F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions)
Is Watchmode a movie API?
Yes. Watchmode is a movie API and TV show API for apps that need searchable metadata, title IDs, ratings, genres, release dates, trailers, similar titles, and streaming availability in one data source. Watchmode provides data only; it does not host, stream, or provide direct access to movies or TV shows. Viewers must watch through the streaming services themselves, with a separate subscription, rental, or purchase where required.
Can I use Watchmode as a streaming availability API?
Yes. Watchmode returns which services have a movie, show, season, or episode available in each supported country. It includes subscription, rent, buy, free, and TV provider availability where supported by the API plan.
What kind of apps can be built with Watchmode?
Just about anything you can dream of related to streaming movies & shows can be built with Watchmode. Universal search and discovery apps are one of the main use cases. You can build a feature or app allowing your users to search for movies & shows across their streaming services using Watchmode data. Recommendation apps are also popular. For example, you can build an app that recommends the best sci-fi movies on Netflix or the most popular shows in US streaming right now. Customers also use Watchmode for catalog analysis, streaming-content research, and programmatic editorial content.
How does Watchmode compare to other streaming availability data providers?
One of the main reasons we launched the Watchmode Streaming Availability API was because we couldn't get high quality data for our user-facing Watchmode app from third parties. We built our own import system because the app needed broad service coverage, accurate sources, links, and episode-level detail. Watchmode is built for teams that need serious coverage without enterprise-only contracts. It returns web links, episode links, and iOS/Android deeplinks that many low-cost providers do not include.
What data points can Watchmode return for movies or shows?
Watchmode can return title descriptions, runtime, ratings, content ratings, genres, release dates, trailers, IDs, similar titles, networks, user enjoyment ratings, critic scores, relevance and popularity scores, cast and crew, and awards and nominations. The core dataset is streaming availability by country, including subscription, rental, purchase, free, and TV app availability, plus streaming release dates and the dates titles leave each service. For TV shows, Watchmode can also return seasons, episodes, episode links, and episode-level source availability.
Does Watchmode have live sports schedules or TV listings?
Yes. Watchmode returns live sports and award-show schedules in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, with the streaming services and TV channel apps carrying each event and web, iOS, and Android links where available. The free Developer plan includes a sample of up to 25 events; Startup covers the past 7 days through the next 7 days; Business and Enterprise include all available dates, full schedule downloads, local-channel filtering by US TV market, and a US TV guide with channel listings. Watchmode returns schedules and where to watch, not live scores or stats. See the Live TV, Sports & Events docs.
Does Watchmode include awards data?
Yes. Watchmode returns wins and nominations for the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTA, SAG, DGA, WGA, and PGA by title, person, award edition, and category, and you can filter title lists by award. Free accounts get a sample covering 25 titles and 10 people; paid plans include the full awards history. See the awards documentation.
Can I use Watchmode instead of a Netflix API, Hulu API, or Prime Video API?
Yes, if your goal is to know which movies and shows are available on those services. Watchmode is not affiliated with Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max or other streaming services, and it does not provide video playback. Instead, Watchmode returns streaming availability, provider IDs, web links, deeplinks, episode links, and metadata across many services through one API.
Does Watchmode provide video streaming API playback?
No. Watchmode is not a video playback API and does not stream copyrighted content. It is a metadata and streaming availability API that tells your app where titles can be watched and returns links or deeplinks to supported provider destinations.
Is there a free movie API key?
Yes. The Developer plan includes 2,500 free monthly API credits for non-commercial use. You can request a free Watchmode API key without a credit card.
What countries does Watchmode support?
Watchmode supports 54 total countries, for a full list use the Regions endpoint.
How do I know what the Watchmode ID of every movie and show is?
There are a few ways to map movies & tv shows in your app to the Watchmode IDs. One super easy way is to download this CSV file, which contains the Watchmode ID, IMDB ID and TMDB ID of every movie and show in our system and is updated daily: /datasets/title_id_map.csv
You can also use the /search/ endpoint to lookup a title by name, IMDB ID or TMDB ID and get back the Watchmode ID.
Can I cache the Watchmode data into my own database?
Yes! Many of our customers download the data they want into a database and query the API regularly to keep the data in sync. We provide a set of Changes Endpoints to allow you to know what has changed on our end so you can keep the dataset in sync without having to query the API for titles that haven't changed.
Do I have to delete cached data after 30 days?
Not on a paid plan. Paid subscribers can keep Watchmode data stored in their own systems for as long as their subscription is active, with no fixed expiration, as long as it is only used within their own website or app and kept reasonably current (the Changes Endpoints exist for exactly this). Free plan users, who display our data with attribution, should refresh or delete cached data within 30 days so end users don't see stale results. All accounts must delete stored data if they cancel. See the Terms & Conditions for the full wording.
How often is the data updated, and how often do certain data items change?
The dataset is updated every day. As streaming providers for each movie/show change, the data is rapidly updated to reflect that. We also import new movies & shows every day as they are announced. Our list of "sources" only changes when a new streaming service is released, so usually when our customers build applications, they import the "sources" once, and check for changes on an interval (such as monthly). Our paying customers can use the Changes Premium Endpoints to keep the dataset in sync any time something changes.
How do plan upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations work?
Upgrades start after you pay the full monthly price difference. Downgrades and cancellations take effect at your next renewal. Changing plans doesn't reset the credits you've already used in the current quota cycle.
