time viewing number K and the recorded viewing number L are counted from the retrieved records. The real-time viewing number K is the number of records in which the field value of the field “viewing content type information” is “real-time program”. The number of recorded views L is the number of records in which the field value of the field “viewed content type information” is “recorded program”.

Returning to FIG. 11, subsequently, in steps S <b> 502 to S <b> 506, it is determined whether the user views a real-time program or a recorded program during the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday division.
Specifically, first, in step S502, (K / (K + L)) is a set value M (for example, 0.7) or more based on the real-time viewing number K and the recorded viewing number L acquired in step S501. It is determined whether or not. And when it determines with it being more than the setting value M (Yes), it transfers to step S503. On the other hand, if it is determined that (K / (K + L)) is smaller than the set value M (No), the process proceeds to step S504.

In step S503, after it is determined that the user views the real-time program in the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday section, the process proceeds to step S507.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “real time”.

Returning to FIG. 11, in step S504, it is determined whether or not (L / (K + L)) is equal to or greater than a set value M. If it is determined that (L / (K + L)) is equal to or greater than the set value M (Yes), the process proceeds to step S505. On the other hand, if it is determined that (L / (K + L)) is smaller than the set value M (No), the process proceeds to step S506.
In step S505, after determining that the user views the recorded program during the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday section, the process proceeds to step S507.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “recording”.
Returning to FIG. 11, in step S <b> 506, after determining that the user views both the real-time program and the recorded program in the analysis target time zone of the weekday / holiday division, the process proceeds to step S <b> 507.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “viewing content type” of the retrieved record is set to “real time, recording”.
In step S507, first, as shown in FIG. 3, the field value of the field “content viewing day of the week (weekday / holiday)” matches the weekday / holiday division from the database of the viewing history information storage unit 19, and the field A record in which the field value of “content viewing time zone” matches the viewable time zone is searched. Subsequently, the average value of the field values of the field “content time length” of each searched record is calculated, and the calculation result is set as the content average time length N.

Returning to FIG. 11, subsequently, in steps S508 to S511, it is determined how long the user views the television program during the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday division.
Specifically, first, in step S508, it is determined whether or not the content average time length N calculated in step S307 is 30 minutes or less. And when it determines with it being 30 minutes or less (Yes), it transfers to step S309. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is longer than 30 minutes (No), the process proceeds to step S510.

In step S509, after it is determined that the user views a television program of 30 minutes or less in the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday section, the process returns to the original process even after the calculation process is finished. With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “30 minutes or less”.

Returning to FIG. 11, in step S510, it is determined whether or not the content average time length N calculated in step S307 is 1 hour or less. And when it determines with it being 1 hour or less (Yes), it transfers to step S311. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is longer than 1 hour (No), the process proceeds to step S512.
In step S511, after it is determined that the user views a television program that is longer than 30 minutes and shorter than 1 hour in the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday section, the process returns to the original process even after the calculation process is terminated. With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “more than 30 minutes and not more than 1 hour”.

Returning to FIG. 11, in step S512, after it is determined that the user views a television program longer than 1 hour in the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday section, the process returns to the original process even after the calculation process is terminated. . With this return, the process proceeds to step S105 of the original process.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, first, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the weekday / holiday division is searched from the viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “content length pattern” of the retrieved record is set to “longer than 1 hour”.

(Calculation processing of program guide information extraction unit)
Next, the contents of the arithmetic processing executed by the program guide information extraction unit 29 of the program information providing apparatus 5 will be described using a flowchart.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the contents of arithmetic processing executed by the program guide information extraction unit 29 of the program information providing apparatus 5.
12 is executed seven times for each user when the program guide information acquisition request signal is output from the program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28. In each execution, the analysis target day of the week is sequentially switched to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in step S601, a viewing lifestyle database is first acquired from the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, a record in which the field value of the field “target day type” matches the analysis target day of the week is searched from the acquired viewing lifestyle database. Subsequently, the field value of the field “total number of days” of the retrieved record is acquired, and the acquired field value is defined as the total number of days P.

Subsequently, in step S602, it is determined whether or not the total number of days P is “1”. When it is determined that the total number of days P is “1” (Yes), the process proceeds to step S603. On the other hand, if it is determined that the total number of days P is not “1” (No), the process proceeds to step S604.
In step S603, a television program suitable for the user's preference is selected based only on the user's preference information.

