Channel is declared but has no programmes
The channel appears in the guide with an empty schedule.
What it means
A <channel> element exists but no <programme> element references its id, so the channel is declared in the guide with nothing scheduled against it.
Why it matters
Viewers see the channel listed with nothing on it, which looks like a broken channel rather than missing data. It is usually a channel the upstream provider stopped supplying while the channel list kept including it.
How to fix it
- Either supply programmes for the channel or drop it from the guide.
- Check whether the upstream source has renamed the channel, leaving the old id with no data.
- Compare against the playlist: a channel in the guide but not the playlist can simply be removed.
Check your own stream
The free EPG checker runs this check on every analysis and links each finding straight back here.
Open the EPG checker →Frequently asked questions
- What does "Channel is declared but has no programmes" mean?
- A <channel> element exists but no <programme> element references its id, so the channel is declared in the guide with nothing scheduled against it.
- Why does it matter?
- Viewers see the channel listed with nothing on it, which looks like a broken channel rather than missing data. It is usually a channel the upstream provider stopped supplying while the channel list kept including it.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Either supply programmes for the channel or drop it from the guide. 2. Check whether the upstream source has renamed the channel, leaving the old id with no data. 3. Compare against the playlist: a channel in the guide but not the playlist can simply be removed.
- How can I detect this automatically?
- Paste your XMLTV programme guides URL into StreamTest's free EPG checker. It runs this check on every analysis, flags the finding, and links straight back to this page — no sign-up required.
Related Programme guides checks
- XMLTV timestamps have no UTC offsetTimestamps without an explicit offset are ambiguous, and are the usual cause of a guide that appears shifted by whole hours.
- XMLTV guide has holes in a channel scheduleConsecutive programmes do not join up, leaving blank stretches in the guide.
- XMLTV guide does not extend far enough aheadThe guide runs out within hours, so viewers lose programme information partway through the day.
- The guide is not well-formed XMLThe document could not be parsed as XML, so nothing else could be checked.
- The document has no <tv> root elementThe XML parsed, but its root is not <tv>, so it is not an XMLTV guide.
- Guide declares no channelsWithout <channel> elements there is nothing for a playlist to match against.