TV Shows & Streaming Database — Deep Research Brief, Part 04: Data Sources, APIs, and Licensing
96 preserved extracts. Research planning document; requested work is not evidence that the work was completed.
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TV Shows & Streaming Database — Deep Research Brief, Part 04: Data Sources, APIs, and Licensing
Conduct exhaustive research on every realistic source of TV metadata, availability, images, and press material: coverage, quality, update latency, price, license and terms of service, attribution, image rights, rate limits, caching rules, and the risk that terms change or access ends; plus the legal landscape for facts, databases, and scraping in the U.S., EU, and UK. The goal is a source-by-source comparison, cost model, and build-vs-license decision matrix that lets the website launch on data it is clearly permitted to use commercially, with known dependency risks and a list of questions for a lawyer.
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1. How to research this part
Treat every named price, license, rate limit, clause, and case outcome as a lead to verify. API terms change often, and several changed in 2024–2026.
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1. How to research this part
Minimum coverage: at least 45 source records (metadata, availability, images, charts, press sites); full terms review (with quoted clause references and archived copies) for the top 20; at least 15 legal cases or statutes summarized; cost scenarios at four traffic levels.
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1. How to research this part
Read the actual terms of service, API terms, developer agreements, license files, attribution guidelines, and pricing pages. Save an archived copy (Wayback Machine or PDF) with date, and record the version or "last updated" date shown.
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1. How to research this part
Contact vendors for commercial quotes where prices are not public; record who quoted, date, and scope. Mark all unpublished prices "quote, not public."
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1. How to research this part
For legal topics, summarize holdings from primary sources (court opinions, statutes, directives) or reputable legal analysis; do not interpret how they apply to this project. Note where a lawyer should review.
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1. How to research this part
Do not test rate limits aggressively, create multiple accounts to evade limits, or scrape any source in violation of its terms.
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2. Metadata sources: required fields per source
For each source record: owner, coverage (countries, languages, show types, episode depth, people depth), data format (API, dump, feed), update latency, pricing tiers, commercial-use permission, attribution text and logo rules, image rights, caching/storage limits, rate limits, redistribution rights (can the site expose data via its own API?), termination and change-of-terms clauses, governing law, known errors, community health, and dependency risk rating.
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2.1 IMDb
Non-commercial datasets (datasets.imdbws.com): TSV files such as title.basics, title.akas, title.episode, title.principals, title.crew, title.ratings, name.basics (verify list); licensed for personal and non-commercial use only (verify wording). What counts as "non-commercial," and does an ad-supported site qualify? Flag for lawyer review.
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2.1 IMDb
Commercial licensing: IMDb licensing via AWS Marketplace / IMDb Essential Metadata and Box Office Mojo data (verify product names and whether sold through AWS), pricing (quote), and scope.
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2.1 IMDb
Conditions of Use prohibit robots, scraping, and data mining without consent (verify clause). Record IMDb's stated linking policy (deep links to title pages permitted; verify).
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2.1 IMDb
Question: can IMDb IDs themselves (tt numbers) be stored and displayed as cross-references? Research community practice (Wikidata stores them) and any IMDb statement.
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2.2 TMDB
API v3/v4 free for non-commercial use with attribution ("This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB" plus logo; verify); commercial use requires a commercial agreement (verify pricing model and whether revenue thresholds apply).
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2.2 TMDB
Rate limits: legacy 40 requests/10 seconds removed in 2019; now soft limits around ~50 requests/second per IP (verify). Daily ID export files available.
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2.2 TMDB
Caching: API terms on storing data and images (verify "not for use as a substitute data store" style clauses), image CDN hotlinking vs. caching rules.
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2.2 TMDB
Watch-provider data: supplied by JustWatch; attribution to JustWatch required; not permitted for certain uses (verify).
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2.2 TMDB
Community content: user-contributed overviews and images; copyright status of overviews (many are copied from press releases). Question: who owns synopsis text in TMDB, and what does TMDB's contribution license grant?
