Probabilistic matching of television program audio signals

A method for probabilistic matching of audio signals, comprising:

• receiving, by a processor, reference audio signals from an audio stream for each of a plurality of channels;
• receiving, by the processor, an audio sample collected for a given time slice from a tuned-to channel at a media device, the tuned-to channel corresponding to a specific channel of the plurality of channels, where the audio sample represents audio of a program displayed on the tuned-to channel;
• determining, by the processor, a set of candidate channels of the plurality of channels to compare corresponding reference audio of said candidate channels to the audio sample, comprising:
• determining posterior probabilities for each of the plurality of channels based on prior probabilities for each of the plurality of channels that a channel is the tuned-to channel, and
• eliminating one or more of the plurality of channels from the set of candidate channels for comparison of reference audio of said candidate channels to the audio sample based on a pre-determined minimum posterior probability value;
• comparing, by the processor, for the given time slice, a reference audio of each channel of the set of candidate channels to the sample audio;
• and
• identifying, by the processor, a channel of the set of candidate channels as the tuned-to channel of the media device based on a specified confidence level.