  Specifically, in step S603, viewing preference information of the user on the analysis target day is acquired from the viewing preference storage unit 23. Subsequently, based on the acquired viewing preference information, the user is analyzed on the analysis day of the week from the TV program in which information is stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the TV program in which information is stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27. Can be viewed, and the TV program suitable for the user's preference on the analysis day is selected. For example, based on the viewing preference information, it is determined whether the user prefers a real-time program or a recorded program as a television program to be viewed on the analysis target day of the week. If it is determined that a real-time program is preferred, a television program (that is, a real-time program) is selected from information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21. On the other hand, when it is determined that the recorded program is preferred, the television program (that is, the recorded program) is selected from the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27. When it is determined that both the real-time program and the recorded program are preferred, the television program (that is, the information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27) , One of a real-time program and a recorded program). Subsequently, a television program of a user's favorite genre, a television program in which a favorite performer appears, or a television program having a favorite program content is selected from the selected television programs.

Subsequently, in step S604, it is determined whether or not the total number of days P is equal to or greater than a set number of days Q (for example, 4 days). If it is determined that the total number of days P is equal to or greater than the set number of days Q (Yes), the process proceeds to step S605. On the other hand, if it is determined that the total number of days P is shorter than the set number of days Q (No), the process proceeds to step S606.
In step S605, a television program suitable for the user's preference is selected based on the user's preference information and the viewing lifestyle information of the analysis target day of the week.

  Specifically, in step S605, the viewing preference information of the user on the analysis target day is acquired from the viewing preference storage unit 23. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the viewing lifestyle database of the user is acquired from the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25. Subsequently, based on the acquired viewing preference information and the viewing lifestyle database, from the TV program in which information is stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the TV program in which information is stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27, A television program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone on the analysis target day and that is suitable for the user's preference on the analysis target day is selected. For example, based on the viewing preference information, it is determined whether the user prefers a real-time program or a recorded program as a television program to be viewed on the analysis target day of the week. If it is determined that a real-time program is preferred, a television program (that is, a real-time program) is selected from information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21. On the other hand, when it is determined that the recorded program is preferred, the television program (that is, the recorded program) is selected from the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27. If it is determined that both the real-time program and the recorded program are preferred, the TV program (from the information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27) That is, either a real-time program or a recorded program is selected. Subsequently, a television program of a user's favorite genre, a television program in which a favorite performer appears, or a television program having a favorite program content is selected from the selected television programs. Next, based on the viewing lifestyle database, from the TV program selected as the TV program of the user's favorite genre, the TV program in which the favorite performer appears, or the TV program of the favorite program content, The TV program that can be viewed by the user during the viewable time zone is selected.

Thereby, in addition to the real-time program broadcast at the time of viewing, information on the recorded program recorded in the recording device 3 can be provided to the user. Also, it is possible to provide the user with information on the TV program that matches the program type expected to be viewed by the user and the program time length.
On the other hand, in step S606, a television program suitable for the user's preference is selected based on the user's preference information and the viewing lifestyle information of the weekday / holiday category to which the analysis day of the week belongs.

Specifically, in step S606, viewing preference information of the user of the weekday / holiday classification to which the analysis target day belongs belongs is obtained from the viewing preference storage unit 23. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the viewing lifestyle database of the user is acquired from the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25. Subsequently, based on the acquired viewing preference information and the viewing lifestyle database, from the TV program in which information is stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the TV program in which information is stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27, A television program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone of the weekday / holiday category and that is suitable for the preference of the user of the weekday / holiday category to which the analysis target day belongs is selected. For example, based on the viewing preference information, it is determined whether the user prefers a real-time program or a recorded program as a television program to be viewed in the weekday / holiday category to which the analysis target day belongs. If it is determined that a real-time program is preferred, a television program (that is, a real-time program) is selected from information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21. On the other hand, when it is determined that the recorded program is preferred, the television program (that is, the recorded program) is selected from the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27. On the other hand, if it is determined that both the real-time program and the recorded program are preferred, the television program (that is, the information stored in the program guide information storage unit 21 and the information stored in the recorded program information storage unit 27) , One of a real-time program and a recorded program). Subsequently, a television program of a user's favorite genre, a television program in which a favorite performer appears, or a television program having a favorite program content is selected from the selected television programs. Then, based on the viewing lifestyle database, from the TV program selected as the TV program of the user's favorite genre, the TV program in which the favorite performer appears, or the TV program of the favorite program content, weekdays / holidays A television program that can be viewed by the user in the segmentable viewing time zone is selected.
Then, the analysis target days are sequentially switched, and when execution of a total of seven arithmetic processes is completed, information representing the selected TV program is transmitted as program guide information (in a broad sense, “TV program information”). After the output to the unit 30, the process returns to the original process even when the calculation process is finished.

