EPG Templates¶

The panel generates XMLTV-format EPG files consumed by IPTV players, Plex/Jellyfin DVR, Dispatcharr, Threadfin, and similar middleware. Every aspect of the generated XML is driven by named EPG templates assigned per-competition or per-competition-group.

Template Assignment¶

Each competition (or competition group) has an epg_template_id pointing to a row in the epg_templates table. Assign templates in:

Edit Competitions — per-competition dropdown
Competition Groups — per-group dropdown

If unassigned, built-in defaults apply.

Template Fields¶

Field	Where Used	Description
`name`	UI only	Human label (e.g. "Football", "MMA")
`live_title`	Main events	Title template for live events
`live_desc`	Main events	Description template for live events
`upcoming_title`	Filler blocks	Title for upcoming-event fillers
`upcoming_desc`	Filler blocks	Description for upcoming-event fillers
`fallback_title`	Filler blocks	Title when no future event exists
`fallback_desc`	Filler blocks	Description when no future event exists
`category`	All programmes	Sport/genre label (e.g. `Soccer`, `MMA`)
`poster_url`	Main events	URL pattern for programme artwork
`include_date`	All programmes	Add `<date>` tag (YYYYMMDD)
`include_live`	Main events	Add `<live />` tag
`include_new`	Main events	Add `<new />` tag

Template Variables¶

The engine supports 90+ variables across 13 categories, built by the centralized resolveTemplateVars() function.

In the template editor, the variable reference panel lists every available placeholder. Click any variable tag to insert it at the cursor position in the currently focused template field. If no field is focused, the variable is inserted into the Live Title field by default.

Identity¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{title}`	`Essen vs. Bayern Munich`	Full DAZN event title
`{team1}`	`Essen`	First team (parsed from title)
`{team2}`	`Bayern Munich`	Second team
`{team1_short}`	`Essen`	Short name (first word if multi-word)
`{team2_short}`	`Bayern`	Short name
`{team1_abbrev}`	`ESS`	3-letter abbreviation (uppercase)
`{team2_abbrev}`	`BAY`	3-letter abbreviation
`{team1_pascal}`	`Essen`	PascalCase
`{team2_pascal}`	`BayernMunich`	PascalCase
`{team1_normalize}`	`essen`	Alphanumeric lowercase (for URLs)
`{team2_normalize}`	`bayernmunich`	Alphanumeric lowercase
`{team1_abbrev_lower}`	`ess`	3-letter abbreviation (lowercase)
`{team2_abbrev_lower}`	`bay`	3-letter abbreviation (lowercase)
`{league}`	`Uefa Europa League`	DAZN competition name
`{league_name}`	`Uefa Europa League`	Alias for `{league}`
`{league_normalize}`	`uefaeuropaleague`	Normalized for URLs
`{competition}`	`UEFA_EUROPA_LEAGUE`	DB channel_name
`{competition_normalize}`	`uefaeuropaleague`	Normalized DB name
`{sport}`	`Football`	Sport name
`{sport_lower}`	`football`	Lowercase sport

Home / Away¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{home_team}`	`Essen`	Home team (team1)
`{away_team}`	`Bayern Munich`	Away team (team2)
`{home_team_short}`	`Essen`	Short name
`{away_team_short}`	`Bayern`	Short name
`{home_team_abbrev}`	`ESS`	3-letter abbreviation
`{away_team_abbrev}`	`BAY`	3-letter abbreviation
`{home_team_pascal}`	`Essen`	PascalCase
`{away_team_pascal}`	`BayernMunich`	PascalCase
`{home_team_abbrev_lower}`	`ess`	Lowercase abbreviation
`{away_team_abbrev_lower}`	`bay`	Lowercase abbreviation
`{vs_at}`	`vs`	"vs" or "at" based on context
`{vs_@}`	`vs`	"vs" or "@"

Matchup¶

Variable	Example
`{matchup}`	`Essen vs Bayern Munich`
`{matchup_short}`	`Essen vs Bayern`
`{matchup_abbrev}`	`ESS vs BAY`

Date / Time¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{start_time}`	`7:30 PM`	12-hour formatted time
`{date}`	`March 23, 2026`	Full date
`{game_date}`	`March 23, 2026`	Alias for `{date}`
`{game_date_short}`	`Mar 23`	Short date
`{game_date_numeric}`	`03/23/2026`	Numeric date
`{game_date_iso}`	`2026-03-23`	ISO 8601 date
`{game_day}`	`Monday`	Day of week
`{game_day_short}`	`Mon`	Short day
`{game_time}`	`7:30 PM`	12-hour time
`{game_time_24h}`	`19:30`	24-hour time
`{game_time_short}`	`7:30PM`	Compact time
`{game_month}`	`March`	Full month
`{game_month_short}`	`Mar`	Short month
`{game_year}`	`2026`	Year
`{relative_day}`	`today` / `tomorrow` / `in 3 days`	Relative day
`{relative_day_title}`	`Today` / `Tomorrow`	Title case
`{today_tonight}`	`tonight` / `today`	Time-aware relative
`{today_tonight_title}`	`Tonight` / `Today`	Title case
`{days_until}`	`0` / `1` / `3`	Numeric days until event

Event¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{description}`	(varies)	DAZN event description
`{season}`	`25/26`	Current season string
`{asset_id}`	`abc123def456`	DAZN asset identifier
`{image}`	`img123`	DAZN image identifier
`{image_url}`	`https://image.discovery...`	Full CDN image URL
`{sport_id}`	`289u5typ3vp...`	DAZN sport ID
`{competition_id}`	`1r097lpxe0x...`	DAZN competition ID
`{channel_name}`	`EUROPA01`	Assigned channel name

