Market intermediaries mitigate frictions, facilitating market participation and thickening the market. However, a thicker market may lead to greater information proliferation and causes evaluation difficulties for the buyers, particularly in markets rife with uncertainties in valuing ideas with a high degree of heterogeneity. Using the launch of IMDbPro as a natural experiment, we examine how the intermediary platform in the film industry affects the transaction of film distribution rights. We find that the launch of a market intermediary leads to a higher likelihood of transactions between independent filmmakers and distributors. Furthermore, films produced by more experienced production teams and more conventional films benefit more from the new opportunities. Our findings highlight the boundary effects of intermediaries in markets featuring high uncertainties.