(Operation of program information provision system)
Next, the operation of the program information providing system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the program information providing system.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the user terminal device 4 periodically determines whether viewing program information and viewing time information are output from the television receiver 2.
Here, as shown in FIG. 12, a state in which the user has started viewing a television program on the television receiver 2 is considered. It is assumed that the TV program that has started to be viewed is a real-time program.

  Then, the television receiver 2 acquires the content ID and viewing content type information of the television program being displayed. Further, the television receiver 2 measures the content viewing time. When the user finishes viewing the television program, as shown in FIG. 2, the television receiver 2 obtains information on the acquired content ID, content viewing date, content viewing day, content viewing time zone, and viewing content type (that is, viewing content type). , Viewing program information) and content viewing time length (that is, viewing time information) are transmitted to the user terminal device 4.

  Subsequently, when the viewing program information acquisition unit 9 and the viewing time information acquisition unit 10 of the user terminal device 4 receive the viewing program information and the viewing time information transmitted from the television receiver 2, the received viewing program information and the viewing time are received. The information is output to the viewing history information transmission unit 11. Subsequently, the viewing history information transmission unit 11 acquires viewing program information and viewing time information. Subsequently, the viewing history information transmitting unit 11 transmits the acquired viewing program information, viewing time information, and user ID (that is, viewing history information) to the program information providing apparatus 5 via the communication line 17 (FIG. 13). Step S701).

Subsequently, when the viewing history information receiving unit 18 of the user terminal device 4 receives the viewing history information transmitted from the user terminal device 4, the received viewing history information is output to the viewing history information storage unit 19 (FIG. 13). Step S702). Subsequently, the viewing history information accumulation unit 19 accumulates the output viewing history information.
Subsequently, when the viewing history information is stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 is stored in each of the viewing history information storage unit 19, the program guide information storage unit 21, and the viewing preference storage unit 23. Viewing preference information is generated based on the stored information (step S703 in FIG. 13). Subsequently, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 outputs the generated viewing preference information to the viewing preference storage unit 23. Subsequently, the viewing preference storage unit 23 stores the viewing preference information output from the viewing preference analysis unit 22.

As a result, the viewing preference information of the user is accumulated in the viewing preference storage unit 23. That is, information on user preferences for television programs is accumulated.
At the same time, the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 generates viewing lifestyle information based on the information stored in the viewing history information storage unit 19 and the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25 (step S704 in FIG. 13). Subsequently, the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24 outputs the generated viewing lifestyle information to the viewing lifestyle storage unit 25. Subsequently, the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25 accumulates the viewing lifestyle information output from the viewing lifestyle analysis unit 24.

As a result, the viewing lifestyle information of the user is accumulated in the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25. That is, information such as a time period during which the user can view the television program is accumulated.
In parallel, the program guide information receiving unit 20 receives the program guide information from the broadcast wave, and outputs the received program guide information to the program guide information storage unit 21 (step S705 in FIG. 13). Subsequently, the program guide information storage unit 21 stores the program guide information output from the program guide information reception unit 20.
As a result, the program guide information is stored in the program guide information storage unit 21. That is, information on TV programs broadcast from the present to the next several days is accumulated.

On the other hand, let us consider a state in which the recording device 3 starts recording a television program. It is assumed that the TV program that has started recording is a program for which the user has entered a recording reservation.
Then, the recording device 3 acquires the content ID and program time length information of the TV program being recorded. Then, the recording device 3 transmits the acquired content ID and program time length information (that is, stored recording program information) to the user terminal device 4.

