Programme has no title
Programmes without a <title> appear as blank rows in the guide.
What it means
A <programme> element contains no <title> child, so the entry occupies a slot in the schedule without naming what is on. Every other field may be present; the title is the one clients always render.
Why it matters
The title is the only thing most guides display in a grid cell. Without one the slot is blank, so the viewer cannot tell what is on or whether the channel is even working.
How to fix it
- Give every programme a <title>, even if it is only "To be announced".
- Add a lang attribute where you have titles in several languages.
- Blank titles usually come from a source feed with missing rows; fill them with a placeholder rather than emitting nothing.
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 "Programme has no title" mean?
- A <programme> element contains no <title> child, so the entry occupies a slot in the schedule without naming what is on. Every other field may be present; the title is the one clients always render.
- Why does it matter?
- The title is the only thing most guides display in a grid cell. Without one the slot is blank, so the viewer cannot tell what is on or whether the channel is even working.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Give every programme a <title>, even if it is only "To be announced". 2. Add a lang attribute where you have titles in several languages. 3. Blank titles usually come from a source feed with missing rows; fill them with a placeholder rather than emitting nothing.
- 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.