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2.3 TheTVDB
Moved to v4 API with paid model (2021; verify): end-user subscription for apps (e.g., users pay via Plex/Kodi integrations) vs. company licensing tiers based on revenue or users (verify tiers and prices). Attribution requirements. Community reaction and contributor license.
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2.3 TheTVDB
Question: does the license allow displaying episode data on a public ad-supported website, and does it allow caching the full dataset?
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2.4 TVmaze
Public API free with CC BY-SA license on data (verify version) and attribution with link; rate limit ~20 calls/10 seconds per IP (verify); premium API for user-specific features; commercial licensing without share-alike (verify offering).
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2.4 TVmaze
Question: what does share-alike require if TVmaze data is mixed into a proprietary database? Flag for lawyer review.
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2.5 Trakt
API free for apps with registration; VIP changes and free-tier restrictions (2025–2026; verify list limits, history limits, and API access effects); commercial-use rules; Trakt sources metadata from TMDB (verify), so it is not an independent metadata source.
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2.5 Trakt
Relevance: user data portability (scrobbling, import/export) rather than core metadata. After TV Time shut down (July 15, 2026), what import paths did Trakt, Simkl, Serializd offer (verify)?
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2.6 Wikidata and Wikipedia
Wikidata structured data CC0; Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0 (since 2023 migration; verify); Wikimedia Commons images licensed per file (CC BY, CC BY-SA, public domain) with attribution requirements.
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2.6 Wikidata and Wikipedia
Access: SPARQL query service limits (60-second timeout, per-client limits; verify), weekly dumps, Wikimedia Enterprise API (commercial, paid; verify pricing and free tier). User-Agent policy.
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2.6 Wikidata and Wikipedia
Question: can episode lists from Wikipedia tables be used? Tables mix facts (dates, numbers) and expression (summaries); summaries require CC BY-SA compliance.
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2.7 Commercial vendors
Gracenote (Nielsen): TV listings, program metadata, TMS IDs, images, video descriptors, streaming catalog data; used by many TV OS makers. Research product lines (Global Video Data, Gracenote Streaming Catalog Data; verify), pricing (quote), minimum contract, image licensing, and Nielsen divestiture history (Gracenote remained with Nielsen; verify).
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2.7 Commercial vendors
TiVo/Xperi (Rovi heritage) metadata; Xperi spin-off Adeia (2022) holds patents while Xperi keeps TiVo products (verify); licensing terms.
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2.7 Commercial vendors
Others: FYI Television, Reelgood B2B, JustWatch B2B, MediaRadar/Plural (verify), Vionlabs (content fingerprint/mood data; verify), Parrot Analytics (demand), Luminate (streaming viewership), Samba TV. Record which offer self-serve plans vs. enterprise only.
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2.8 EIDR
Nonprofit registry; membership tiers (verify fees); lookup access for non-members (free resolution and limited query; verify); data license terms for reuse of registry records; coverage strongest for studio/distributor content, weaker for international and unscripted.
- NOTE 3752
2.9 Anime and Asian drama sources
AniList GraphQL API: free, non-commercial by default; rate limit ~90 requests/minute (reduced temporarily to 30 in 2025; verify); commercial use requires permission.
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2.9 Anime and Asian drama sources
MyAnimeList official API v2 (client ID; terms prohibit some commercial uses; verify) and Jikan (unofficial, scrapes MAL; evaluate terms risk — not recommended for commercial use without MAL permission).
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2.9 Anime and Asian drama sources
AniDB HTTP/UDP API: strict rate limits and bans for abuse; non-commercial; daily title dump.
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2.9 Anime and Asian drama sources
Kitsu API (verify maintenance status). anime-offline-database (ODbL; verify license).
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2.9 Anime and Asian drama sources
MyDramaList: no public API as of research date (verify); partner inquiries only. Viki, Kocowa, and broadcaster press sites (KBS, SBS, MBC, JTBC, CJ ENM) as official sources.