Subsequently, when the stored recorded program information transmission unit 12 of the user terminal device 4 receives the stored recorded program information transmitted from the recording device 3, it transmits the received information to the program information providing device 5.
Subsequently, when the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26 of the program information providing device 5 receives the stored recorded program information transmitted from the user terminal device 4, the received stored recorded program information is output to the recorded program information storing unit 27. Subsequently, the recorded program information storage unit 27 stores the stored recorded program information output from the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26.

As a result, the stored recorded program information of the user is stored in the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26. That is, information of the recorded program recorded in the recording device 3 is accumulated.
Then, by repeating the above flow, information is sequentially accumulated in each of the viewing preference accumulation unit 23, the viewing lifestyle accumulation unit 25, the program guide information accumulation unit 21, and the recorded program information accumulation unit 27. Here, it is assumed that the program guide information acquisition request transmitting unit 13 transmits a program guide acquisition request signal to the program information providing apparatus 5 when information is stored in each.

  Then, when the program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28 of the program information providing device 5 receives the program guide acquisition request signal transmitted from the user terminal device 4, the received program guide acquisition request signal is sent to the program guide information extracting unit 29. Output. Subsequently, when the program guide information acquisition request signal is output from the program guide information acquisition request receiving unit 28, the program guide information extraction unit 29 outputs a viewing preference storage unit 23, a viewing lifestyle storage unit 25, and a program guide information storage unit. 21 and personalized program guide information representing television programs that can be viewed on a viewable day of the week and that are suitable for the user's preference on the viewable day of the week, based on information stored in each of 21 and the recorded program information storage unit 27 (Step S706 in FIG. 13).

Subsequently, the program guide information extraction unit 29 outputs the extracted personal program guide information to the program guide information transmission unit 30. Subsequently, when the program guide information transmitting unit 30 outputs the personal program guide information from the program guide information extracting unit 29, the program guide information transmitting unit 30 transmits the output personal program guide information to the user terminal device 4 (step of FIG. 13). S707).
Subsequently, when the program guide information receiving unit 14 of the user terminal device 4 receives the personal program guide information transmitted from the program information providing device 5, the received personal program guide information is converted into the personal program guide information storage unit 15. (Step S708 in FIG. 13). Subsequently, when the personal program guide information is output from the program guide information receiving unit 14, the personal program guide information storage unit 15 stores the output personal program guide information.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the television receiver 2 displaying information on a television program.
Here, it is assumed that the user performs an operation for requesting display of recommended program information. Then, the program guide information display unit 16 reads the personal program guide information from the personal program guide information storage unit 15 and displays the read personal program information on the television receiver 2 as shown in FIG. 13 step S709).
Thus, it is possible to provide the user with information on a television program that can be viewed in a time zone that the user can view and that is suitable for the user's preference on the days that can be viewed.
For this reason, it is possible to increase the viewing opportunities of television broadcasts by the user.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the viewing history information receiving unit 18 in FIG. 2 constitutes viewing history information acquisition means. Similarly, the viewing preference analysis unit 22 in FIG. 2 constitutes a preference analysis unit. Further, steps S201 to S203 in FIG. 8 and steps S401 to S403 in FIG. 10 constitute a viewable time zone predicting means. Furthermore, the program guide information receiving unit 20 in FIG. 2 constitutes program information acquisition means. Further, the program guide information extraction unit 29 in FIG. 2 constitutes program selection means. Further, the program guide information transmitting unit 30 in FIG. 2 constitutes program information providing means. Further, the stored recorded program information receiving unit 26 in FIG. 2 constitutes recorded program information acquisition means. Further, steps S302 to S306 in FIG. 9 and steps S502 to S506 in FIG. 11 constitute a viewing program type prediction unit. Also, steps S308 to S311 in FIG. 9 and steps S508 to S511 in FIG. 11 constitute a viewing program time length predicting means. Moreover, the program guide information receiving part 14 in FIG. 2 comprises a favorite program information acquisition means. Further, the program guide information display unit 16 in FIG. 2 constitutes program information presenting means.

(Summary)
Thus, in this embodiment, first, the program information providing apparatus 5 analyzes the user's preference. Subsequently, the program information providing device 5 predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can view the television program, for each day of the week. Subsequently, based on the analyzed preference information, the predicted viewable time zone information, and the program information of the broadcast TV program, the program information providing apparatus 5 views the user in the viewable time zone of each day of the week. A TV program that is possible and suitable for the user's preference is selected. Subsequently, the user terminal device 4 transmits information on the television program suitable for the selected user's preference to the user terminal device 4. Subsequently, the user terminal device 4 displays the transmitted program guide information on the television receiver.

