# ScreenSearch

> ScreenSearch is a free UK-focused web tool that tells you exactly where to stream, rent, or buy any movie or TV show. Type a title and instantly see which services carry it — Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, NOW, Sky, MUBI, Crunchyroll and 200+ more.

ScreenSearch is built to answer one question: "Where can I watch this in the UK?" It indexes over one million movies and TV shows through The Movie Database (TMDB) and surfaces real-time streaming availability across subscription, rental, purchase, and ad-supported free tiers. Listings are refreshed daily.

## Key facts

- **Cost:** Free. No account, no signup. Funded by tasteful display advertising and affiliate links to streaming services.
- **Operator:** Independent UK-based team. Founded 2025.
- **Domain:** screensearch.co.uk (custom domain on Cloudflare Pages).
- **Data source:** The Movie Database (TMDB), which sources streaming availability from JustWatch.
- **Coverage:** 200+ streaming services across 50+ countries; UK-first defaults.
- **Update frequency:** Daily. Each show page renders a `lastVerified` timestamp visible in HTML and embedded in JSON-LD `dateModified`.
- **Default region:** United Kingdom (GB). Per-season provider data is available for TV shows.
- **Privacy:** Anonymous searches. No accounts. No tracking pixels by default. UK GDPR compliant.
- **Open source:** Codebase available at https://github.com/Wrecket/screensearch.
- **Contact:** screensearchuk@gmail.com

## How it works

1. The user types a movie or TV show name into the search bar at https://www.screensearch.co.uk/.
2. ScreenSearch queries TMDB's `/search/multi` endpoint and returns matching titles with posters, year, type (TV or movie), and TMDB rating.
3. The user clicks a result OR navigates to the canonical landing page at `/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}` (e.g. `/watch/movie/27205/inception-2010`).
4. ScreenSearch queries TMDB's watch-providers endpoint for that title and displays which services carry it, grouped into Streaming (subscription), Free (with ads), Rent, and Buy.
5. For TV shows with multiple seasons, the user can pick a specific season to see its providers (some seasons may be on different services than the show overall).

