Major studios, cable and technology companies announced the launch of an Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) to track movies, TV shows and other.

Likening it to the International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) system used to identify books, members of the initiative said the registry was developed to make it easier for businesses to search, track and report revenue of an asset, cutting costs and streamlining operations. The registry is expected to be available to members in early 2011.

The initiative is backed by Comcast, Walt Disney Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures, Sony Corp, and others, while talks with other parties are ongoing. Most companies currently use disparate systems to catalogue their own entertainment assets, making the process of tracking content across multiple systems difficult.

“We believe this standard will improve the flow of information among the companies we work with throughout the industry,” said Mark Hess, senior vice president of Advanced Business and Technology Development at Comcast.

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