Hello IMDB Community,
I was editing a page to correct the release date of a tv show in Canada and noticed entries for things like the show's DVD Premiere release date. Maybe I'm going blind but I don't see this additional info appear on the show's page either as a separate field or as a dropdown on the release date field. Does it appear somewhere? I'm looking at the app on Android and through the browser.
If it doesn't appear on IMDB then what is the purpose of having it? Is it used by third party apps?
Thanks!
I was editing a page to correct the release date of a tv show in Canada and noticed entries for things like the show's DVD Premiere release date. Maybe I'm going blind but I don't see this additional info appear on the show's page either as a separate field or as a dropdown on the release date field. Does it appear somewhere? I'm looking at the app on Android and through the browser.
If it doesn't appear on IMDB then what is the purpose of having it? Is it used by third party apps?
Thanks!
Posted 2 weeks ago
Peter, Champion
Thanks for the speedy reply Peter. Is there a way to get a URL or share a link out of the app (Android)? That was another question I was going to ask. The episode in question where I found all of these extra entries was Law & Order (1990-21010), S01E01. This episode was showing as airing in June 2013 for Canada which is my country setting. It aired on the same day as the US which was back in 1990 so I went to correct this. I discovered that the June 2013 date was added as the DVD Premiere date for Canada. I can only assume that because there was no default release date set for Canada (meaning the original air date) it defaulted to displaying the 2013 date so I was seeing (through the Android app) that the very first episode aired in 2013 then the following episodes for season 1 showed 1990. I went in to fix the 2013 situation and that's when I saw a few entries for different countries with "DVD Premiere". I don't know how useful this information is given it doesn't seem to display anywhere but it sure can mess up how the release dates display for the episode list.
If you need more info let me know.
Thanks!
If you need more info let me know.
Thanks!
Peter, Champion
Thanks.
The DVD dates do appear on the episode's release date page on the website:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629380/releaseinfo
I am not familiar with the Android app. It's possible that it has no such full listing of the dates.
According to usual IMDb guidelines, a "DVD premiere" date should mean that this is when the show was first released in Canada. If this is not the case, you should be able to add the original Canadian air date and delete the DVD date.
The DVD dates do appear on the episode's release date page on the website:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629380/releaseinfo
I am not familiar with the Android app. It's possible that it has no such full listing of the dates.
According to usual IMDb guidelines, a "DVD premiere" date should mean that this is when the show was first released in Canada. If this is not the case, you should be able to add the original Canadian air date and delete the DVD date.
(Edited)
Thanks for this. I will look through the app again to see if I'm just not seeing it.
As for the guidelines that's good to know. If I remember correctly it ran on one of the Canadian affiliates at the same time as the US although I will go back and research this just in case I'm wrong. What becomes a bit problematic with this DVD Premiere Date is that unless someone adds this to every episode then the episode list looks wonky. See below for the screenshot I took of what I'm seeing. The first episode (Prescription for Death) shows 2013 but all others are 1990.
I just thought of something... Is it considered to be "aired in another country" only if TV station from that country airs it? Example: Law & Order aired on NBC in the US and if I remember correctly it aired on CTV here in Canada at the same time. For the purpose of my question let's say CTV didn't carry it but Canadians were able to watch it at the same time because NBC is bundled with basic cable TV subscriptions. Is that considered to not have aired in Canada at the same time even though we were able to watch it at the same time?
Thanks!
As for the guidelines that's good to know. If I remember correctly it ran on one of the Canadian affiliates at the same time as the US although I will go back and research this just in case I'm wrong. What becomes a bit problematic with this DVD Premiere Date is that unless someone adds this to every episode then the episode list looks wonky. See below for the screenshot I took of what I'm seeing. The first episode (Prescription for Death) shows 2013 but all others are 1990.
I just thought of something... Is it considered to be "aired in another country" only if TV station from that country airs it? Example: Law & Order aired on NBC in the US and if I remember correctly it aired on CTV here in Canada at the same time. For the purpose of my question let's say CTV didn't carry it but Canadians were able to watch it at the same time because NBC is bundled with basic cable TV subscriptions. Is that considered to not have aired in Canada at the same time even though we were able to watch it at the same time?
Thanks!
Peter, Champion
It's a good question. I would think the NBC airing would only count as a US release, but perhaps the data team can give you a definite answer if they see this.
Hopefully they see this because I also have two more questions:
1. If it's not considered as having airied in Canada unless a Canadian TV station shows it then will every episode have to be changed to 2013 for data accuracy?
2. Let's say #1 is true and there happens to be a hybrid situation where the first season didn't air in Canada but was picked up in season 2 by a Canadian station does that mean (if I use the Law & Order example that season 1 would show as 2013 but the following seasons as the date they aired on TV?
I'm going to have to contact the Canadian station in question to see if they did air Law & Order. I know they showed CI and still air SVU but maybe I only saw the original on NBC. I also know for a fact that we've had #2 happen up here. For data accuracy I need to know what's considered as having "aired" in a country.
IMHO I think they should separate these data sets. The original air/release date would appear with each episode or movie then have "other release info" as separate information. The way the data is currently handled gives a poor experience if someone doesn't add the country specific information in its entirety (like what I'm seeing with Law & Order). If the data is separated then the original air date remains intact and if someone doesn't add country specific info or doesn't add it in its entirety then it doesn't affect the episode list.
When I look up info for a show or movie I only care about when it originally premiered. It's irrelevant to me if it finally premiered in my country some years later especially if I was able to see it on the original date via a US station that we get up here. Having said that I'm sure this additional info is used by people or websites using IMDB info which is why having the data separated would be ideal.
Thanks.
1. If it's not considered as having airied in Canada unless a Canadian TV station shows it then will every episode have to be changed to 2013 for data accuracy?
2. Let's say #1 is true and there happens to be a hybrid situation where the first season didn't air in Canada but was picked up in season 2 by a Canadian station does that mean (if I use the Law & Order example that season 1 would show as 2013 but the following seasons as the date they aired on TV?
I'm going to have to contact the Canadian station in question to see if they did air Law & Order. I know they showed CI and still air SVU but maybe I only saw the original on NBC. I also know for a fact that we've had #2 happen up here. For data accuracy I need to know what's considered as having "aired" in a country.
IMHO I think they should separate these data sets. The original air/release date would appear with each episode or movie then have "other release info" as separate information. The way the data is currently handled gives a poor experience if someone doesn't add the country specific information in its entirety (like what I'm seeing with Law & Order). If the data is separated then the original air date remains intact and if someone doesn't add country specific info or doesn't add it in its entirety then it doesn't affect the episode list.
When I look up info for a show or movie I only care about when it originally premiered. It's irrelevant to me if it finally premiered in my country some years later especially if I was able to see it on the original date via a US station that we get up here. Having said that I'm sure this additional info is used by people or websites using IMDB info which is why having the data separated would be ideal.
Thanks.
Grayson, Employee