Thereby, it is possible to provide information on television programs that can be viewed by the user.
Therefore, more appropriate TV program information can be provided to the user.
Moreover, in this embodiment, the program information provision apparatus 5 analyzes a user's preference for every day of the week, and selects the said television program using the analysis result of a user's preference of each day of the week.
Therefore, even if the user's preference changes every day of the week, the television program information suitable for the user's preference can be provided to the user.

(Modification)
In the present embodiment, an example in which a stationary television receiver is used as the television receiver 2 has been described, but other configurations may be employed. For example, a mobile phone having a television program display function can be used.
When a mobile phone is used as the television receiver 2, the functions of the recording device 3 and the user terminal device 4 may be realized on the mobile phone.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the example which uses the label | marker which can identify the user terminal device 4 from the other user terminal device 4 was shown as user ID, However, Another structure is also employable. For example, when the same user has a plurality of user terminal devices 4, the same user ID may be set for all of the plurality of user terminal devices 4.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example has been shown in which the user is provided with information on a TV program broadcast in a viewable time zone in which the user can watch a TV program, but other configurations may be adopted. You can also. For example, if there is a TV program that is suitable for the user's preference among the TV programs that are broadcast in a time zone other than the viewable time zone, information on the TV program is given to the user as a TV program that is recommended for recording. May be provided.
Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the user's preference is analyzed for each day of the week and a television program is selected based on the analysis result is shown, but other configurations may be employed. For example, the user's preference common to all days of the week may be analyzed without dividing every day of the week, and the analysis result may be used for selecting a television program instead of the user's preference for each day of the week.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, although the example which uses a user's viewing preference information only for selection of the television program suitable for a user's preference was shown, it can utilize for another use. For example, based on the user's viewing preference information, it may be used to provide advertisements for products suitable for the user's preference. In this way, effective advertisement provision can be realized.
In the present embodiment, the case where the user terminal device 4 and the program information providing device 5 exchange information via the communication line 17 has been described. However, both the devices 4 and 5 do not pass through the communication line 17. A configuration for exchanging information may be adopted. According to this configuration, both devices 4 and 5 may be realized in one housing.

1 program information providing system 2 television receiver 3 recording device,
4 User terminal device 5 Program information providing device 11 Viewing history information transmitting unit 14 Program table information receiving unit 16 Program table information displaying unit 18 Viewing history information receiving unit 22 Viewing preference analyzing unit 24 Viewing lifestyle analyzing unit 26 Accumulated recording program information receiving Unit 29 Program guide information extracting unit 30 Program guide information transmitting unit

Claims (7)

