Watch Next guidelines for TV providers

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In addition to the Watch Next guidelines for app developers, Live TV providers must follow these guidelines when inserting content into the Watch Next channel.

Live TV providers

Providers of live TV content must follow the guidelines in this section.

Live TV programs

Live TV providers should add only movie and TV items using the Watch Next API (for example, the user has watched 45 minutes of the movie Deadpool) and not the channel-level entity (for example, the user stopped watching channel TBS at 4:30pm).

Unfinished content

Live TV items should be included in Watch Next if one of the following is true:

  • The user has paused a live broadcast, and it is still ON when the Play Next row is rendered. Content should resume from the paused timestamp.
  • The user has on-demand or DVR entitlements to that item. Content should resume from the point the user left off (this supersedes the live broadcast).

New episodes

If the user has "started" a series (as described in the guidelines for app developers), and is fully caught up, then add the new episode into the Watch Next channel with WATCH_NEXT_TYPE_NEW.

Program Removal

For all the above scenarios, if a currently-live program is added to the user’s Play Next row, it must be removed once the live program completes unless:

  • It is available on the user’s digital video recorder (DVR).
  • It is available on the service as a video on demand (VOD).

Digital video recorder (DVR) programs

DVR recordings should be added to the Play Next row only if either of the following is true:

  • The user has started watching the recording and not completed it.
  • The recorded program is a new episode as described above.

TV on demand (TVOD) providers

Providers of on-demand TV content must follow the guidelines in this section.

Rentals

If the user has rented a piece of content (movie or show) from your service, then you should add it to the Watch Next channel under the following conditions:

  • The user rented the content but has not yet viewed it. Use WATCH_NEXT_TYPE_NEW to add the content and set lastEngagementTimeUtcMillis as the timestamp when the user rented the content.
  • The rental is about to expire; in this case, you should add it to the Watch Next channel 48 hours before the expiration time. The type should be set to WATCH_NEXT_TYPE_NEW.

If the user started watching the content and left it unfinished, follow the guidelines for unfinished content.

Purchases

If the user has purchased a piece of content from your service, then you should add it to the Watch Next channel. Use WATCH_NEXT_TYPE_NEW and set lastEngagementTimeUtcMillis as the timestamp when the user purchased the content.

If the user started watching the content and left it unfinished, follow the guidelines for unfinished content.

Non-purchased/non-rented content

Do not use the Watch Next API to surface new content which the user has not already rented or purchased. For example, if the user rents one episode of a show (for example, season one, episode one or S1E1) and finishes watching it, then do not push S1E2 to Watch Next unless the user has already rented or purchased this episode.

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