Hi! This is a TV and movie database. As far as I know, Masterclasses are not supported.

Hi, I tried to implement Masterclass correctly on TMDb to match the Tvdb database, but someone just deleted the last couple of days of work.

I have checked the guidelines and think Masterclasses should be added as a Network like Netflix.

Please let me explain why Masterclass should be implemented as a Network like Netflix and not as a show with many seasons.

Some Masterclasses have multiple seasons like Gordon Ramsey. It should have season 1 and 2. If all Masterclasses are seasons it would be season 11 and season 41, which doesn't make much sense.

Here is the correct Tvdb entry to compare: https://thetvdb.com/series/masterclass-gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking

I use Sonarr to correctly index and rename all Masterclasses, but my system uses the TMDb api, which comes up with no matches. My implementation of the Masterclasses made it possible to have them matched automatically on TMDb as well.

Please reinstate my edits and I promise to implement all Masterclasses with covers, episode descriptions, trailer etc. correctly so they match tvdb and can be added automatically in the future for everyone who uses the api.

Before adding unsupported content, you should get permission first. And Travis is the only one who can give it.

OK, how do I do that? Is there a form? Sorry this is the first time I saw the need to edit content on tmdb. There was a Masterclass already added with seasons and no pictures, trailers, episodes etc. and I just wanted it to match tvdb.

If you could just pull the tvdb implementation it would save a week of work.

OK, how do I do that? Is there a form?

No, but he reads the support forums.

Online classes (courses) are neither movies nor TV shows so if we were to make a substantial change to allow such content (which would mean allowing thousands of similar incorrect entries) it would have to be an official policy change.

I understand why online courses in general would be a big problem. But Masterclass is a special case in my book since it has A-list stars and high production value and it is on tvdb.

If I didn't have the tvdb match through the API I wouldn't ask for it to be implemented in TMDb.

TVDB adds a lot of content that is not TV as TV shows if there is a demand for it. A notable bad example is that all the Tom & Jerry original shorts (correctly added as movies here) belong to a TV show on there.

Makin an exception for big stars seem like the wrong approach. It's a private, very expensive (since you have to pay for one full year) celebrity crush network that is not a TV show in any shape or form. So while it could be useful for users that have paid for a full year of access, it's not really a fit and not really useful for anyone else. Note that most "locked" proper TV shows (Amazon, Netflix, HBO etc.) are available for one month only subscribers. Imagine the outcry if you had to pay for a full year to view a new show on Netflix!

Note that these are my private thoughts, but it may help to explain why online classes never have been allowed as TV shows. And the one semi-exception we have (exercise videos) are typically only allowed as entries set to video:true in the movie section.

I am brand-new to TMDB, so I'm unfamiliar with the culture of these discussions... but I have to say that this policy seems capricious and mean-spirited to me.

If the purpose of the database is to provide open-source information, who is served by excluding something that people have an interest in? I mean, I understand that bad data makes a database worse, but certainly the TMDB schema could be updated to include content like MasterClass courses... I mean, there's no real reason not to and, if people want it and are willing to do the work to include it, what's the harm?

Like I said, I'm a newbie, and I don't know who @travis is... but I've read what little "here's what TMDB is and what it's for" information that's on the site and there doesn't seem to be any set of policies which rule out something like MasterClass. @4KVOD made what seems to me to be a compelling case in his earlier post... the whole issue puzzles me.

At this point TMDb is still a movie and TV database, not an online course database. Other users want us to add music videos, commercials, theme park attractions, video games, illegal music bootlegs, viral YouTube videos, amateur films, fan films, fan edits etc.

I mean, there's no real reason not to and, if people want it and are willing to do the work to include it, what's the harm?

The same argument can be made for any content currently not allowed. As with those users, my best suggestion is for you, or someone else, to create a unique database for online courses. I'm sure there would be interest. Imagine all the private lectures/classes from all universities in the world in one place. Good luck!

Now I'm even more confused.

The one season of MasterClass which I tentatively created in the database was deleted, I assume as a result of this discussion. The automatic message I received included a note to this page, in the New Content Bible. This is where you look to "find out which types of content are supported by TMDb, and which ones aren't."

The list of things not supported on that page, does not include "online classes." As a matter of fact, the category of Training Programs is supported, and that is what seems to be the correct category for MasterClass videos. Of course, these videos can not each be added as one entry marked as a video, since each Course includes several episodes.

Again, I'm a newbie, but, as @lineker said above, "TVDB adds a lot of content that is not TV as TV shows if there is a demand for it." Seems like this discussion demonstrates that there's a demand for the inclusion of MasterClass. @4KVOD demonstrated that it could be ported from the TVDB with relatively little effort and the Bible seems to indicate that it should be classified as a TV show.

I think we've got a case.

Some things are so far outside of what we support that it isn't mentioned. But since you are the first to not get it, I added a new section.

@sdimbert said:

Again, I'm a newbie, but, as @lineker said above, "TVDB adds a lot of content that is not TV as TV shows if there is a demand for it." Seems like this discussion demonstrates that there's a demand for the inclusion of MasterClass. @4KVOD demonstrated that it could be ported from the TVDB with relatively little effort and the Bible seems to indicate that it should be classified as a TV show.

I think that comment lineker made about TVDB was a criticism of their site- not an endorsement.. That unlike tvdb, this site, tmdb does not simply add all sorts of content based on there being demand for it.