A program information providing device for providing information on a television program to a program information presentation device,
Viewing history information acquisition means for acquiring information of a viewing history of a television program by a user;
Preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means;
A viewable time zone predicting unit that predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition unit; ,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future;
The program information acquisition means is based on the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means, and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means. Program selection means for selecting a television program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week from the television program from which the program information has been acquired, and that is suitable for the user's preference;
Program information providing means for providing the program information presenting apparatus with information on the television program selected by the program selecting means;
Recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content ;
The viewing history information acquisition means further includes viewing program type information indicating whether the TV program viewed by the user is a real-time program broadcast during viewing or a recorded program recorded in the recording device. Acquired,
Based on the viewing program type information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means, further comprising viewing program type prediction means for predicting which of the real-time program and the recorded program the user views for each day of the week,
The program selection means includes:
When the viewing program type prediction means predicts that the real-time program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, and the viewable time predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means Based on the band and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means, the user views the television program from which the program information acquisition means has acquired the program information during the viewable time zone on the set day of the week. Select a TV program that is possible and suitable for the user's preference,
When the viewing program type prediction means predicts that the recorded program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone prediction means predicts the viewable Based on the time slot and the program information acquired by the recorded program information acquisition unit, the television program from which the recorded program information acquisition unit has acquired the program information is set in the viewable time zone on the set day of the week. user viewable, and program information providing apparatus according to claim you to select a television program that is suitable to the preferences of the user. A program information providing device for providing information on a television program to a program information presentation device,
Viewing history information acquisition means for acquiring information on a viewing history of a television program by a user and program time length information indicating a program time length of the television program viewed by the user ;
Preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means;
A viewable time zone predicting unit that predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition unit; ,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future;
Recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a television program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content;
Viewing program time length prediction means for predicting the program time length of the television program viewed by the user for each day of the week based on the program time length information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means ;
Preference of the user is pre-Symbol preference analysis unit was analyzed, the viewing time zone predicting means predicts the viewing time period, wherein the program information by the program information acquisition unit acquires, the recorded program information acquisition unit acquires Based on the program information and the program time length predicted by the viewing program time length prediction unit, the program information acquisition unit acquires the program information, and the recorded program information acquisition unit acquires the program information. from any of the acquired television program, can the user viewing the viewable time zone of day of the week is set, the program duration is matched program time length and that the predicted, and suitable for the preferences of the user Program selection means for selecting a TV program ;
Ban set information providing apparatus you, comprising a program information providing means for providing information of a television program that the program selecting means selects the program information presentation device. The preference analysis means analyzes the user preference for each day of the week,
The said program selection means selects the said TV program using the analysis result of the said user preference of the said set day of the week as the user preference analyzed by the said preference analysis means. Or the program information providing apparatus according to 2; A program information providing system comprising: a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program; and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user,
The program information providing apparatus includes:
Viewing history information obtaining means for obtaining information of a viewing history of a television program by the user;
Preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means;
A viewable time zone predicting unit that predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition unit; ,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future;
The program information acquisition means is based on the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means, and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means. Program selection means for selecting a television program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week from the television program from which the program information has been acquired, and that is suitable for the user's preference;
Program information providing means for providing the program information presenting apparatus with information on the television program selected by the program selecting means;
Recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content ;
The viewing history information acquisition means further includes viewing program type information indicating whether the TV program viewed by the user is a real-time program broadcast during viewing or a recorded program recorded in the recording device. Acquired,
Based on the viewing program type information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means, further comprising viewing program type prediction means for predicting which of the real-time program and the recorded program the user views for each day of the week,
The program selection means includes:
When the viewing program type prediction means predicts that the real-time program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, and the viewable time predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means Based on the band and the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means, the user views the television program from which the program information acquisition means has acquired the program information during the viewable time zone on the set day of the week. Select a TV program that is possible and suitable for the user's preference,
When the viewing program type prediction means predicts that the recorded program is viewed on the set day of the week, the user's preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone prediction means predicts the viewable Based on the time slot and the program information acquired by the recorded program information acquisition unit, the television program from which the recorded program information acquisition unit has acquired the program information is set in the viewable time zone on the set day of the week. Select a TV program that is viewable by the user and that is suitable for the user's preference,
The program information presentation device comprises:
Preference program information acquisition means for acquiring TV program information suitable for the user preference provided by the program information providing device;
A program information providing system comprising: program information presenting means for presenting the television program information acquired by the favorite program information acquiring means to the user. A program information providing system comprising: a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program; and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user,
The program information providing apparatus includes:
Viewing history information acquisition means for acquiring information of a viewing history of a television program by the user and program time length information indicating a program time length of the television program viewed by the user;
Preference analysis means for analyzing the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means;
A viewable time zone predicting unit that predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week based on the viewing history information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition unit; ,
