The guide is not well-formed XML
The document could not be parsed as XML, so nothing else could be checked.
What it means
XMLTV is an XML format and must be well-formed: every tag closed, every attribute quoted, every special character escaped. This document is not, so parsing stopped before any programme could be read.
Why it matters
Clients parse the guide strictly and reject it whole. One bad character means no programme information for any channel, not just the affected one.
How to fix it
- The reported line and column are where the parser gave up; the mistake is often just before it.
- Unescaped ampersands and angle brackets in programme titles are the usual cause — they must be written & and <.
- A truncated file parses as an unclosed tag; check whether the download completed, especially for large gzipped guides.
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 "The guide is not well-formed XML" mean?
- XMLTV is an XML format and must be well-formed: every tag closed, every attribute quoted, every special character escaped. This document is not, so parsing stopped before any programme could be read.
- Why does it matter?
- Clients parse the guide strictly and reject it whole. One bad character means no programme information for any channel, not just the affected one.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. The reported line and column are where the parser gave up; the mistake is often just before it. 2. Unescaped ampersands and angle brackets in programme titles are the usual cause — they must be written & and <. 3. A truncated file parses as an unclosed tag; check whether the download completed, especially for large gzipped guides.
- 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 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.
- Guide contains no programmesChannels are declared but there is no schedule, so viewers see an empty guide.