Television set

The modem fetches the information about the audience rating from the telephone line. The microcomputer/filter function part instructs the channel to be selected according to the information on the audience rating. For example, it provides instructions so as to select a program having a quite high instantaneous audience rating. The picture recording control unit controls the picture recording unit so that the program as instructed is recorded, regardless of the program currently viewed on the screen. Thus, the user can select a desired program easily without making any complicated operations even when the number of channels is increased.