Program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future;
Recorded program information acquisition means for acquiring program information of a television program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content;
Viewing program time length prediction means for predicting the program time length of the television program viewed by the user for each day of the week based on the program time length information acquired by the viewing history information acquisition means;
The user preference analyzed by the preference analysis means, the viewable time zone predicted by the viewable time zone prediction means, the program information acquired by the program information acquisition means, and the recorded program information acquisition means acquired Based on the program information and the program time length predicted by the viewing program time length prediction unit, the program information acquisition unit acquires the program information, and the recorded program information acquisition unit acquires the program information. The TV program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week from any of the TV programs that have been set, the program time length matches the predicted program time length, and that is suitable for the user's preference Program selection means for selecting,
Program information providing means for providing the program information presenting apparatus with information on the television program selected by the program selecting means,
The program information presentation device comprises:
Preference program information acquisition means for acquiring TV program information suitable for the user preference provided by the program information providing device;
A program information providing system comprising: program information presenting means for presenting the television program information acquired by the favorite program information acquiring means to the user. A program information providing method executed by a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program, and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user ,
The program information providing device acquires viewing history information of the television program viewing history by the user; and
The program information providing device analyzes the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step;
Based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step, the program information providing apparatus predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week. Viewable time zone prediction step,
The program information presenting apparatus obtains program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future, and a program information acquisition step;
Based on the user preference analyzed in the preference analysis step, the viewable time zone predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step, and the program information acquired in the program information acquisition step, by the program information providing apparatus. Selecting a TV program that can be viewed by the user in the viewable time zone on a set day of the week and that is suitable for the user's preference from the TV program for which the program information has been acquired in the program information acquisition step Steps,
A program guide information providing step in which the program information providing device provides the program information presenting device with information on the television program selected in the program selecting step;
The program information presenting device acquires a preference program information acquisition step of acquiring information of the television program provided by the program information providing device;
The program information presenting device presents the information of the television program acquired in the preference program information acquiring step to the user, the program information presenting step,
The program information presentation device, have a, a recorded program information acquiring step of acquiring program information of a television program that the user is recorded in the viewable video recording device recording contents,
In the viewing history information acquisition step, viewing program type information indicating whether the TV program viewed by the user is a real-time program broadcast during viewing or a recorded program recorded in the recording device is further included. Acquired,
The program information presentation device predicts which of the real-time program and the recorded program the user views for each day of the week based on the viewing program type information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step. A prediction step,
In the program selection step,
When it is predicted that the real-time program is viewed on the set day of the week in the viewing program type prediction step, the user preference analyzed in the preference analysis step, the viewable time predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step Based on the program information acquired in the program information acquisition step and the program information acquisition step, the user views the television program from which the program information was acquired in the program information acquisition step in the viewable time zone of the set day of the week. Select a TV program that is possible and suitable for the user's preference,
When it is predicted that the recorded program will be viewed on the set day of the week in the viewing program type prediction step, the user's preference analyzed in the preference analysis step, the viewable predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step Based on the time slot and the program information acquired in the recorded program information acquisition step, the television program from which the program information has been acquired in the recorded program information acquisition step, and the viewable time zone on the set day of the week. user viewable, and program information providing method comprising you to select a television program that is suitable to the preferences of the user. A program information providing method executed by a program information providing apparatus that provides information on a television program, and a program information presentation apparatus that presents information on the television program provided by the program information providing apparatus to a user,
Viewing history information acquisition step in which the program information providing device acquires viewing history information of a television program by the user and program time length information indicating a program time length of the television program viewed by the user;
The program information providing device analyzes the user's preference based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step;
Based on the viewing history information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step, the program information providing apparatus predicts a viewable time zone, which is a time zone in which the user can watch a television program, for each day of the week. Viewable time zone prediction step,
The program information providing apparatus obtains program information of a TV program to be broadcast in the future,
The program information providing device acquires a recorded program information acquisition step of acquiring program information of a television program recorded in a recording device that allows the user to view the recorded content;
The program information providing apparatus predicts the program time length of the TV program viewed by the user for each day of the week based on the program time length information acquired in the viewing history information acquisition step; ,
The program information providing apparatus analyzes the user's preference analyzed in the preference analysis step, the viewable time zone predicted in the viewable time zone prediction step, the program information acquired in the program information acquisition step, and the recorded program Based on the program information acquired in the information acquisition step and the program time length predicted in the viewing program time length prediction step, the television program acquired the program information in the program information acquisition step, and the recorded program information acquisition The user can view the program from any one of the television programs from which the program information has been acquired in the viewable time zone of a set day of the week, the program time length matches the predicted program time length, and the user A program selection step for selecting a TV program suitable for the user's taste,
A program guide information providing step in which the program information providing device provides the program information presenting device with information on the television program selected in the program selecting step;
The program information presenting device acquires a preference program information acquisition step of acquiring information of the television program provided by the program information providing device;
A program information providing method, wherein the program information presenting apparatus includes a program information presenting step of presenting the television program information acquired in the preference program information acquiring step to the user.

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