Baseline (database)

Baseline StudioSystems, also known as Baseline, is an American e-commerce company. It was founded in 1982 and licenses its commercial entertainment database, known as Studio System. It is owned by Gracenote, a subsidiary of Tribune Media.

James Monaco founded Baseline in 1982. Their primary product, an entertainment database, was launched in 1985. Monaco left the company in 1992, and Paul Kagan Associates purchased it the follow year. Big Entertainment purchased the database in 1999 and subsequently renamed themselves to Hollywood.com. In 2004, Hollywood.com parent company Hollywood Media purchased rival entertainment database Studio System and merged the two databases. Two years later, The New York Times Company purchased the now-renamed Baseline StudioSystems and integrated it into NYTimes.com, only to sell it back to Hollywood.com in 2011.Gracenote, a subsidiary of Tribune Media, purchased Baseline in 2014, citing a desire to better compete against competitor Rovi.

Prior to its 2004 merge with the Studio System, the database was called Baseline. The combined database, now marketed under the Studio System name, includes information on films, television shows, filmographies, and box office data. After being purchased by Gracenote, it now includes their metadata from the former Tribune Media Services. It is subscription-based. Its data goes back to 1896 and includes works currently in production.