Programming Metadata Communication Protocol

This protocol, defined in the Advanced Television Systems Committee's A/76B [1], provides broadcasters in ATSC countries a standardized means to exchange PSIP-related data among systems that manage this data. This typically involves Listing Services, Program Management Systems, Traffic Systems, and Automation Systems, which all contribute a portion of the PSIP data to a PSIP Generator.

PSIP itself is the Program and System Information Protocol, which is used to provide system information and program guide data to viewers of over-the-air ATSC digital television signals.

At the heart of PMCP is an XML Schema (actually a collection of XML Schema Definition files), which provide a standardized structure into which PSIP-related data may be exchanged. PMCP does not dictate systems' internal database structures; it is simply a protocol for the exchange of data.

PMCP may be transported between systems in a variety of forms. It may be exchanged as files, messages, or web services.

PMCP's development is managed by the ATSC's TSG/S1 group, which meets as needed, and reports to the Technology and Standards Group within the ATSC. It is an open, due process group, with a diverse membership, which during the heydey of PMCP development, numbered in the dozens.

PMCP was first published as A/76 in November of 2004 [2], and enjoys adoption from a variety of broadcast equipment and system vendors. A revision to the standard, A/76B, was released in 2007, primarily as a result of requests to make the schema more modular, and to support data services.