A method, terminal, and system for playing programs are disclosed. The method includes: creating virtual channels corresponding to keywords in a keyword list according to the keywords, and using the virtual channels to form a virtual channel list; identifying programs inclusive of the keywords among received programs; using the programs inclusive of the keywords to generate a playlist of the virtual channels corresponding to the keywords according to a preset playlist generation rule; and playing the programs in the playlist. Through the present disclosure, the same type of BTV programs that match a keyword on different channels are scheduled together, the required operations of pressing keys are reduced, and the user experience is improved.