MRSS Feed XML Format: Required Fields and Full Schema

Media RSS (MRSS) is an XML-based syndication format with a specific schema that distribution platforms expect to find. This reference covers every element in the MRSS structure — from the root namespace declaration through all media: extension elements — with attribute definitions, valid values, and a complete annotated example you can use as a starting point.

Document Structure Overview

An MRSS feed is an RSS 2.0 document with the media namespace added. The structure is:

<rss version="2.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/">
  <channel>
    <!-- Channel-level fields -->
    <item>
      <!-- RSS item fields -->
      <!-- media: extension elements -->
    </item>
    <item>...</item>
  </channel>
</rss>

The namespace declaration xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" must appear on the root <rss> element. Without it, all media: prefixed elements will cause an "undefined namespace" parsing error.

Channel-Level Fields

Channel fields describe the feed itself — not individual videos. These appear once inside <channel>:

* <language> is required by Roku. <image> (channel logo) is required by several CTV platforms including Roku Direct Publisher and Samsung TV+.

Item-Level RSS Fields

Each <item> represents one video. The standard RSS fields that apply:

media:content — The Core MRSS Element

<media:content> is the primary extension element. It replaces the <enclosure> tag from basic RSS and carries all video-specific metadata as attributes:

<media:content
  url="https://cdn.example.com/video.mp4"
  type="video/mp4"
  medium="video"
  duration="183"
  width="1920"
  height="1080"
  bitrate="4500"
  fileSize="102400000"
  isDefault="true"/>

* duration is required by MSN Video and Fire TV. Always include it.

media:thumbnail

The thumbnail element provides the preview image shown in platform directories, search results, and grid views:

<media:thumbnail
  url="https://cdn.example.com/thumb.jpg"
  width="1280"
  height="720"/>

MSN requires 16:9 ratio thumbnails at minimum 1280×720. Fire TV requires 1280×720 specifically. Always include width and height attributes.

media:title and media:description

These elements mirror the item-level <title> and <description> but belong to the media namespace and apply specifically to the media object. Some platforms read them in preference to the RSS item fields:

<media:title type="plain">My Video Title</media:title>
<media:description type="plain">Full description of the video.</media:description>

The type attribute accepts plain (default) or html. Use plain unless your description contains HTML markup.

media:category

Assigns the content to a category within the platform's taxonomy. The scheme attribute points to the classification system being used:

<media:category scheme="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/">News</media:category>

Most platforms have specific category values they accept. Using a category string outside their taxonomy results in the item being placed in a generic bucket or rejected. MSN, Yahoo, and Samsung all publish their category taxonomies in their partner documentation.

media:rating

Declares the content rating so platforms can apply appropriate audience filters:

<media:rating scheme="urn:mpaa">g</media:rating>
<media:rating scheme="urn:simple">nonadult</media:rating>

Valid schemes: urn:mpaa (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17), urn:v-chip (TV-Y through TV-MA), urn:simple (adult or nonadult). MSN Video requires a rating element. Default to urn:simple with nonadult for general audience content.

media:credit

Identifies the creator, producer, or publisher of the content:

<media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">Your Organization Name</media:credit>

Valid roles include author, producer, provider. Yahoo News Video requires this element and uses it for attribution in their player.

media:restriction

Limits where content can be distributed. Use for geo-restriction or platform-specific rights:

<!-- Allow only US and CA -->
<media:restriction relationship="allow" type="country">us ca</media:restriction>

<!-- Restrict from specific URI -->
<media:restriction relationship="deny" type="uri">https://competitor.com</media:restriction>

media:group

Groups multiple renditions (quality levels) of the same content under one item. Useful when you have 4K, 1080p, and 720p versions of the same video:

<media:group>
  <media:content url="https://cdn.example.com/video-4k.mp4"
                 type="video/mp4" width="3840" height="2160"
                 bitrate="20000" isDefault="false"/>
  <media:content url="https://cdn.example.com/video-1080p.mp4"
                 type="video/mp4" width="1920" height="1080"
                 bitrate="4500" isDefault="true"/>
  <media:content url="https://cdn.example.com/video-720p.mp4"
                 type="video/mp4" width="1280" height="720"
                 bitrate="2500" isDefault="false"/>
  <media:thumbnail url="https://cdn.example.com/thumb.jpg"
                   width="1280" height="720"/>
  <media:title>My Video Title</media:title>
</media:group>

Elements inside <media:group> apply to all members of the group. The platform selects the appropriate rendition for the viewer's connection speed.

Complete Annotated Example

A fully formed MRSS item with all recommended elements:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
     xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/">
  <channel>
    <title>Your Channel Name</title>
    <link>https://yourchannel.com</link>
    <description>News and analysis for your audience.</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <lastBuildDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>

    <item>
      <title>Breaking: Tech Market Update — April 14, 2026</title>
      <link>https://yourchannel.com/videos/tech-update-apr14</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">vc-20260414-tech-001</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2026 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
      <description>Markets reacted sharply this morning
        following the Federal Reserve's latest guidance.
        Full analysis from our economics desk.</description>

      <media:content
        url="https://cdn.yourchannel.com/videos/tech-update-apr14.mp4"
        type="video/mp4"
        medium="video"
        duration="183"
        width="1920"
        height="1080"
        bitrate="4500"
        fileSize="102400000"/>

      <media:thumbnail
        url="https://cdn.yourchannel.com/thumbs/tech-update-apr14.jpg"
        width="1280"
        height="720"/>

      <media:title type="plain">
        Tech Market Update — April 14, 2026
      </media:title>

      <media:description type="plain">
        Markets reacted sharply following the Federal Reserve's
        latest guidance. Full analysis from our economics desk.
      </media:description>

      <media:category scheme="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/">
        News
      </media:category>

      <media:rating scheme="urn:simple">nonadult</media:rating>

      <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
        Your Channel Name
      </media:credit>

    </item>

  </channel>
</rss>

Platform Requirements at a Glance

The safest approach is to populate every element listed above for every item in your feed. Omitting optional fields rarely helps, and missing a platform-required field will cause silent ingest failures.

Generating MRSS Feeds with VideoNest

VideoNest's MRSS generator automatically populates every required and recommended field. When you configure a feed in VideoNest, the system generates the correct namespace declarations, formats duration as integer seconds, builds thumbnail URLs at the correct dimensions for your target platform, applies the appropriate category taxonomy, and adds all required metadata from your video library entries.

The resulting feed URL is a standards-compliant MRSS document ready to submit directly to MSN, Yahoo, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV+, and other distribution partners without any manual XML editing.