Yahoo! Hacks

Create a TV Watch List

Combine Yahoo! TV with Yahoo! Calendar to build a custom TV schedule.

You can find lots of information about upcoming television shows at Yahoo! TV [Hack #44] . By clicking on a program title in your personalized listings, you can find a brief synopsis of the show, members of the cast, and even directors and producers. And, of course, Yahoo! lets you search this information. Browse to Yahoo! TV (http://tv.yahoo.com) and you’ll see the search form labeled “Search listings by Keyword.”

Imagine you’re a Tom Hanks fan and you’d like to find out when a show or movie he’s been in will be on. Type "Tom Hanks" into the form, and click Go!. Note that the quotes are important when you’re looking for a full phrase. You’ll see a list of shows that Tom Hanks appears in within the next 14 days, as shown in Figure 2-70.

Figure 2-70. Yahoo! TV listings search results for “Tom Hanks”

Who knew he was in old episodes of Happy Days? Click a title in the results and you’ll find the detail page for the program. Alongside the channel and air time, you’ll see an “Add to My Calendar” link. This link lets you add the show as an event on your Yahoo! Calendar so that you can track the shows you’d like to watch. And once a show is an event on your calendar, you’ll receive reminders about the event in your email, which can help you remember to catch the show when it airs.

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