1. A method implemented by a client device having a processor executing instructions stored in computer-readable storage media, the method comprising: receiving video signals broadcast on a multiplexed channel of a broadcast network; extracting from the received video signals a closed captioning stream of textual data; creating an active list comprising a plurality of first search terms by presenting a plurality of questions at a user interface to be answered by a viewer to develop the first search terms for creating the active list; creating a passive list comprising a plurality of second search terms by: monitoring closed captioning textual data during receipt of one or more previously received closed captioning streams of textual data of received video signals that the viewer has viewed or recorded, extracting words and phrases as potential search terms from the closed captioning textual data, and automatically selecting the plurality of second search terms from the potential search terms based on a recentness and a frequency of occurrence of the extracted words and phrases; searching the stream of textual data for occurrences of textual data matching one or more of the first search terms in the active list or one or more of the second search terms in the passive list, the searching comprising: storing content programming corresponding to the received video signals in a buffer; comparing, by the processor, the closed captioning stream of textual data to both the active list and the passive list; determining whether a number of matches of the first search terms of the active list and the second search terms of the passive list with the textual data exceeds a threshold number, wherein the number of matches is based on a combination, over a period of time, of a number of hits with respect to the first search terms in the active list and a number of hits with respect to the second search terms in the passive list; and applying a greater weight to the first search terms in the active list than a weight applied to the second search terms in the passive list when counting the number of matches; when the number of matches of the first search terms of the active list and the second search terms of the passive list does not exceed the threshold number after a predetermined period of time, ceasing to search a first closed captioning stream of textual data from a first channel before an end of the first closed captioning stream is reached, deleting the corresponding content programming from the buffer, and searching instead a second closed captioning stream of textual data from a second channel; and notifying the viewer when the number of matches exceeds the threshold number that content programming determined to be of interest to the viewer has been located.