Zap2It Labs Discontinuing Free TV Guide Service

QuijiboIsAWord writes "Zap2It Labs, which provides free TV listing data for personal use, has long been the main source of program guide information for users in the US and beyond. They've announced via their webpage that, due to abuse of the service, data will no longer be available after September 1st. There is no other direct source, and no option to pay for the service even if the users wanted to. Without a data feed of this type, users will be reduced to scraping websites at best. Is this going to be a killing blow for MythTV?"

Comments

Re:Anybody know what the "abuse" was?

[ChaosDiscord]

Based on their previous complaints and this message, I think the problem was people were using the free data set, then redistributing it, probably for profit, possibly indirectly (say, selling devices that used Zap2It's free service). Zap2It makes money selling their data set and they were very generously offering it for free to individuals. But you weren't allow to redistribute it.

Re:Anybody know what the "abuse" was?

[Minwee]

According to a posting on mythtv.org...

Some reasons and other comments given for the scheduled discontinuence, copied from the forum, copied from the mailing list:

• Continued use of the service to support commercial products, in violation of the agreement.
• Commercial products continued to grow despite previous appeals that this activity stop.
• There are significant changes to the supporting data structure forthcoming and we could not devote resources to the continued upkeep and enhancements of the service.
• Maintenance of the service is impacting our resource pool for other projects.
• We sought alternative options but were unable to find a solution.
• We recognize the hardship this creates for the user community. We are open to alternative solutions and would consider proposals that met the needs of the user community and our company.
• We looked into options to turn this into a paid service however we do not have the infrastructure at this time.

Google should provide a WebService

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouldn't Google or Yahoo or Microsoft or any of the other big media / tech companies of the 21st century provide this information as a free WebService? Seems like something Google would jump on top of since their mission statement is to organize the worlds information. Well, TV listings is information.... get on that Google!

Re:Myth will survive

[gurps_npc]

MYTH TV offers everything TIVO does plus:

Not having to pay a monthly fee to automatically record shows you watched previously

Not having to deal with commercials inserted when you fast forward 30 seconds.

Now, if they could only find a way to strip thos FREAKIN' RUDE graphics that certain vile channels overlay on top of the movie/show. I can deal with a tiny little station identification, but those rude obnoxious ads obscure vital parts of the show about one out of every 3 times. I swear my Blood pressure goes through the roof.