A method for electronic program guide (EPG) data searching, at a receiver, in a broadcast only environment supporting only unidirectional transmission, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving, over a broadcast link, a database (224) comprising pairs of data sets wherein such a pair consists of a key (301) and one or more references (302) to available content items wherein such reference is unique for each content item; starting a process of retrieving metadata of the available content items; making said database (224) available for local searching prior to ending said process of retrieving metadata of the available content items; accepting a search query, comprising said key (301), for the database (224); providing a result set according to said query.