In what seems like an obvious move now that it has happened, Amazon’s IMDB (Internet Movie Database) has added streaming videos to the site. Sure, they offered trailers before, but now we’re talking full-length movies and television shows.
IMDB has tapped CBS, Hulu, Sony Pictures Television, and over 500 independent filmmakers to provide the video, which so far includes hit shows like “24”, “The Office”, and “CSI”, as well as old ones like “Beverly Hills 90210”, “Star Trek”, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Also, courtesy of NBC and Hulu, users will be able to view some of the new Fall line-up premieres before they even air on television.
“IMDb’s mission has always been to be the world’s most comprehensive, user-friendly destination for all movie, TV and celebrity-related information, products and services,” said Col Needham, founder and managing director of IMDB. “We’re excited to offer our users a simple online experience to watch full-length movies and TV episodes for free. Our goal is to show our users every movie and TV show on the Internet for free on IMDb.com.”
To view the content, users can check out the featured content page, which will presumably be updated on a regular basis. Users can also search for a title like normal, and now there will be options on the movie’s page to view the videos if they exist for said title. There is a “Watch Now” button in the upper corner of the left-hand column, and a video box in the top section of the main page next to the trailer boxes.
If IMDB is successful with its goal of showing users every movie and TV show on the Internet for free, than the site will likely become the place to go for online video content. The site is already very popular just for looking up information about movies, and with the actual content there, it will be bigger than ever. With IMDB being a subsidiary of Amazon, I wouldn’t be surprised to see fee-based streaming new releases end up on the site either.