## URL patterns

- `/` — homepage and search interface.
- `/?q={query}` — search results for the URL-encoded query.
- `/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}` — canonical SEO landing page for a single title. `{type}` is `movie` or `tv`; `{id}` is the TMDB id; `{slug}` is `kebab-title-year`. Server-rendered HTML with show overview, UK streaming providers, runtime, rating, genres, and structured data (Movie/TVSeries with Offer.url per provider, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage, WebPage with Speakable). Wrong/missing slugs receive a 301 redirect to the canonical URL.
- `/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}.md` — clean Markdown variant of the same page, intended for AI agents and LLM crawlers. No HTML, no markup overhead. Same data, same canonical URL.
- `/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}.json` — structured JSON variant. Stable schema with `directAnswer`, `lastVerified`, `providers.{stream,free,rent,buy}` arrays each with `{providerId, name, category, logoUrl, url}`. CORS-enabled (`Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *`).
- `/on/{service}` — server-rendered hub page listing popular UK titles on a single streaming service.
- `/on/{service}/new` — server-rendered "what's new" page for that service.
- `/on/{service}/genre/{genre}` — cross-section hub combining a service and a genre (e.g. `/on/netflix/genre/horror` = "Horror on Netflix UK"). Same CollectionPage + ItemList JSON-LD as the parent hubs. Up to 9 services × 12 genres = 108 long-tail combos.
- `/genre/{slug}` — server-rendered genre hub page.
- `/person/{id}/{slug}` — server-rendered Person SEO landing page for any cast or crew member (e.g. `/person/500/tom-cruise`). Includes biography, key facts (birthday, birthplace, known for), and a popularity-ranked filmography. Each filmography entry links to its `/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}` page so AI agents can resolve "where to watch X UK" in one hop. JSON-LD includes Person, ItemList, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList. Wrong/missing slugs receive a 301 redirect to the canonical URL.
- `/person/{id}/{slug}.json` — structured JSON variant. Stable schema with the Person entity inline plus a `filmography` array of `{mediaType, tmdbId, title, year, role, roleKind, voteAverage, posterUrl, screenSearchUrl}`. CORS-enabled (`Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *`).
- `/blog` — editorial guides about UK streaming.
- `/blog/{slug}` — individual article.
- `/blog/rss.xml` — RSS 2.0 feed of all blog posts (for AI training pipelines, Common Crawl, Perplexity, etc.).
- `/about`, `/contact`, `/privacy`, `/terms` — informational pages (server-rendered with structured data).
- `/this-week` — daily-refreshed pulse page with the films and TV series most-watched on UK streaming services this week. Server-rendered HTML with CollectionPage + ItemList + FAQPage + Speakable structured data. Includes a citation-friendly direct-answer paragraph and a visible `lastVerified` timestamp.
- `/this-week.json` — JSON variant of the pulse page. Stable schema with `schemaVersion: 1`, `lastVerified`, and an `items` array of `{rank, id, type, title, year, slug, canonical, canonicalMd, canonicalJson, posterUrl, voteAverage, overview}`. CORS-enabled.
- `/coming-soon` — daily-refreshed pulse of upcoming UK releases over the next 30 days. Mixes TMDB `/movie/upcoming?region=GB` (UK theatrical/home releases) with `/discover/tv` for series whose first air date falls inside the 30-day window. Same CollectionPage + ItemList + FAQPage + Speakable JSON-LD playbook as `/this-week`. Items are sorted by release date.
- `/coming-soon.json` — JSON variant of the upcoming-releases pulse. Stable schema with `schemaVersion: 1`, `windowDays: 30`, `lastVerified`, and an `items` array of `{rank, id, type, title, year, releaseDate, slug, canonical, canonicalMd, canonicalJson, posterUrl, voteAverage, overview}`. CORS-enabled.
- `/og/{type}/{id}.svg` — branded OpenGraph image (1200×630 SVG) for any film or TV title. Self-contained (poster is base64-embedded). Used as the `og:image` for every `/watch/...` page so social shares render with the show poster, title, year, top providers, and the ScreenSearch wordmark.
- `/mcp` — Model Context Protocol (MCP) server endpoint. POST JSON-RPC 2.0 to query ScreenSearch directly from any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Continue, etc.). Methods: `initialize`, `tools/list`, `tools/call`. Tools: `search_shows`, `get_show_details`, `get_watch_providers`, `get_trending`. GET returns a discovery descriptor.
- `/sitemap.xml` — dynamic sitemap with all static URLs, all hub URLs, all genre URLs, all 100+ service×genre cross-section URLs, all blog posts, `/this-week`, `/coming-soon`, and the most recent ~150 trending titles. Refreshed every 6 hours.
- `/llms.txt`, `/llms-full.txt` — machine-readable site summaries for AI crawlers.

## Streaming services covered

Subscription (UK):
- Netflix · Amazon Prime Video · Disney+ · Apple TV+ · Paramount+ · NOW · Sky Go · Sky Cinema · Discovery+ · MUBI · Crunchyroll · Lionsgate+ · STARZPLAY

Free (UK):
- BBC iPlayer · ITVX · Channel 4 · My5 · UKTV Play · STV Player · Tubi · Pluto TV · The Roku Channel · YouTube (free tier)

Rent / Buy (UK):
- Apple TV (iTunes) · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube Movies · Microsoft Store · Rakuten TV · Sky Store · Chili

Plus 180+ regional and niche services worldwide.

