Movie database
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Type of site
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Online database for movies, television, and video games |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | Amazon |
| Created by | Col Needham (CEO) |
| Website | www |
| Alexa rank |
 55 up 1 point from February (April 2017[update]) |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Registration is optional for members to participate in comments, ratings, and voting |
| Launched | October 17, 1990 |
| Current status | Active |
The Internet Movie Database (abbreviated IMDb) is an online database of information related to films, television programs and video games, including cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, trivia and reviews, operated by IMDb.com, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.
Launched in 1990 by computer programmer Col Needham, the company was incorporated in the UK as Internet Movie Database Ltd in 1996 with revenue generated through advertising, licensing and partnerships. In 1998 it became a subsidiary of Amazon Inc, who were then able to use it as an advertising resource for selling DVDs and videotapes.
As of April 2017[update], IMDb has approximately 4.2 million titles (including episodes) and 7.8 million personalities in its database, as well as 75 million registered users.
The site enables registered users to submit new material and edits to existing entries. Although all data is checked before going live, the system has been open to abuse and occasional errors are acknowledged. Users are also invited to rate any film on a scale of 1 to 10, and the totals are converted into a weighted mean-rating that is displayed beside each title, with online filters employed to deter ballot-stuffing. The site also featured message boards which stimulate regular debates and dialogue among authenticated users. IMDb shutdown the message boards permanently on February 20, 2017.
Anyone with an internet connection can view the movie and talent pages of IMDb. A registration process is necessary however, to contribute info to the site. A registered user chooses a site name for themselves, and is given a profile page. This profile page also shows how long a registered user has been a member, as well as personal movie ratings (should the user decide to display them), and is also awarded badges representing how many contributions any particular registered user has submitted. These badges range from total contributions made, to independent categories such as photos, trivia, bios, etc. If a registered user or visitor happens to be in the entertainment industry, and has an IMDb page, that user/visitor can add photos to that page by enrolling in IMDbPRO.
Actors, crew, and industry executives can post their own resume and upload photos of themselves for a yearly fee. This fee enrolls them in a membership called IMDbPro. PRO can be accessed by anyone willing to pay the fee, which is $19.99 USD per month, or if paid annually: $149.99, which comes to approximately $12.50 per month USD. Membership enables a user to access the rank order of each industry personality, as well as agent contact information for any actor, producer, director etc. that has an IMDb page. Enrolling in PRO for industry personnel, enables those members the ability to upload a head shot to open their page, as well as the ability to upload hundreds of photos to accompany their page. Anyone can register as a user, and contribute to the site as well as view its content, however those users enrolled in PRO have greater access and privileges.
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