Method and apparatus for generating recommendation scores using implicit and explicit viewing preferences

A television programming recommender combines the explicit viewing preferences, i.e. user specified preferences, of viewers with their television viewing behavior (implicit preferences) to generate program recommendations. The explicit viewing preferences are utilized to generate an explicit recommendation score, E, for an upcoming television program. The implicit viewing preferences are utilized to generate an implicit recommendation score, I, for the program. A combined recommendation score, C, is computed based on the explicit and implicit scores, E and I. The combined recommendation score, C, can be computed using a weighted linear mapping.