Since the creation of the World Wide Web, 90% of the US population is consuming entertainment content in one way or the other. From traditional mediums such as newspapers and magazines to digital platforms, there has always been a demand for entertainment content. Many popular news websites work hard to provide light-hearted content in a presentable manner. They aren’t focused on hard news alone and are always revolutionizing the ways in which we consume content.
One such brand which is amongst the most popular websites on the planet is CinemaBlend – An entertainment hub that offers its visitors comprehensive information about everything entertainment. From movies, tv shows, and videos to podcasts, reviews, and Superheroes, you’ll get content on every subject.
What is CinemaBlend?
CinemaBlend is the world’s most popular independent entertainment site. It provides content such as reports, features, interviews, podcasts on a wide variety of niches such as television, movies, video games, fantasy, and pop culture. In recent times, CinemaBlend has become a hub for audiences seeking a daily dose of content. The success of the platform can be measured in terms of the pageviews.
CinemaBlend attracts 13 million unique visitors and 29 million page views every month. With all the mind-boggling stats, they still take incredible effort to keep its audience invested. And they always succeed because their approach is audience-oriented. They don’t gatekeep or judge any suggestion that comes their way. If readers want to know about something and there’s a buzz, you’ll definitely get CinemaBlend’s opinion and perspective on the subject.
History
CinemaBlend began its journey in Portland, Oregon in the year 2003. Within less than two decades, the platform has become one of the hottest infotainment hubs on the planet. CinemaBlend has a team of 25 people with Mack Rawden – VP, Erika Leonard – COO and Jessica Rawden – News Director being the key figures in the company. Cinemablend’s independent journalism allows it to keep diverse viewpoints and engage with the audience.
Why should you stream on CinemaBlend?
CinemaBlend is a platform where people with diverse backgrounds can keep their points, argue, advocate and talk about showbiz. From the latest gossip surrounding stars to sequels of blockbuster movies, you’d find everything on the platform.
Fresh Content
CinemaBlend updates its content regularly. Every day you’ll find a plethora of content on a variety of topics such as movies, tv shows, reviews, streaming sites, podcasts, and blockbuster series. From hot topics to featured shows and recommendations, you’ll find a lot of content related to entertainment history.
Movie Reviews
I certainly do not trust Rotten Tomatoes when it comes to reviews, especially after their ‘Sticks and Stones’ controversy. Though I like IMDb, I like to rely on reviews provided by experts who have a knack of explaining the movies well. These are detailed reviews that capture every little nuance and even offer final ratings for you to decide whether it’s worth spending your money and time on that content or not.
Streaming Information
The rise of streaming websites has created business avenues not just for themselves but also for content websites that like to talk about streaming services. Under this section, you’ll find numerous ways in which you can stream a particular content. People who rely on streaming services for content aren’t even aware of many titles available on the network. CinemaBlend helps them to discover existing content and learn more about the titles they have already watched.
Video Content
The availability of video content allows you to watch highlights, breaking news, gossip and other stories surrounding celebrities, movies or tv. Not everybody wants to read and thus they can spend time watching videos on this website or on CinemaBlend’s YouTube channel. Apart from the general content, there are exclusive interviews and concept videos which are loved by the audience from around the world.
Amazing Interface
This could easily have been the first point but I wanted to highlight the content prowess on CinemaBlend. I really like the website layout and user-interface. It’s quite user-friendly – browsing and navigating around the website is seamless.
Design
CinemaBlend follows the popular black-yellow color combination used by many news websites. I’ve seen a similar color combination on one of the UK’s most-read websites – Joe.co.uk. The only difference is that the thickness and usage of fonts and colors are quite minimal on CinemaBlend.
Header
The header section of CinemaBlend has 12 options – Movies, TV, Heroes, Upcoming, Reviews, To 3D, Videos, Podcasts, Streaming, Newsletter and Star Wars. On the right side, you can find the following social media icons – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Flipboard. On the right corner, you can also find a search bar where you can search for any content directly.
Hero Section
It’s sad to see a leaderboard banner ad right in the hero section. I’ve expressed my displeasure towards this advertisement approach because it neglects user experience. Apart from the ad, you’ll find the most recent column on the left, news at the center and the trending column on the right. Each of these sections has 4-5 news stories which you can read. The center stage is given to the most important content piece. For instance, at the time of writing, ‘The 2020 Best Picture Nominees Ranked, According to CinemaBlend’ was at the center of this website.
Body
The body section has a pure news layout with various sub-sections. You can find 2020 Oscars coverage as its early February, and as you scroll down, you’ll find dozens of trending news followed by the video section. On the left, you’ll find a big window whereas towards the right you have a playlist of videos that you can scroll using the sidebar. If you move further, there’s the latest reviews section which covers all the recent releases. Followed by that, you’ll find movies section and podcasts which you can stream on the platform itself.
Footer
The footer section has four different columns – Key Links, Categories, Information, and Connect. Under Key Links, you’ll find options such as 2020 New Movie Releases, 2020 Netflix releases, 2020 TV and streaming premiere, MCU Gateway and DCEU Gateway. Under categories, you’ll find options that are similar to the ones in the header section. Under the information tab, you can access ‘About Us’, ‘FAQ’, ‘Privacy Policy’, ‘Jobs’ and ‘Contact’. Finally, the Connect section has links to all the social media platforms similar to what we saw in the header section.
Inner Pages
To access the inner pages, you’ll be required to click on any of the categories. Upon doing so, you’ll land on a specific page with news and content related to that niche. The inner pages similar to the homepage begin with a leaderboard banner and a small 336×280 banner on the right. As you scroll further, you’ll find more banner ads along with numerous other sections.
Content
CinemaBlend is not a passive content website and it is updated regularly. Thus, you’ll find dozens of news and featured stories every day. Whether you click on the movies section or reviews section, you’ll get access to fresh content every single day. As opposed to Heavy.com which covers a wide range of subjects, CinemaBlend purely focuses on Entertainment.
I really love their reviews, podcasts and concept posts. For instance, ‘’9 Shows you should stream if you like Star Wars’ the Mandalorian. Such titles help the users to expand their horizons and think farther than what’s being shown on mainstream media. Other than that, you can find cast details, trailers, and more.
Desktop/Mobile experience
I like CinemaBlend’s user interface. I checked the website on my laptop and my Google Pixel 3a and I didn’t face any nagging issues. Apart from the well-placed ads, there aren’t specific downsides to this platform. It provides a respectable browsing experience with quick page loads. Even navigating the website is smooth and the video content plays without any lag or buffering.
Plans & Pricing
CinemaBlend is a free platform. There’s no subscription or donation that you need to make to read content on the website.
Suggestions I have for CinemaBlend
Though CinemaBlend is already a top-notch website, it does have a lot of room for improvement. Adding sliders on the homepage will make the page more appealing. The homepage being the most visited page needs to provide that out-of-the-box experience and I feel the developers can pull it off in no time.
Conclusion
If you love entertainment gossip, news, and fantasy content, you should totally check out CinemaBlend. It does what it says – provides the best entertainment content in the US. From video content to podcasts, everything is fresh and feels original.