Venue (TheSportsDB)¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{venue}`	`Signal Iduna Park`	Stadium/arena name
`{venue_city}`	`Dortmund`	Venue city
`{venue_state}`	`Germany`	Venue country (from TSDB `strCountry`)
`{venue_full}`	`Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund`	Venue + city combined

Scores (TheSportsDB)¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{score}`	`2-1`	Combined score
`{team1_score}`	`2`	Team 1 (home) score
`{team2_score}`	`1`	Team 2 (away) score
`{home_team_score}`	`2`	Home team score (alias)
`{away_team_score}`	`1`	Away team score (alias)

Badges & Jerseys (TheSportsDB)¶

Variable	Example
`{team1_badge}`	`https://www.thesportsdb.com/images/media/team/badge/...`
`{team2_badge}`	Team 2 badge URL
`{team1_jersey}`	`https://www.thesportsdb.com/images/media/team/jersey/...`
`{team2_jersey}`	Team 2 jersey URL
`{team1_banner}`	`https://www.thesportsdb.com/images/media/team/banner/...`
`{team2_banner}`	Team 2 banner URL

Playoffs¶

Variable	Example	Description
`{season_type}`	`Regular Season`	Season type

Records (TheSportsDB)¶

Team win/draw/loss records from league standings.

Variable	Example	Description
`{team1_record}`	`22-4-4`	Team 1 season record (W-D-L)
`{team2_record}`	`20-5-5`	Team 2 season record (W-D-L)
`{home_team_record}`	`22-4-4`	Home team record
`{away_team_record}`	`20-5-5`	Away team record

Streaks (TheSportsDB)¶

Current form streaks derived from the league standings form string.

Variable	Example	Description
`{team1_streak}`	`W3`	Team 1 current streak
`{team2_streak}`	`L1`	Team 2 current streak

Standings (TheSportsDB)¶

League position and points from the current season standings table.

Variable	Example	Description
`{team1_position}`	`1`	Team 1 league position
`{team2_position}`	`4`	Team 2 league position
`{team1_points}`	`70`	Team 1 total points
`{team2_points}`	`65`	Team 2 total points
`{playoff_seed}`	`1`	Home team league position
`{games_back}`	`5`	Points behind league leader

XML Tags Generated¶

Every <programme> element includes these tags:

XML Tag	Applies To	Description
`<title>`	All	From `live_title`, `upcoming_title`, or `fallback_title`
`<desc>`	All	From `live_desc`, `upcoming_desc`, or `fallback_desc`
`<category>`	All (if set)	From template `category` field
`<icon src="...">`	Main events (if set)	From template `poster_url`
`<date>`	All (if enabled)	YYYYMMDD format
`<video>`	All	`<quality>HDTV</quality>`
`<audio>`	All	`<stereo>stereo</stereo>`
`<live />`	Main events (if enabled)	Indicates live broadcast
`<new />`	Main events (if enabled)	Indicates first airing

Game Thumbs Integration¶

Game Thumbs is a self-hosted matchup thumbnail service. Set the Poster URL to generate <icon> tags pulling artwork from your Game Thumbs instance.

Poster URL pattern:

http://game-thumbs:3000/{league_normalize}/{team1_normalize}/{team2_normalize}/thumb

Image types:

Suffix	Resolution	Orientation
`/thumb`	1440×1080	Landscape
`/cover`	1080×1440	Portrait
`/logo`	Original / 1024×1024	Square (transparent)

League code mapping — set competition channel_name values to match Game Thumbs league codes:

DAZN Competition	Recommended `channel_name`	Game Thumbs Code
Uefa Europa League	`europa`	`europa`
UEFA Champions League	`uefa`	`uefa`
English Premier League	`epl`	`epl`
La Liga	`laliga`	`laliga`
Serie A	`seriea`	`seriea`
Bundesliga	`bundesliga`	`bundesliga`
Ligue 1	`ligue1`	`ligue1`
MLS	`mls`	`mls`
NFL	`nfl`	`nfl`
UFC	`ufc`	`ufc`
NBA	`nba`	`nba`

Example Output¶

Live event with category and poster URL:

<programme start="20260323193000 +0000"
           stop="20260323220000 +0000"
           channel="EUROPA01">
  <title lang="en">LIVE europa Action: Essen vs. Bayern Munich</title>
  <desc lang="en">Watch as Essen take on Bayern Munich in live action.</desc>
  <category lang="en">Soccer</category>
  <icon src="http://game-thumbs:3000/europa/essen/bayernmunich/thumb" />
  <date>20260323</date>
  <video><quality>HDTV</quality></video>
  <audio><stereo>stereo</stereo></audio>
  <live />
  <new />
</programme>

Filler block (no <live />, <new />, or <icon>):

<programme start="20260323150000 +0000"
           stop="20260323190000 +0000"
           channel="EUROPA01">
  <title lang="en">UPCOMING: Essen vs. Bayern Munich</title>
  <desc lang="en">Upcoming at 7:30 PM Essen vs. Bayern Munich.</desc>
  <category lang="en">Soccer</category>
  <date>20260323</date>
  <video><quality>HDTV</quality></video>
  <audio><stereo>stereo</stereo></audio>
</programme>

Quick Setup¶

Create a template — navigate to EPG Templates → New Template
Set titles/descriptions — use variables like {league}, {team1}, {team2}
Set Category — enter the sport name (e.g. Soccer)
Set Poster URL — paste your Game Thumbs pattern: http://your-host:3000/{league_normalize}/{team1_normalize}/{team2_normalize}/thumb
Enable enrichment tags — check Date, Live, and New as desired
Assign template — select the template in Edit Competitions
Rebuild EPG — click Make Schedule or POST /api?action=build_epg
Point your player — configure IPTV player / Dispatcharr / Threadfin to pull https://dazn.xctv.stream/<epg_filename>