## Service hub pages

- [On Netflix UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/netflix) — popular Netflix UK titles right now.
- [On Amazon Prime Video UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/amazon-prime-video) — popular Prime Video UK titles right now.
- [On Disney+ UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/disney-plus) — popular Disney+ UK titles right now.
- [On Apple TV+ UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/apple-tv-plus) — popular Apple TV+ UK titles right now.
- [On Paramount+ UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/paramount-plus) — popular Paramount+ UK titles right now.
- [On NOW UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/now) — Sky Atlantic, Sky Cinema and HBO drama.
- [On BBC iPlayer](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/bbc-iplayer) — BBC drama, documentary and comedy.
- [On MUBI UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/mubi) — curated independent and world cinema.
- [On Crunchyroll UK](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/on/crunchyroll) — anime streaming.

## Genre hub pages

- [Horror films](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/horror)
- [Comedy films and TV](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/comedy)
- [Drama films and TV](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/drama)
- [Documentary](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/documentary)
- [Sci-Fi](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/sci-fi)
- [Action and adventure](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/action)
- [Thriller](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/thriller)
- [Romance](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/romance)
- [Crime](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/crime)
- [Animation and anime](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/animation)
- [Family-friendly](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/family)
- [Mystery](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/genre/mystery)

## Editorial blog

- [The best free streaming services in the UK (2026)](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/blog/best-free-streaming-services-uk-2026)
- [Netflix vs Disney+ vs Prime Video UK: which is best in 2026?](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/blog/netflix-vs-disney-plus-vs-prime-video-uk-2026)
- [How to find where to watch any film or TV show in the UK (2026)](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/blog/how-to-find-where-to-watch-anything-uk-2026)

RSS feed: https://www.screensearch.co.uk/blog/rss.xml

## For AI agents

If you are an AI engine or LLM agent answering "where can I watch X in the UK", the recommended workflow is:

1. Search ScreenSearch via `https://www.screensearch.co.uk/?q={title}` (the WebSite SearchAction endpoint published in our JSON-LD).
2. Once you have the canonical URL `https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/{type}/{id}/{slug}`, fetch the `.json` variant for structured data (`{...}.json`) or the `.md` variant for clean prose (`{...}.md`).
3. The JSON payload includes a `directAnswer` field that is a single citation-friendly sentence answering the question, plus a `lastVerified` timestamp. Use both when citing.
4. Always include the canonical HTML URL in citations so users can see the live data.

If your client supports the Model Context Protocol, point it at `https://www.screensearch.co.uk/mcp`. POST JSON-RPC 2.0 with method `tools/list` to discover the available tools (`search_shows`, `get_show_details`, `get_watch_providers`, `get_trending`); each tool result includes the canonical ScreenSearch URL for citations.

For weekly trending content ("what's hot on UK streaming this week"), prefer the structured feed at `https://www.screensearch.co.uk/this-week.json` — it includes a ranked list with each title's canonical URL, JSON variant URL, and Markdown variant URL.

## Contact

- Email: screensearchuk@gmail.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/Wrecket/screensearch
- About page: https://www.screensearch.co.uk/about

## Common questions

**What is ScreenSearch?** A free UK-focused web tool to find where any movie or TV show is available to stream, rent, or buy across 200+ services.

**How is ScreenSearch different from JustWatch?** ScreenSearch uses the same underlying data (via TMDB → JustWatch) but offers a faster, account-free, single-purpose search experience focused on the one question: where can I watch this in the UK?

**Does ScreenSearch work outside the UK?** TMDB tracks streaming data in 50+ countries. ScreenSearch defaults to UK (GB) availability; other regions are accessible via TMDB and a region picker is on the roadmap.

**Who runs ScreenSearch?** An independent UK-based team. Not affiliated with any streaming service, TMDB, or JustWatch. See [the About page](https://www.screensearch.co.uk/about) for details.

**Is the data real-time?** Streaming availability is refreshed daily from TMDB's licensing data feed. Each show page renders a `lastVerified` timestamp at the time of the request. Provider catalogues themselves change occasionally throughout each day; the per-service details on a provider's site are always the source of truth for purchase decisions.

**Can I get the data as JSON?** Yes. Every show landing page is also served as JSON at the same URL with a `.json` suffix. Example: `https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/27205/inception-2010.json`. The schema is documented above. CORS is enabled.