- NOTE 3757
2.10 Press sites and press kits
NBCUniversal Media Village, Disney General Entertainment Press (dgepress.com), Paramount Pressroom, WBD Press, Netflix Media Center, Prime Video/Amazon Studios press, Apple TV press (apple.com/tv-pr), AMC Networks press, BBC Media Centre, ITV Press Centre, Channel 4 Press, CBC Media Centre, Crunchyroll press (verify URLs and registration).
- NOTE 3758
2.10 Press sites and press kits
Terms: registration for accredited media; images usually licensed for editorial publicity of the program only, sometimes time-limited, with credit lines (e.g., "Photo: [photographer]/Netflix"). Research whether a database site counts as media, whether caching is allowed, and embargo rules.
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2.10 Press sites and press kits
Question: are press-release synopses licensed for reuse, or only for coverage? Recommend original synopses by default.
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3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
JustWatch: consumer site plus B2B (JustWatch Media ad business, data licensing; verify). Public API not offered; partner API by agreement (verify). TMDB watch-provider data derived from JustWatch with attribution and link requirements.
- NOTE 3761
3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
Reelgood: B2B API and data licensing (verify current offering and ownership).
- NOTE 3762
3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
Watchmode: self-serve API with free tier and paid plans (verify prices and quotas), deep links, episode-level sources, regions covered.
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3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
Streaming Availability API (Movie of the Night): available via RapidAPI and direct plans (verify), 60+ countries, deep links, "leaving soon" dates, per-episode data (verify).
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3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
Utelly: acquired by Synamedia (2021; verify); API status.
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3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
Platform feeds: Apple TV app/Universal Search partner feeds, Google "Watch Actions" feeds, Roku content feeds — these flow from platforms to aggregators; research whether any are accessible to third parties.
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3. Availability ("where to watch") sources
For each: countries, platforms covered, refresh cadence, deep-link formats, episode vs. title granularity, price/plan distinctions (ad tier vs. ad-free), accuracy audits (sample 200 titles against official pages and record error rate), and affiliate-link conflicts.
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4. Charts and viewership sources (licensing angle)
Netflix Top 10 site (weekly TSV downloads; terms of use; annual engagement report as of July 2026), Nielsen Streaming Top 10 (press release reuse vs. licensed data), Luminate, Samba TV, BARB, OzTAM/VOZ, Numeris. Record what may be republished (rankings and minutes as facts cited with source) versus licensed datasets.
- NOTE 3768
5. Image rights by source
Build a matrix: source × image type (key art, backdrops, stills, logos, headshots) × permitted display × caching allowed × resizing allowed × attribution × takedown process.
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5. Image rights by source
TMDB images: user-uploaded, rights belong to studios/photographers; TMDB does not grant image rights (verify wording). TheTVDB similar. Gracenote images licensed under contract. Press-site images editorial-use. Wikimedia Commons per-file license. Getty/Shutterstock editorial licensing for event photos (cost).
- NOTE 3770
5. Image rights by source
Questions: how have "where to watch" and database sites handled image takedowns; what does hotlinking vs. caching mean for liability? Flag for lawyer review.
- NOTE 3771
6. Rate limits, caching, and technical terms
Produce a table: source, auth method, rate limit, burst behavior, daily/monthly quota, bulk dump availability, caching limit (duration, scope), requirement to refresh or delete on termination, User-Agent/contact requirements, SLA, status page.
- NOTE 3772
6. Rate limits, caching, and technical terms
Worked example: estimate calls needed to keep 50,000 series and 2 million episodes fresh with TMDB changes endpoints vs. full refresh, and compare to limits.
- NOTE 3773
7. Cost modeling
Build cost scenarios at 10K, 100K, 1M, and 10M monthly visits for three stacks:
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7. Cost modeling
Open stack: Wikidata (CC0) + TVmaze (CC BY-SA or commercial license) + TMDB commercial agreement + Watchmode or Streaming Availability API + original synopses.
