Thoughts on a Future IMDb Video Service

Author: Michael Inouye, Senior Analyst, Consumer Research

Published: 14 Apr 2009

Not too long ago, the Amazon.com company IMDb (Internet Movie Database) added video to its online database. For many, this initial move likely failed to resonate as deeply as other announcements made by more video-centric companies because the video was mostly short-form professional content at the time. Despite the lack of fanfare, however, this particular pairing of video with contextual information could very well usher in a new paradigm for video search and content discovery – especially if IMDb’s vision, as outlined just recently, for a complete catalog of videos/movies ever comes to fruition. Although it is true these two facets (search and content discovery) are near omnipresent components to all online video sites, this particular case presents some intriguing departures from the norm. Does IMDb’s service signal the start of a trend toward centralized portals or hubs for professional content?

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