MUMBAI: IMDb is betting that entertainment companies will pay handsomely for insights into what 250 million monthly users are actually watching. The world’s largest film and television database will unveil four new datasets at Amsterdam’s IBC Show next week, marking its most aggressive push yet into the lucrative data licensing market.
The move comes as streaming giants, traditional broadcasters and content creators scramble for competitive advantages in an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape. Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and dozens of rivals are spending billions on original programming, making data-driven content decisions more valuable than ever.
The new offerings include regional popularity rankings for the top 1,000 titles and entertainment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, plus historical data tracking weekly rankings since 1998. Companies can slice the data by 13 individual countries, from the United States to South Korea—crucial intelligence as entertainment firms expand globally and tailor content for local audiences.
“Licensing data and insights from IMDb empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions,” said IMDb chief executive Nikki Santoro. The datasets draw from IMDbPro’s Starmeter and Moviemeter rankings, which track page views across the platform’s massive user base—a real-time barometer of viewer interest that predates actual viewing figures.
This granular approach to entertainment analytics represents a significant evolution from IMDb’s origins as a simple film database. The company now positions itself as an intelligence provider for an industry where a single misjudged content acquisition can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Studios, streaming services, airlines and electronics manufacturers are already using IMDb’s existing data to inform content acquisition strategies and investment decisions. Airlines, for instance, use popularity rankings to curate in-flight entertainment libraries, while streaming platforms analyse regional preferences to guide their international expansion strategies.
The company fulfils licensing through Amazon Web Services’ Data Exchange platform, making it easier for corporate clients to access the information. This integration with AWS—Amazon’s cloud computing arm—underscores the tech giant’s broader ambitions in entertainment infrastructure, complementing its Prime Video streaming service and MGM Studios acquisition.
Industry analysts suggest the timing is shrewd. As traditional television ratings lose relevance and streaming platforms guard their viewing data jealously, third-party metrics become increasingly valuable. IMDb’s dataset spans nearly three decades, offering historical context that newer analytics firms cannot match.
The four new datasets complement IMDb’s existing “Essential Metadata” and “Box Office Mojo” packages. The regional popularity data updates weekly, providing near real-time insights into shifting viewer preferences across different markets. For global entertainment companies, this granularity could prove decisive in programming decisions and talent acquisition.
Santoro will join a panel on women in artificial intelligence and media at the IBC Show on September 12th, alongside executives from Nvidia, Fabric and Backlight. The event, hosted by AWS at Amsterdam’s Apollo Hotel, reflects the growing convergence between entertainment and technology as streaming platforms battle for viewers’ attention using increasingly sophisticated algorithms and data analysis.
The broader implications extend beyond entertainment. As artificial intelligence reshapes content recommendation engines and production decisions, IMDb’s vast trove of user behaviour data becomes a critical resource for training machine learning models. The company’s datasets could help predict which actors, directors or genres will resonate with specific demographics—intelligence worth millions in an industry where hits and flops are often separated by razor-thin margins.
Non-profit organisations and software developers also license IMDb data, suggesting applications beyond traditional entertainment companies. Academic researchers studying cultural trends, app developers building recommendation systems, and marketing firms analysing celebrity endorsement potential all represent potential customers for IMDb’s expanded offerings.
Companies interested in licensing IMDb’s datasets can learn more at developer.imdb.com or arrange meetings by emailing imdb-licensing@imdb.com. With the IBC Show attracting thousands of industry professionals, IMDb’s timing appears calculated to maximise exposure during one of the entertainment industry’s most important networking events.
