canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/pressassociation.io/pressassociation

# Pressassociation TV API

The Press Association TV API provides structured access to television programming metadata including schedules, channels, assets, catalogues, contributors, features, and platform-specific regional data. It serves 18 endpoints for browsing and querying UK and international TV listings, retrieving programme details with contributor credits, and filtering content by platform and region. The API is designed for media applications that need authoritative broadcast schedule data.

## For AI agents

Query TV schedules, browse channel listings, retrieve programme metadata with contributor credits, and filter content by platform and region.

## Scope

Does not handle video streaming, content delivery, or programme recording - use for schedule metadata and programme information lookup only.

## Capabilities

- Retrieve broadcast schedules with programme slots for specific channels and dates
- Browse catalogues of programme assets with filtering by genre and category
- Look up contributor credits including actors, directors, and presenters per programme
- Query channel metadata across platforms and regional availability
- Filter programme assets by feature type for targeted content discovery
- Access platform-specific regional channel lineups

## Use cases

### Electronic Programme Guide

Build electronic programme guides (EPGs) by querying the schedule endpoint for specific channels and date ranges. The TV API returns time-slotted programme entries with titles, descriptions, and broadcast metadata. This powers TV guide applications, set-top box interfaces, and second-screen companion apps that display what is currently airing and upcoming across hundreds of channels.

Example prompt: Query the /schedule endpoint for BBC One channel listings for today's date and parse the returned time slots with programme titles

### Programme Metadata Enrichment

Enrich content catalogues with detailed programme metadata including cast and crew credits, genre classifications, and feature attributes. The TV API links assets to contributors with role information, enabling rich programme detail pages. Media companies use this to populate content management systems with authoritative metadata sourced from Press Association's editorial team.

Example prompt: Retrieve asset details via GET `/asset/{assetId}` and then fetch contributor credits via GET `/asset/{assetId}/contributor` for a specific programme

### Multi-Platform Channel Discovery

Discover which channels are available on specific platforms (Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media) and in which regions. The platform and region endpoints provide the data needed to show users only the channels they can actually receive, avoiding confusion from irrelevant listings. This is essential for personalised TV guide experiences that adapt to the viewer's actual platform and location.

Example prompt: List all platforms via GET /platform, select a platform ID, then query GET `/platform/{platformId}/region` to see regional channel availability

### AI Agent TV Data Integration

AI agents use the TV API through Jentic to answer questions about broadcast schedules, look up programme details, and build content recommendation features. The agent searches for schedule or programme operations, loads the endpoint schema with required parameters like channel ID and date, and retrieves structured TV data for further processing or user display.

Example prompt: Search Jentic for 'get TV schedule for channel', load the schedule operation schema, and execute with a channel ID and date parameter to retrieve today's listings

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/schedule` | Get broadcast schedule for channels and dates |
| GET | `/asset/{assetId}` | Get detailed programme asset information |
| GET | `/asset/{assetId}/contributor` | Get contributors for a programme |
| GET | `/channel` | List all available channels |
| GET | `/catalogue` | List programme catalogues |
| GET | `/platform` | List available TV platforms |
| GET | `/platform/{platformId}/region` | Get regions for a platform |
| GET | `/contributor/{contributorId}` | Get contributor details |

## Key resources

- **Schedule** — Broadcast schedules with time-slotted programme entries
- **Assets** — Programme assets with metadata, descriptions, and contributor links
- **Channels** — TV channel information and identifiers
- **Catalogues** — Grouped collections of programme assets
- **Platforms** — TV platforms (Freeview, Sky, etc.) with regional availability
- **Contributors** — Cast, crew, and presenter information

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 49 / 100
- **Maturity:** Foundational
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 47 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 35 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 44 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 50 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 55 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/pressassociation.io/pressassociation/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the TV API by hand means setting the apikey header against tv.api.pressassociation.io/v2 and threading channel, date, asset, and platform parameters across schedule lookups yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the TV API from the API Directory, store the API key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** The TV API takes asset, platform, and contributor ids as lookup path segments and exposes only read operations, so scoping is by operation: you limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as fetching a schedule or reading channel metadata. Contributor and platform-region lookups are included only if you add those operations.
- **Credential handling:** Your Press Association API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'get the TV schedule for a channel' or 'look up programme metadata by asset', and Jentic returns the matching TV API operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **TVmaze API** — Community-driven TV show database with global coverage but less schedule authority
- **TMDb API** — Movie and TV show metadata with images, ratings, and reviews
- **Trakt API** — TV watching history and recommendation engine for personalised suggestions

## FAQ

### What authentication does the TV API use?

The TV API uses API key authentication passed in the apikey header. Through Jentic, your Press Association API key is stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and agents receive requests with the apikey header pre-configured.

### Can I get TV schedules for a specific channel and date?

Yes. The GET /schedule endpoint accepts channel and date parameters to return broadcast schedule entries with programme titles, descriptions, start times, and durations for that specific channel and date combination.

### What are the rate limits for the TV API?

The specification does not document explicit rate limits. Contact Press Association for your plan's throughput allowance. For high-volume schedule polling, cache responses locally and refresh on a schedule rather than querying in real time for every user request.

### How do I retrieve programme cast and crew information through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'get programme contributors', load the asset contributor operation schema, and execute with an asset ID. The response includes contributor names, roles, and identifiers. Install the SDK with pip install jentic and set JENTIC_AGENT_API_KEY to get started.

### Does the TV API cover international channels or only UK?

The API primarily covers UK broadcast content through Press Association's editorial team. Channel availability varies by platform - query GET /platform to see available platforms and GET `/platform/{platformId}/region` to check regional coverage for each.

### Can I filter programmes by genre or feature type?

Yes. The GET /feature-type endpoint lists available feature classifications, and GET `/feature/{featureId}` retrieves details for a specific feature. Assets within catalogues can be filtered using the catalogue and feature endpoints to narrow results by content type.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the TV API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which TV API operations and credentials the agent may use, and the TV API exposes only read operations, so you scope access by operation. You can allow just the calls the agent needs, such as GET /schedule for broadcast listings or GET /channel for channel metadata, while leaving out GET `/asset/{assetId}/contributor` or GET `/platform/{platformId}/region` unless you add them. Your Press Association API key stays with your instance and is injected at execution time, never entering the agent's prompt or logs.