A programme start time is the scheduled beginning of an item in guide data or a published timetable. It must be interpreted with its time zone or offset. This is separate from the moment a viewer receives the programme through a delayed stream, and separate again from the device's local clock settings.
A practical example
A programme can be listed for 20:00 in one time zone and shown at a different local hour on a traveller's device. The player needs to translate the schedule consistently rather than treating every displayed time as belonging to the same country.
A common misunderstanding
Avoid adding an offset before checking the time zone attached to the data. Applying a manual correction to already-correctly translated times can shift the whole guide twice.
Related terms
Stable technical definition. Editorial approach