Broadcasters can also make up new values for this code to identify programmes that form part of a particular series; 127 codes are set aside for use as series identifiers. This facility is used by Channel 4 to flag such things as the 7 O'Clock News (code 0x83).
The PTY codes are grouped as follows:
00-0F No information 01-3E Audience type codes 3F Alarm/Emergency identification 40-7F Content codes 80-FE Codes specific to each service (to be defined per channel) FF No programme or series type intended
Here is the table of more detailed Audience type and Content classifications (codes in hex):
0 Undefined 00--0F undefined content 1 Drama & Films 10 movie (general) 11 detective / thriller 12 adventure / western / war 13 science fiction / fantasy / horror 14 comedy 15 soap / melodrama / folklore 16 romance 17 serious / classical / religious / historical drama 18 adult movie 19--1E reserved for future use 1F user defined 2 News / Current Affairs / Social 20 news / current affairs (general) 21 news / weather report 22 news magazine 23 documentary 24 discussion / interview / debate 25 social / political issues / economics (general) 26 magazines / reports / documentary 27 economics / social advisory 28 remarkable people 29--2E reserved for future use 2F user defined 3 Show / Game Show / Leisure hobbies 30 show / game show (general) 31 game show / quiz / contest 32 variety show 33 talk show 34 leisure hobbies (general) 35 tourism / travel 36 handicraft 37 motoring 38 fitness & health 39 cooking 3A advertisement / shopping 3B--3E reserved for future use 3F alarm / emergency identification 4 Sports 40 sports (general) 41 special events (e.g. Olympic games, World Cup etc.) 42 sports magazines 43 football / soccer 44 tennis / squash 45 team sports (excluding football) 46 athletics 47 motor sports 48 water sports 49 winter sports 4A equestrian 4B martial arts 4C local sports 4D--4E reserved for future use 4F user defined 5 Children / Youth / Education / Science 50 children's / youth programmes (general) 51 pre-school children's programmes 52 entertainment programmes for 6 to 14 53 entertainment programmes for 10 to 16 54 informational / educational / school programmes 55 cartoons / puppets 56 educational / science / factual topics (general) 57 nature / animals / environment 58 technology / natural sciences 59 medicine / physiology / psychology 5A foreign countries / expeditions 5B social / spiritual sciences 5C further education 5D languages 5E reserved for future use 5F user defined 6 Music / Ballet / Dance 60 music / ballet / dance (general) 61 rock / pop 62 serious music / classical music 63 folk / traditional music 64 jazz 65 musical / opera 66 ballet 67--6E reserved for future use 6F user defined 7 Arts / Culture (without music) 70 Arts / Culture (without music, general) 71 performing arts 72 fine arts 73 religion 74 popular culture / traditional arts 75 literature 76 film / cinema 77 experimental film / video 78 broadcasting / press 79 new media 7A arts / culture magazines 7B fashion 7C--7E reserved for future use 7F user defined
The channel-specific codes seen so far are all on Channel 4:
81 Brookside 82 Brookside Omnibus 83 7 O'Clock News
If you see any new channel-specific series codes, please let me know.
Thanks to Jim Main for the table of PTY values.