XMLTV guide has holes in a channel schedule
Consecutive programmes do not join up, leaving blank stretches in the guide.
What it means
On at least one channel, a programme stops and the next does not begin until later, leaving unaccounted time.
Why it matters
Viewers see empty slots and cannot tell whether the channel is off air or the data is missing. Recording by programme fails across the hole, and "what is on now" returns nothing whenever the current time falls inside one.
How to fix it
- Make each programme’s stop equal the next programme’s start.
- Fill genuine off-air periods with an explicit placeholder programme rather than leaving a hole.
- Check for a timezone mismatch between sources — a one-hour gap repeating across a whole channel usually means two feeds merged with different offsets.
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 "XMLTV guide has holes in a channel schedule" mean?
- On at least one channel, a programme stops and the next does not begin until later, leaving unaccounted time.
- Why does it matter?
- Viewers see empty slots and cannot tell whether the channel is off air or the data is missing. Recording by programme fails across the hole, and "what is on now" returns nothing whenever the current time falls inside one.
- How do I fix it?
- 1. Make each programme’s stop equal the next programme’s start. 2. Fill genuine off-air periods with an explicit placeholder programme rather than leaving a hole. 3. Check for a timezone mismatch between sources — a one-hour gap repeating across a whole channel usually means two feeds merged with different offsets.
- 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 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.
- Guide contains no programmesChannels are declared but there is no schedule, so viewers see an empty guide.