Gracenote and the viewer experience
How Gracenote matches titles and supplies the metadata and artwork viewers see.
Metadata and Artwork Shown to Viewers
Roku uses Gracenote data, where available, to augment the metadata and artwork shown on Roku devices, web browsers, mobile applications, and other players. This helps provide a consistent title experience across platforms and the broader Roku ecosystem.
Roku attempts to match all partner-delivered content to a corresponding Gracenote record. When a title is found in Gracenote's database, the metadata and artwork displayed on Roku Channel are sourced from Gracenote.
Artwork Personalization
Gracenote's Artwork Personalization supplies alternate imagery for different viewers based on factors such as demographics and popularity. This approach has increased user engagement.
Gracenote accepts official partner key art, but a viewer will see that art only if it is selected by the personalization algorithm. Gracenote supplies approximately three unique images and creates alternate artwork from sources such as the original broadcaster, production studio, or creative agency.
Gracenote has stated to Roku that its images are covered by a "fair use license." Gracenote applies the same quality standards to personalized images as to partner-supplied key art, including:
- No major spoilers
- No dark, blurry, or grainy images
- No violent or suggestive imagery
- Avoidance of smoking imagery
Help Roku Match Your Titles
Roku uses a combination of methods to match titles to Gracenote records. Partners can help by providing:
- The exact title of the series, movie, TV special, or short-form video
- Release dates with the correct year of the title's original release on any platform
- Season and episode numbers that follow the original release order
- Accurate TMS (Gracenote) IDs for the content type
Content classification must also align:
- Content classified as an episode in Gracenote must be delivered as an Episode to Roku.
- Content classified as a movie in Gracenote must be delivered as a Movie to Roku.
- Content classified as a TV Special in Gracenote may be delivered as a Movie to Roku.
See Metadata for content types and identifier requirements, and MovieLabs for TMS ID mapping in MEC.
Tags, Genres, and Curation
Provide tags with each movie, episode, or clip to help Roku curate and surface the content. Roku Channel's editorial team and recommendation systems use the supplied tags and genres. More tags provide more ways for a title to be curated and surfaced to viewers.
See Best practices: content tags and metadata and the supported genres.
Updated about 5 hours ago