Academic Beginnings
The Baseline story began in 1980, when New York-based author and film academic James
Monaco (HOW TO READ A FILM), attending a demonstration of the technology being developed
by fledgling electronic publisher Lexis/Nexis, learned that an article of his had
been reprinted in The Washington Post. Jim’s subsequent vision of studio executives
using a Lexis-type configuration of computer terminals hardwired to phone lines
to access the filmographies of working professionals led to the creation of Baseline
Inc. in 1982. Within a year Jim had a staff of dedicated film buffs crammed into
a SoHo office suite, keying film data into Alpha Micro terminals running a pioneering
database program called STAR. Calling themselves “Baseliners” this team
established a tracking system and set of editorial policies that are largely intact
to this day.
Information Revolution
In another time and place, Los Angeles 1999, a small company named FilmTracker emerged
as the “It” tool for savvy Hollywood assistants looking to harness the
potential of the Internet to facilitate the sharing of time-sensitive business intelligence.
As high-flying Internet ventures came and went, FilmTracker persevered, its customer
base and visibility in the film community growing steadily.
In 2001 Hollywood Media Corp (NASDAQ: HOLL) acquired FilmTracker and merged its
operations with Baseline, which the company had also acquired in 1999. Baseline/FilmTracker
combined Baseline’s massive archive of historical data with FilmTracker’s
superior database technology and industry relationships. Hollywood Media then acquired
Baseline’s primary competitor, Studio Systems Inc., in 2004.
The Industry Standard
Baseline StudioSystems quickly established itself as the industry-standard destination
for verified film and television business intelligence. Used companywide by every
major film studio and broadcast network and containing information on more than
1.5 million entertainment professionals, the firm’s flagship product (now
known as The Studio System) is widely considered to be the most comprehensive film
and television database in existence. The firm’s growing data syndication
business added Yahoo!, Comcast, Real.com, Hollywood.com and E! Online.
New Chapter
In August 2006 Baseline StudioSystems became a part of The New York Times Company.
The acquisition affirmed Baseline’s market-leading position and set the stage
for continued growth of its core businesses.
The Baseline story mirrors that of the information revolution itself: it’s
a story of passionate people pushing the limits of technology to better the world
by facilitating access to accurate information. As it enters its third decade, Baseline
looks forward to forging a future as distinctive as its past.