Content tags and metadata
The following document outlines best practices for using content tags and metadata for media ingest. Please see ingest specifications for more.
We are often asked - how does the content appear on the Roku platform? The answer is almost always with metadata.
BETTER is MORE - MORE isn't necessarily BETTER
Due to Roku's propriety machine learning, we have enhanced personalization of all content offerings in the user interface. Different customers see different content categories based on their viewing behaviors and browse history. Utilizing standard Roku-provided tags will enable content to surface in more places across discovery products on the Roku platform and The Roku Channel. Without tags, limited visibility is likely - relegating content to fewer places.
Quality tagging will help boost the right content to the right people and in more places. Our studies have shown that irrelevant (aka 'bad') tags decrease content performance because of mismatches and machine learning. (For example, Schindler's List is tagged with 'comedy' and surfaces in a comedy row. Assuming comedy seekers will not want such a title, that movie will likely underperform because the algorithm will 'learn' it is not a high engagement comedy title and will be deprioritized).
Roku recommendation:
Include at least 2 relevant Roku Provided Tags from the menu below on every piece of content delivered to Roku (i.e., Episodes, Movies, Series..).
- You are welcome to add additional relevant or brand specific tags (not on the list) along with the aforementioned Roku required tags. (e.g., LGBTQ, classic, biography)
- For time-boxed, seasonal, or thematic collections, the Roku team will continue to create bespoke categories as requested in the monthly content refresh. (e.g., Halloween, Back to School, Mother's Day)
- Roku reserves the right to make changes to metadata if/when content is miscategorized.
Examples:
| Title | Baseline (2 Roku tags) Preferred | Rich Tags (2 Roku Tags +) Preferred | Mismatched Tags - Not Preferred | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Girls | comedy coming of age | comedy, coming of age, romantic comedy, leading ladies | action, documentary | |
| Schindler's List | drama world war 2 | drama, world war 2, war, history, biography | comedy, romance, action | |
| Hoarders | reality tv documentary | reality tv, documentary, bingeworthy | romance, ensemble tv shows, cooking |
Choose from the list of Roku tags:
Core Tags
These are high (level 1) genres.
- action
- adventure
- biography
- comedy
- crime
- documentary
- drama
- history
- horror
- mystery
- romance
- romantic
- comedy
- science fiction
- suspense
- thriller
- british tv
- classic tv
- comedies tv
- drama tv
- ensemble tv shows
- favorite tv dads
- favorite tv moms
- police tv
- reality tv
- tv
Niche/Specific Tags
These are level 2 tags. Used to add an additional layer of description not covered from a Core Genre Tag. Needs to be at least 80 % of the content to be applicable.
Examples:
| Title | Core Tag | Niche Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Terminator | action | cyborgs |
| Downton Abbey | drama | period pieces |
- aliens
- animals
- anime
- anthology
- apocalypse
- art
- autos
- baking
- baseball
- based on books
- basketball
- biopic
- bus financial
- collectibles
- comedy drama
- coming of age
- concerts
- cooking
- courtroom
- crime drama
- crime fighters
- cyborgs
- dance
- dark comedy
- diy
- docudrama
- drama movies
- dystopian
- entertainment
- environment
- espionage
- exercise
- faith and spirituality
- family dynamics
- fantasy
- fashion
- female directors
- film noir
- game show
- games
- gay lesbian
- health
- heartfelt
- historical drama
- home
- diy
- home / house / garden
- home improvement
- horses
- indies
- inspired by true events
- interview
- jazz
- korean war
- law
- leading ladies
- leading men
- lifestyle
- martial arts
- medical
- medical drama
- military
- miniseries
- music
- music docs bios
- musical
- musical comedy
- nature
- news
- outdoors
- paranormal
- period pieces
- police movies
- politics
- psychological thriller
- revenge
- science
- sitcom
- sketch comedy
- slashers
- sorcery
- space exploration
- sports
- sports talk
- standup
- supernatural
- survival
- talk
- technology
- thought provoking
- travel
- true crime
- mystery
- vampires
- vietnam war
- war
- werewolves
- western
- world war 1
- world war 2
- zombies
Per the Ingest Spec: kidsdirected tag is REQUIRED for all kids directed movies and episodes
Examples of how Categories surface in the Roku user interface
If you have any questions please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected]