A master guide table for a digital broadcast protocol, and a method of broadcasting and updating an electronic program guide using the table, uses identification information included in a bit stream syntax of the master guide table to classify whether contents of an event information table are merely shifted in time, or are actually changed. The master guide table is transmitted in accordance with a program and system information protocol (PSIP) for an advanced television system committee (ATSC) defined standard digital television broadcast protocol. A digital television receiver of a receiving party, or a digital cable broadcast receiver, can determine whether the contents of the event information table EIT are merely shifted in time or actually changed by parsing the identification information in the master guide table MGT. If the parsed contents of the identification information indicate that the event information table contents are merely shifted in time without any change, then a database maintaining previous event information table is not updated. Accordingly, time wasted in unnecessarily updating the database can be decreased.