Rentrak acquires Kantar Media’s U.S.-Based Television Measurement Assets
October 10, 2014
Rentrak has agreed to acquire the U.S. television measurement business of WPP’s Kantar business unit for $98 million in Rentrak common stock.
The transaction, when closed, will include Kantar Media’s customer contracts and customer relationships involved in U.S. television measurement, creating the benefits of clarity and simplicity for clients in the U.S. TV ratings marketplace with a single massive and passive TV measurement ratings service. This transaction gives Rentrak and Kantar better scale to rapidly innovate their products and services in the United States. No Kantar Media TV measurement or global development capabilities outside of the United States are affected by this transaction.
Under the agreement, Rentrak will also integrate its national and local TV measurement with a number of Kantar’s U.S.-based services that focus on digital media, advertising expenditure and purchase data. The integration will provide advertisers, agencies, TV networks, multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) and local television stations throughout the U.S. with even more powerful tools to understand consumers’ purchasing habits and the ability to link TV viewing habits with purchase and other behavior in the United States.
“The combined expertise of Kantar and Rentrak will enable clients to better comprehend and leverage the relationship between United States TV viewing and brands,” said Kantar CEO Eric Salama. “We are excited about the future products that we can develop with Rentrak for the U.S. television industry. Clients will benefit from our focus on respondent-level media and purchase data.”
“This agreement is designed to help all of our U.S. agency and TV advertiser clients with new services in television measurement and consumer insights,” said Rentrak’s Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Livek. “We are thrilled to be working with WPP and look forward to partnering with Kantar to provide the marketplace with the best next generation of services.”
