Method and apparatus for timed tagging of media content

An article of manufacture having computer-readable storage program portions embodied thereon for timed tagging of media content, the article comprising computer-readable instructions for:

• obtaining at least one keyword tag associated with discrete media content;
• generating a timed segment index of discrete media content, the timed segment index identifying (i) content segments of the discrete media content and corresponding timing boundaries of the content segments and (ii) word segments within each content segment, each word segment identifying an audible word and corresponding timing boundaries of the audible word within the discrete media content;
• deriving text from the word segments within the discrete media content using either closed caption data or speech recognition processing associated with the discrete media content;
• obtaining the corresponding timing boundaries for the word segments matching the at least one keyword tag;
• identifying timing boundaries of one or more content segments from the timed segment index that includes the corresponding timing boundaries of the matching word segments by automatically extending the timing boundaries for the matching word segments to coincide with the timing boundaries of one or more of the content segments;
• generating a timed tag index that associates the at least one keyword tag with the extended timing boundaries corresponding to the identified one or more content segments of the discrete media content containing the matching word segments;
• aligning text from the closed caption data or speech recognition processing to the timing boundaries corresponding to the content segments of the discrete media content;
• and
• storing the timed tag index in a database such that the timed tag index may be accessed via a search engine, thereby facilitating the retrieval of discrete media content in response to a user query.