The duration of a recording is automatically extended in the event that a
televised program extends beyond the scheduled end of the television
broadcast. Groups or "clusters" of commercial messages are detected. If no
such group is found at the end of a scheduled broadcast, it is presumed
that the broadcast has been extended and the recording is likewise
extended. The invention again looks for a group of commercial messages at
the next hour or half-hour. The recording is extended until such a group
is found or until the recording has been extended by a predetermined
maximum amount of time.
