In a receiving apparatus which has an agent function of retrieving user's favorite programs, if there is a program, among the favorite programs, which should be viewed in real time, a user is notified of the program before the broadcast start time. For this purpose, the receiving apparatus is constituted by a receiving unit for receiving a broadcast signal, a retrieving unit for retrieving program information contained in the broadcast signal, and a communicating unit for notifying an external apparatus of information associated with a program detected by the retrieving unit predetermined time before the broadcast start time of the detected program.