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How to get text message reminders for your favorite TV shows

Find out how to get text message reminders the day your favorite TV show airs so you'll never miss another episode.

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Sharon Profis Vice President of Content
Sharon Profis is a vice president of content.
Sharon Profis
2 min read
There's a new episode of "Gossip Girl" tonight! Photo by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

Missing the newest episode of your favorite TV show is the worst.

Sure, the latest episode of "Top Chef" is bound to rerun, but by the time it airs, the entire Interwebs has already torn it apart, revealing who was eliminated, which dishes looked delicious, and how hot (or not) Padma looked that day. (Let's be honest: she's never the latter.)

There's really nothing like catching the latest episode the first time it airs, and tweeting (or Facebook-posting) immediately after in excitement with the rest of America.

But with so many TV shows to keep track of, and a busy life schedule, it's easy to lose track of what's airing when.

To fix this issue, there's a way to get text message alerts on the days your favorite TV shows air. Here's how:

Part 1: First, we need to create an RSS feed of all your shows.

    Head to http://www.mytvrss.com/feed.do and check the boxes for all the TV shows you want to keep track of. Click "Create Feed" and copy the link in the next window under "RSS".

Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

Part 2: Now we'll turn that RSS feed into text message alerts.

    1. Go to ifttt.com and click "Join" to sign up for an account. Then, in the dashboard click "Create new task." Select "Feed" (the RSS symbol), then "New feed item."

    Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET

    2. In the Feed URL box, paste the link you copied from mytvRSS. Then select "Create Trigger."


    3. Click "that" and select SMS as the action channel. You'll then be asked to activate it. Select "Activate" and enter your mobile phone number. You'll receive a text message with a four-digit PIN. Enter the PIN, select "Activate," and continue to the next step.


    4. Now select "Send me a text message." In the message window, replace "New feed title" with "New TV show today!" (or whatever message you want).

    Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET


    5. Click "Create action," then enter a description, like "TV show reminder," and select "create task."

Going forward, you'll get text message alerts on the days your favorite TV shows air. Each text message will include the season number, episode number, episode title, and a link to the complete episode description.

If you ever want to add or remove TV shows, head back to mytvrss.com to edit your alerts.