Rentrak is strong in census-based worldwide movie and video-on-demand measurement, as well as TV. Each Rentrak share will be converted into a right to receive 1.15 shares of comScore, which will leave comScore shareholders with about two-thirds of the combined company. After the merger, ComScore shareholders will own about 66.5% of the combined company, with Rentrak shareholders owning the rest.
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Advertising executives rely on independent measurement to help them allocate marketing dollars, including the roughly $70 billion they plow into TV each year. “At the same time, we’ve seen the emergence of digital media, which has expanded from the PC to mobile to an increasing number of connected devices in the home”.
“Rentrak’s biggest challenge is that they don’t have the core television data, which you need as you move to total audience”, Clarizio said, adding of the viewr panels that form the core of Nielsen’s business, “And they don’t have the panels that we do”.
ComScore, which specializes in digital measurement, will join forces with Rentrak, which tracks set-top box data to measure television viewing. “They just want the best possible measurement”.
“In terms of people power, comScore and Rentrak bring to the combined organisation deep knowledge, experience, expertise and skill”.
Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed merger, comScore intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4, which will include a preliminary prospectus and related materials to register the shares of comScore common stock to be issued in the merger, and comScore and Rentrak intend to file a joint proxy statement/prospectus and other documents concerning the proposed merger with the SEC. The deal is valued by a few at about $732 million, based on today’s closing stock market share price. “This merger also recognizes the critical importance of combining digital and TV assets for next generation media measurement”.
“All of that panic that ensued on Disney meltdown day happened because there’s not correct measurement in the marketplace”, Livek said. “This merger will accelerate the pace of that innovation, and offer an improved solution for cross-platform measurement, not available anywhere else”, Livek said in a statement. ( SCOR ) said Tuesday that it has agreed to buy film and TV viewership tracker Rentrak Corp.
“We are going to build a cross-platform currency”, said Serge Matta, chief executive of comScore, who will lead the combined company.
Artie Bulgrin, ESPN’s SVP of Global Research & Analytics, whose team laid the groundwork for cross-platform measurement by collaborating with comScore on the original Project Blueprint, said the merger represented a huge advancement for TV and cross-platform measurement.
ComScore has collaborated on a few cross platform measurement, through Project Blueprint, launched a year ago to provide data to ESPN.
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“We have entered a new era of media accountability where massive data sets are unlocking more detailed insights about how advertising exposure influences in-store purchase”.