- NOTE 3775
7. Cost modeling
Hybrid: add TheTVDB company license, EIDR membership, and JustWatch or Reelgood B2B data.
- NOTE 3776
7. Cost modeling
Enterprise: Gracenote or TiVo metadata and images plus licensed availability.
- NOTE 3777
7. Cost modeling
Include per-call overages, image CDN costs, editor hours for synopses (e.g., cost per 1,000 original episode synopses), legal review hours, and vendor minimums. Mark all unpublished prices as quotes or estimates.
- NOTE 3778
8. Dependency and termination risk
Twitter/X API pricing changes (2023) killing third-party apps — analog for sudden API cost changes.
- NOTE 3779
8. Dependency and termination risk
Reddit API pricing (2023) and Apollo shutdown.
- NOTE 3780
8. Dependency and termination risk
TheTVDB v4 paid transition and effects on Kodi/Plex/Emby users.
- NOTE 3781
8. Dependency and termination risk
TV Time shutdown (July 2026) and user-data export.
- NOTE 3782
8. Dependency and termination risk
Trakt free-tier restrictions (2025–2026) and third-party app responses.
- NOTE 3783
8. Dependency and termination risk
IMDb removal of message boards (2017) and restrictions on data use; IMDb's lawsuits or takedowns against scrapers (verify any).
- NOTE 3784
8. Dependency and termination risk
Utelly acquisition and API changes; Freevee shutdown's effect on availability data.
- NOTE 3785
8. Dependency and termination risk
Gracenote–TMS and Rovi consolidations shrinking vendor choice.
- NOTE 3786
8. Dependency and termination risk
Risk fields: probability, impact, warning signs, contractual notice period, data-retention rights after termination, fallback source, migration cost.
- NOTE 3787
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Facts vs. expression (U.S.): Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service (1991) — facts not copyrightable; selection and arrangement may be. Synopses, reviews, images, and trivia text are expression.
- NOTE 3788
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Hot news and contract: NBA v. Motorola (2d Cir. 1997) narrow hot-news doctrine; ProCD v. Zeidenberg (7th Cir. 1996) enforceability of license terms.
- NOTE 3789
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Scraping (U.S.): hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn (9th Cir. 2019, 2022 after Van Buren v. United States (2021)) — CFAA "without authorization" and public data; case later ended with hiQ found in breach of User Agreement (Dec 2022 settlement/judgment; verify). Meta v. Bright Data (N.D. Cal. 2024; verify holding on logged-out scraping and ToS). X Corp. v. Bright Data (2024; verify). Craigslist v. 3Taps (2013). Ryanair v. Booking Holdings (D. Del. 2024 jury verdict on CFAA; verify). Browsewrap vs. clickwrap enforceability.
- NOTE 3790
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
EU: Database Directive 96/9/EC sui generis right for substantial investment; British Horseracing Board v. William Hill (CJEU 2004) investment in obtaining vs. creating data; Innoweb v. Wegener (CJEU 2013) meta-search engines; CV-Online Latvia v. Melons (CJEU 2021) balancing; Ryanair v. PR Aviation (CJEU 2015) — unprotected databases may be restricted by contract terms (verify). Text and data mining exceptions under DSM Directive 2019/790 Articles 3 and 4 and opt-outs; EU AI Act transparency obligations if AI is used on scraped data.
- NOTE 3791
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
UK: retained database right post-Brexit (no EU reciprocity for new UK databases in EU; verify); TDM exception limited to non-commercial research (s.29A CDPA); 2025 AI/copyright consultation (verify outcome).
- NOTE 3792
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Other: Australia (IceTV v. Nine Network (2009) — TV schedule compilation); Canada (CCH v. Law Society originality standard). IceTV is directly relevant to TV guide data — summarize carefully (verify).
- NOTE 3793
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Trademarks: nominative use of platform names and logos; brand guidelines of Netflix, Disney+, etc.
