We are spoiled for choice in the streaming world these days. Not only do we have multi-app content libraries to choose from, including Hollywood classics and new releases straight out of the theater, but the competition is so hot that Amazon, HBO, Netflix and Disney are constantly competing. for our attention with new and exclusive exclusives.
Even with a well-curated watchlist, deciding what to watch across multiple services can be a complicated time waster as you comb through all of your streaming subscriptions to find exactly what you’re looking for for that evening’s viewing session.
Amazon thinks it has the answer, in the form of a new app that, for now at least, is exclusive to the Fire TV platform. Leveraging Amazon-owned IMDB’s database of movie and TV trivia, it gamifies your picks to help you land on the exact movies or TV shows for the mood you’re feeling.
How it works and what Amazon earns
The “IMDB What to Watch” app first asks what streaming services you have access to, before presenting you with a few games to narrow down your options.
The first is pretty simple: it scans your services, collects their libraries, and then throws out three options to choose from (or shuffle through) without having to dive into each individual service to see what’s on them.
The next one is a bit more refined. “This or That” will ask you a series of questions, like choices between genders, to help you refine your choices down to selected options.
Finally, the app presents you with curated collections of related movies (such as the “Movies Made in Paris” pictured) and challenges you to watch and rate them all within a given time period, awarding badges to those who participate.
Amazon promises that a few more in-app games are on the way, too: one that brings together movies based on a dream cast of your choosing, and a “Time Machine” game that presumably features choices based on some sort of historical metric. either that time or perhaps an actor’s repertoire through the ages.
Amazon makes good use of its IMDB knowledge base with the Amazon Prime stream, which has an “x-ray” feature to show you information about a show or movie as you watch, right down to precise star details as you watch. reproduce. appear on the screen in a given scene.
And while the new free IMDB gaming app comprehensively supports the libraries of multiple rival streamers, you can be sure that Amazon will get valuable insights from it. What do users choose most often when presented with a choice between multiple services? Which stars are most popular? What genres? Which piece of art from the movie is most likely to generate a click?
You may not have to pay for the app, but Amazon will make sure you still get some value from using it. And the more data it can access, the better – we’d be surprised if the app didn’t break free of Fire TV exclusivity before too long.