By listening to metadata events, you can gather more information about the playing content or response to custom cues. Each metadata class contains unique media information.
You can listen for metadata events either through the `JWPlayerViewController` or the `JWPlayerView`.
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**JWPlayerViewController**
When using the `JWPlayerViewController` to display your content, this class subscribes to all metadata events and is assigned as each delegate.
Use the following steps to listen for events:
Call `
super()` to inform the `JWPlayerViewController` of the event.Override the delegate methods and read the needed data.
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**JWPlayerView**

The `
JWPlayerViewController` **does not support this approach**.Attempting to follow these steps using the `
JWPlayerViewController` will produce the following results:
The assignment will be unsuccessful.
A warning will be printed to the console announcing that `
JWPlayerViewController` cannot be overridden as a delegate for these events.
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If you are not using `JWPlayerViewController`, use the following steps:
Create your own class which conforms to a specific metadata delegate.
Assign it as the delegate through the `
JWPlayer` object.
| JWMetadataDelegates | Description |
| **dateRangeMetadataDelegate** | Surfaces date range metadata |
| **externalMetadataDelegate** | Surfaces metadata defined by the developer |
| **id3MetadataDelegate** | Surfaces ID3 metadata |
| **mediaMetadataDelegate** | Surfaces metadata about the media content when it first loads |
| **programDateTimeMetadataDelegate** | Surfaces program-date-time metadata |
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## Delegate Methods Reference
When listening for metadata events, use one of the following delegate methods.
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### Date Range
Metadata from the `EXT-X-DATERANGE` tag such as ad markers, content metadata, synchronized events, and program boundaries
Use the following delegate method to listen for Date Range metadata events.
| JWDateRangeMetadataDelegate | Notes |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, dateRangeMetadata metadata: JWDateRangeMetadata)` | Event triggered when the content has entered the date range defined by the metadata cue |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, dateRangeMetadataCueParsed metadata: JWDateRangeMetadata)` | Event triggered when the metadata has been parsed and buffered |
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#### JWDateRangeMetadata Class
The `JWDateRangeMetadata` class contains the following information.
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### External
Metadata cues that can be inserted into the video content and surfaced for specialized use within the application
For example, you can insert an external metadata event to represent a video segment that a user can skip. You may display a button to allow the user to bypass the segment if desired.
The following recipe shows how to add metadata cues to a media item.
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Use the following delegate method to listening for external metadata events.
| JWExternalMetadataDelegate | Notes |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, externalMetadata metadata: JWExternalMetadata)` | Event triggered when the content has entered the time range defined by the metadata cue |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, externalMetadataCueParsed metadata: JWExternalMetadata)` | Event triggered when the metadata has been parsed and buffered |
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#### JWExternalMetadata Class
The `JWExternalMetadata` class has the following information.
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### ID3
​Timed metadata contained in ID3 tags embedded within an HLS stream that carries information such as ad markers, content metadata, and synchronized events
Use the following delegate method to listen for ID3 tag metadata events.
| JWID3MetadataDelegate |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, id3Metadata metadata: JWID3Metadata)` |
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#### JWID3Metadata Class
The `JWID3Metadata` class contains the following information.
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### Media
Additional information about video content known once the video has loaded
Once the media item has been loaded into the player, media metadata can be retrieved. The duration of the content and the base width and height of the content for optimal viewing are examples of media metadata.
The following delegate method is used for listening to media metadata events.
| JWMediaMetadataDelegate | Notes |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, didReceiveMediaMetadata metadata: JWMediaMetadata)` | Event triggered when the video has loaded |
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#### JWMediaMetadata Class
The `JWMediaMetadata` class has the following information.
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### Program Date Time
Absolute data and time at which a particular media segment starts
The `EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME` tag contains the program date time metadata. This tag provides synchronization information to the media player, especially when playing back live streams, as it helps align and synchronize different media segments to their correct playback positions.
The following delegate method is used for listening to Program Date Time metadata events.
| JWProgramDateTimeMetadataDelegate | Notes |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, programDateTimeMetadata metadata: JWProgramDateTimeMetadata)` | Event triggered when the content has entered the time range defined by the metadata cue |
`func jwplayer(\_ player: JWPlayer, programDateTimeMetadataCueParsed metadata: JWProgramDateTimeMetadata)` | Event triggered when the metadata has been parsed and buffered |
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#### JWProgramDateTimeMetadata Class
The `JWProgramDateTimeMetadata` class has the following information.
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