Cover Image Guidelines for Titles

These rules explain which images are acceptable as main cover images for titles in the database. Submissions that do not follow these rules will be rejected. The goal is to represent each title accurately, consistently, and based strictly on official promotional materials, regardless of platform presentation or popularity.

Official Promotional Material Only

The main cover image must be official promotional material released by an authorized source.

Acceptable sources include:

• Official broadcaster, platform, production company, or distributor websites

• Official title websites

• Official press materials

• Official social media accounts of the broadcaster, platform, production company, or distributor

• Officially released posters, key visuals, branding visuals, or program identity images

The following are not allowed under any circumstances:

• Fan-made posters or edits

• Wallpapers or decorative images

• Screenshots or scene stills

• Platform UI artwork, thumbnails, banners, or carousel images

• Database-generated or aggregator-created covers

• AI-generated or AI-altered images

Popularity, circulation, or repeated reuse does not make an image official.

Correct Market & Release Identity

The main cover image must reflect the title’s official release identity in its primary market.

Key principles:

• The correct poster is determined by official origin and intended market, not by language, platform visibility, or aesthetics

• Domestic promotional materials take priority over:

  • international posters

  • festival posters

  • platform redesigns

  • overseas marketing visuals

• Language alone does not determine correctness

Co-productions:

• The primary release market defines the correct main cover

• Secondary-market posters:

  • may exist

  • may be uploaded as additional images

  • must not replace the primary market’s promotional visual unless no primary-market visual exists

Festival and international posters:

• May be used only when no domestic promotional visual exists

• Are considered temporary stand-ins

• Must be replaced once an official domestic promotional visual becomes available

Poster Integrity (No Cropping / Cleaning / Reconstruction)

All submitted cover images must preserve the original design and layout.

The following are not allowed:

• Cropping or trimming

• Removing titles, logos, credits, or text

• “Clean” or textless versions

• Recoloring, retouching, sharpening, or filtering

• Rebuilding or reconstructing layouts

• AI enhancement or upscaling

• Reassembled banners or composites

All official branding elements must remain fully intact.

Poster Orientation and Format Rules

Core Principle

All main cover images must be submitted in vertical format. Orientation alone does not determine correctness — the official main promotional visual always takes precedence.

Approved formats include

• Official vertical posters when they are the main promotional visual

• Rotated versions of official horizontal posters when the horizontal poster is the primary or most widely used main promotional visual

Rotation Rules

If the official main promotional poster is horizontal:

• It must be rotated to vertical format before submission

• Rotation is permitted only when no official vertical version of that same poster exists

When rotating

• The bottom of the original image must face the right side

• The entire original poster must remain intact

• No cropping, rebuilding, redesigning, or “cleaning” is allowed

Not allowed

• Submitting unrotated horizontal posters

• Cropping or reconstructing images to force a vertical layout

• Using vertical images that are not the official main promotional visual

Scope & Entry Matching

The cover image must exactly match the scope of the page it represents.

Correct usage:

• Program-level posters on program pages

• Season-specific posters on season pages only when officially released

• Separate visuals for:

  • split titles

  • multi-part works

  • specials

  • anthology entries

  • spin-offs

Not allowed:

• Reusing posters across different titles

• Reusing parent-title visuals for spin-offs

• Reusing series posters for specials or bonus episodes

• Episode-specific visuals used as title-level covers

Each separately listed database entry must use its own corresponding official visual, when one exists.

Legacy & Archival Titles

For older or legacy titles, approved covers may include:

• Original-era promotional posters

• Lower-resolution or scanned materials when no better version survives

• Archival promotional materials such as:

  • posters

  • flyers

  • press sheets

  • pamphlets

Key principle:

Historical authenticity takes priority over visual quality. Older titles are not required to meet modern design standards.

TV Program Visual Rules

Many TV programs do not have traditional posters.

When no poster exists, acceptable alternatives include:

• Official program logos

• Official branding or identity visuals

Accepted alternatives must be:

• Officially released

• Clean and unmodified

• Clearly intended to represent the program as a whole

Not acceptable:

• Episode stills

• Scene screenshots

• Host or cast portraits

• Platform thumbnails or UI images

Covers must not be changed due to:

• host or cast changes

• concept refreshes

• seasonal branding

• platform presentation differences

A cover may be updated only if an official replacement visual was released and clearly adopted as the new primary promotional image.

Placeholders & Missing Visuals

When no official promotional visual exists:

• Users must not upload:

  • fan edits

  • mock posters

  • reconstructed images

  • placeholders

• A custom database placeholder is applied and maintained only by the approval staff

This applies to:

• Not-yet-aired titles

• Titles with no surviving promotional materials

• All content types (Drama, Movie, TV Program)

Once an official promotional visual becomes available, the placeholder will be replaced.

Stability & Replacement Rules

Do not submit new cover images simply because:

• a new teaser was released

• a newer image looks “better”

• a platform updated its listing image

• a different poster appears online

Cover images should be changed only if:

• the official main promotional visual has clearly changed, and

• the new visual represents the title’s stable, primary identity

Temporary, campaign, or event visuals do not replace release identity.

Final Authority & Review Process

Even if an image:

• appears on a streaming platform

• is widely used online

• is hosted by aggregators or databases

…it may still be rejected if it does not meet these guidelines.

Final cover image decisions follow internal review rules and are made by approval staff.

Country-Specific Cover Image Guidelines for Titles

China

Hong Kong

Japan

Philippines

Singapore

South Korea

Taiwan

Thailand

Examples

• Approved / Preferred Examples

• Rejected / Not Acceptable Examples

Quick Check Before You Submit

This quick checklist is designed to help you verify that a cover image meets all core requirements before submitting. Reviewing it first can save time, avoid rejections, and ensure covers remain accurate and consistent across the database.

• Quick Check