Most free M3U playlists let you stream live TV channels, but without an EPG (Electronic Program Guide), you won’t see program names, schedules, or show details. Integrating an EPG enhances your IPTV experience by displaying complete TV guides in apps like TiviMate, IPTV Smarters, or Kodi.
This tutorial covers everything you need to know to integrate your M3U playlists with an EPG.
What is an EPG?
An EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is a file that contains program schedules and metadata for TV channels. When linked to your M3U playlist, it allows your IPTV app to display:
- Program names (current and upcoming shows)
- Schedules and timings
- Additional information, like episode titles or descriptions
Without an EPG, your channels will play, but you won’t see any program information, essentially watching TV without context. Most free M3U playlists require a separate EPG source to show the guide data.
How to add an EPG URL to the IPTV app
Adding an EPG to your M3U playlist is straightforward, but the steps vary slightly depending on the app.
TiviMate / IPTV Smarters
- Open Settings → EPG Source → Add EPG URL
- Paste the URL of your EPG file
- Refresh the guide to load program data.
Kodi
- Go to PVR & Live TV → PVR IPTV Simple Client → Configure
- In the M3U Playlist URL field, add your playlist
- In the XMLTV URL field, add your EPG URL
- Save the settings and restart Kodi
Matching channels and fixing EPG mapping issues
Sometimes the EPG doesn’t display program data for specific channels because the channel names or IDs in your M3U playlist don’t match those in the EPG. EPGs link each channel to the guide using its ID, so even minor differences can prevent the program data from displaying correctly.
How to fix it
Open your M3U playlist in a text editor and look for entries like this:
#EXTINF:-1 tvg-id="bbc1.uk" tvg-country="UK" tvg-language="English" tvg-logo="http://example.com/bbc1.png" group-title="UK", BBC One http://example.com/stream/bbc1.m3u8
In the M3U playlist, identify the tvg-id, which is the unique channel identifier used by IPTV apps to match the EPG.
Open your EPG and look for entries like this:
<tv> <channel id="bbc1.uk"> <display-name>BBC One</display-name> <icon src="http://example.com/bbc1.png"/> </channel> </tv>
Check that the tvg-id in your M3U matches the id in the EPG exactly. If it doesn’t, update the tvg-id in the M3U to match the EPG. Pay attention to capitalization, spaces, and punctuation. For example, BBC1 vs BBC One or extra spaces at the end can prevent the guide from displaying correctly.
After checking and updating, save your M3U playlist and refresh the channels list in your app to load the updated program guide.
In our example, both tvg-id and id have the same value, bbc1.uk, so the BBC One channel will have a working guide.
Finally, the tvg-id in the M3U must be unique. Otherwise, the behaviour may become unpredictable.
Wrapping up
Sometimes, a single EPG source doesn’t cover all the channels in your M3U playlist. Using multiple EPG URLs can fill in the gaps and ensure every channel displays the correct program guide.
Either way, integrating an EPG with your M3U playlist takes your IPTV experience to the next level. By matching channels, using multiple EPG sources, and applying a few simple tweaks, you can enjoy smooth, accurate program guides in Kodi, TiviMate, and IPTV Smarters.
If you want to customize your playlists, check out our tutorial on how to create and edit M3U playlists.
Also, don’t miss our list of the best free M3U playlists, which also includes free EPGs.
With this setup, your live TV experience will finally feel complete with no more missing shows or blank guides.