- NOTE 3794
9. Legal landscape (summaries only; lawyer review required)
Questions for a lawyer: Does mixing CC BY-SA data trigger share-alike on the whole database? Does storing IMDb IDs implicate IMDb terms? Is a cached TMDB dataset a "substitute data store"? Does EU database right apply to aggregating availability from EU services' public pages? What language should the site's own data license use?
- NOTE 3795
10. Build-vs-license decision matrix
Rows (data domains): series/season/episode core facts; episode synopses; people and credits; character data; images; trailers; content ratings; genres/moods; availability; prices and plans; charts; awards; anime-specific; Asian-drama-specific; international titles.
- NOTE 3796
10. Build-vs-license decision matrix
Columns: best licensed source, license cost, commercial permission, redistribution permission, quality score, latency, build-in-house cost (editor hours, contributor model), strategic value of owning it, legal risk, recommendation (license, build, hybrid), confidence.
- NOTE 3797
10. Build-vs-license decision matrix
Worked example: availability — license Watchmode or Streaming Availability API for launch in 10 countries, add in-house verification for top 2,000 series weekly, and plan for direct partner feeds later.
- NOTE 3798
10. Build-vs-license decision matrix
Worked example: synopses — write original (never copy press releases or TMDB overviews), using licensed facts as inputs; any AI drafting reviewed by editors.
- NOTE 3799
11. Timeline 2019 – 2026
API and license events: TMDB rate-limit removal (Dec 2019; verify), TheTVDB v4 launch and paid model (2020–2021), Utelly acquisition (2021), Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0 (2023), Wikimedia Enterprise launch (2021), AniList limit changes (2025), Trakt free-tier restrictions (2025–2026), TV Time shutdown (2026), IMDb dataset changes, JustWatch B2B product launches, Watchmode and Streaming Availability pricing changes.
- NOTE 3800
11. Timeline 2019 – 2026
Legal events: Van Buren (2021), hiQ (2022), CV-Online (2021), DSM Directive transposition (2021+), Meta v. Bright Data (2024), EU AI Act milestones (2024–2026), UK AI/copyright policy.
- NOTE 3801
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Source database: at least 45 source records with all Section 2 fields.
- NOTE 3802
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Terms digest: clause-referenced summaries of at least 20 sources' terms with archived copies and dates.
- NOTE 3803
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Availability API accuracy audit: 200-title sample across at least 4 providers and 5 countries.
- NOTE 3804
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Image-rights matrix covering at least 12 sources.
- NOTE 3805
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Rate-limit and caching table for at least 20 APIs.
- NOTE 3806
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Cost model spreadsheet: three stacks × four traffic levels.
- NOTE 3807
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Dependency risk register: at least 25 risks with fallbacks.
- NOTE 3808
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Legal summary of at least 15 cases/statutes, with a list of at least 20 questions for a lawyer.
- NOTE 3809
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Build-vs-license matrix across at least 15 data domains.
- NOTE 3810
12. Deliverables for Part 04
Glossary of at least 50 terms (CC0, CC BY-SA, share-alike, ODbL, sui generis right, browsewrap, clickwrap, CFAA, TDM opt-out, hotlinking, editorial use, redistribution); full source list with access dates.
- NOTE 3811
Research standards
State the research date and the "last updated" date of every terms document reviewed; archive a copy.
- NOTE 3812
Research standards
Quote clauses precisely with section numbers; paraphrase separately and label it as paraphrase.
- NOTE 3813
Research standards
Distinguish public list prices, vendor quotes, and estimates.
- NOTE 3814
Research standards
Summarize law without giving legal advice; flag every application question for lawyer review.
- NOTE 3815
Research standards
Verify case names, courts, years, and holdings against primary sources; mark procedural history that may have changed.
- NOTE 3816
Research standards
Do not recommend scraping, rate-limit evasion, or use beyond granted licenses; unofficial scrapers-as-APIs (e.g., Jikan) must be flagged as terms risk.
- NOTE 3817
Research standards
Record attribution and image obligations as implementation requirements, not optional notes.