If a situation in which it is difficult to make a decision about automatic processing without involving user intervention occurs, an inquiry is made to a user to clear such a situation and a response by the user to the inquiry is used as a decision criterion by which to decide the execution of automatic processing when a similar situation occurs later. If a change occurs in the broadcast time of a broadcast program set for timer-recording, this broadcast program overlaps, in broadcast time, another broadcast program set for timer-recording. However, if a need occurs for recording broadcast programs in excess of the number of broadcast programs that may be simultaneously recorded, an inquiry is made to the user which of these broadcast programs is to be preferentially recorded. A response by the user to this inquiry is also used as a criteria for selecting a broadcast program to be preferentially recorded if a similar situation occurs later. The present invention is applicable to devices having capabilities of recording broadcast programs without user intervention.