diff --git a/internal/metadata/match_candidates.go b/internal/metadata/match_candidates.go
index 335f1e4b..2b0d68fd 100644
--- a/internal/metadata/match_candidates.go
+++ b/internal/metadata/match_candidates.go
@@ -430,6 +430,22 @@ func pickByProviderPriority(group []scoredMatchCandidate, providerPriority []str
 	return &group[0].candidate
 }
 
+// distinctSourceCount returns how many distinct providers (case-insensitive
+// Sources values) appear across the candidate group — i.e. how many independent
+// providers returned this show.
+func distinctSourceCount(group []scoredMatchCandidate) int {
+	seen := make(map[string]struct{})
+	for _, c := range group {
+		for _, s := range c.candidate.Sources {
+			s = strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(s))
+			if s != "" {
+				seen[s] = struct{}{}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return len(seen)
+}
+
 func selectInitialMatchCandidate(hints *MatchHints, candidates []MatchCandidate, providerPriority []string) (*MatchCandidate, bool) {
 	if len(candidates) == 0 {
 		return nil, false
@@ -495,14 +511,19 @@ func selectInitialMatchCandidate(hints *MatchHints, candidates []MatchCandidate,
 	// Residual risk: two different shows with an identical title+year and no
 	// provider IDs would both pass; accepted as low-risk given the title+year+type
 	// corroboration.
-	if hints.Year != 0 && best.candidate.Year == hints.Year &&
-		candidateTypeMatchesHint(hints.Type, best.candidate.ContentType) {
+	if candidateTypeMatchesHint(hints.Type, best.candidate.ContentType) {
 		topGroup := topTieGroup(scoredCandidates)
 		if candidatesAreSingleDistinctShow(best.candidate, topGroup) {
-			// One distinct show, possibly returned by several providers and clearly
-			// ahead of any different show below. Accept it, choosing the winner by
-			// the library's metadata-provider priority (falls back to top-scored).
-			return pickByProviderPriority(topGroup, providerPriority), true
+			yearCorroborated := hints.Year != 0 && best.candidate.Year == hints.Year
+			// Cross-source agreement (the same title+year returned by 2+ distinct
+			// providers, which candidatesAreSingleDistinctShow already verified) is
+			// strong independent corroboration — it stands in for a missing hint year
+			// (folders without a "(YYYY)"). A lone single-source no-year result is NOT
+			// accepted here and stays subject to the single-candidate >=70 gate.
+			multiSourceCorroborated := distinctSourceCount(topGroup) >= 2
+			if yearCorroborated || multiSourceCorroborated {
+				return pickByProviderPriority(topGroup, providerPriority), true
+			}
 		}
 	}
 	if len(scoredCandidates) == 1 {
diff --git a/internal/metadata/match_candidates_select_test.go b/internal/metadata/match_candidates_select_test.go
index 6af943d6..49e23858 100644
--- a/internal/metadata/match_candidates_select_test.go
+++ b/internal/metadata/match_candidates_select_test.go
@@ -77,6 +77,48 @@ func TestSelectInitialMatchCandidate_ConflictingProviderIDsNotAccepted(t *testin
 	}
 }
 
+func TestSelectInitialMatchCandidate_CrossSourceNoHintYearAcceptedByMultiSource(t *testing.T) {
+	// Hint has NO year (0). Both providers return the same show (year 1999), tied.
+	// Multi-source agreement substitutes for the missing hint year.
+	hints := &MatchHints{Title: "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd", Year: 0, Type: "series"}
+	cands := []MatchCandidate{
+		{Title: "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd", Year: 1999, ContentType: "series", Sources: []string{"tvdb"}, ProviderIDs: map[string]string{"tvdb": "72450"}},
+		{Title: "100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd", Year: 1999, ContentType: "series", Sources: []string{"tmdb"}, ProviderIDs: map[string]string{"tmdb": "6518"}},
+	}
+	got, ok := selectInitialMatchCandidate(hints, cands, []string{"tvdb", "tmdb"})
+	if !ok || got == nil || got.ProviderIDs["tvdb"] != "72450" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected tvdb winner via multi-source corroboration, got ok=%v cand=%+v", ok, got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSelectInitialMatchCandidate_CrossSourceNoCandidateYearNotAccepted(t *testing.T) {
+	// Both providers return the same title but neither carries a release year.
+	// Year-equality between two 0-years is meaningless, so
+	// candidatesAreSingleDistinctShow must reject and the multi-source
+	// corroboration arm must NOT fire — otherwise two no-year cross-source
+	// results would auto-accept, over-accepting ambiguous matches.
+	hints := &MatchHints{Title: "Untitled Show", Year: 0, Type: "series"}
+	cands := []MatchCandidate{
+		{Title: "Untitled Show", Year: 0, ContentType: "series", Sources: []string{"tvdb"}, ProviderIDs: map[string]string{"tvdb": "111"}},
+		{Title: "Untitled Show", Year: 0, ContentType: "series", Sources: []string{"tmdb"}, ProviderIDs: map[string]string{"tmdb": "222"}},
+	}
+	if got, ok := selectInitialMatchCandidate(hints, cands, []string{"tvdb", "tmdb"}); ok {
+		t.Fatalf("no-year cross-source candidates must not be auto-accepted, got %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSelectInitialMatchCandidate_LoneNoYearSingleSourceNotAccepted(t *testing.T) {
+	// Single candidate, no hint year, single source: no year corroboration AND only
+	// one source -> must NOT auto-accept (falls to the single-candidate >=70 gate).
+	hints := &MatchHints{Title: "Some Obscure Show", Year: 0, Type: "series"}
+	cands := []MatchCandidate{
+		{Title: "Some Obscure Show", Year: 1999, ContentType: "series", Sources: []string{"tvdb"}, ProviderIDs: map[string]string{"tvdb": "999"}},
+	}
+	if got, ok := selectInitialMatchCandidate(hints, cands, []string{"tvdb"}); ok {
+		t.Fatalf("lone no-year single-source result must not be auto-accepted, got %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestSelectInitialMatchCandidate_CrossSourceTieResolvedByProviderPriority(t *testing.T) {
 	// "100 Days Wild" (2020, series, no shared IDs): TVDB and TMDB each return the correct
 	// show (score 83 each: 45 exact title + 20 year + 12 source + 5 has IDs + 1 richness).