Amid Criticism, IMDb Founder Col Needham Steps Down as CEO After 35 Years
The founder of IMDb has stepped down as CEO almost 35 years after launching the online database for entertainment information. Col Needham will be succeeded by Nikki Santoro, who has been IMDb’s chief operating officer since 2021. Variety earlier reported the news.
IMDb has been criticized by film and TV buffs over the years for, among other things, disbanding its message board community, and launching redesigns of the site they feel were unnecessary and made the site harder to navigate. Amazon bought IMDb back in 1998, and the company claims to have more than 250 million monthly users. Despite complaints, it is perhaps still the best place to find accurate and up-to-date information on casting and in-depth filmography for individual actors.
IMDb has tried in recent years to keep up with the times and launch new products—Amazon’s well-regarded X-Ray feature on its Prime Video streaming service can display the actors appearing in any moment of a film or TV show, and is powered by IMDb’s database. IMDb also launched a free, ad-supported streaming service of its own called IMDb TV, though that was discontinued in late 2024 and free content was rolled into Prime Video (it is still accessible without paying).
