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TVision Insights Raises $11.5M to Meet Accelerating Demand for TV Attention Data

Written by Jonathan Kriner, Director, Marketing | Jul 17, 2018 12:18:36 PM

Data Industry Veteran Luke McGuinness Joins Team as President & Chief Operating Officer

BOSTON -  (July 17, 2018) – TVision Insights, the leader in measuring eyes-on-screen attention to every second of programming and advertising on television, today announced it secured $11.5 million in new funding, led by Accomplice and Jump Capital. The company also announced that Luke McGuinness will become the organization’s first President and Chief Operating Officer.

“This additional investment from our existing investors speaks volumes about both the momentum that we have achieved so far and the opportunity in front of us,” says Yan Liu, CEO of TVision Insights. “These funds will support the expansion of our opt-in, privacy-safe, in-home panel, and the growth of our team in order to meet the incredible demand for our TV attention data.”

Major brands and networks like Mars, Hulu, and ABC, rely on TVision for one-of-a-kind attention data. The funding will accelerate the company’s growth in order to help companies compare viewability across platforms and make smarter advertising decisions with TVision’s data, for example:

  • Advertising and Creative Effectiveness - Brands measure the effectiveness of creative and easily identify ad wear out.
  • Media Planning - Brands buy media based on a program’s ability to capture eyeballs.
  • Ad Sales and Program Research - Networks appropriately value premium content and niche audiences based on viewer attention.

The recent industry event ARF AUDIENCExSCIENCE featured first-of-its-kind data from TVision, and major TV networks promote TVision’s metrics in their Upfront presentations.

“The ARF congratulates TVision on its latest round of financing,” says Paul Donato, CRO, the Advertising Research Foundation.  “As attention and emotion emerge as critical metrics for television audience measurement, TVision has been a true innovator in development of a methodology unique in its analysis.  The ability to passively capture viewer attention to TV in the living room has opened up new avenues for audience understanding and we look forward to continuing our work with TVision in developing essential insights for both advertisers and media sellers.”

McGuinness Joins as President & COO

As the company’s first President & Chief Operating Officer, McGuinness brings 20 years of experience growing information businesses in the data-driven marketing ecosystem, including audience development, data, measurement and analytics. He joins TVision from LiveRamp, where he has been a member of the executive team and has built and run the LiveRamp Data Store.  Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions at Collective, where he drove cross-screen targeting and measurement innovation, and at Experian Hitwise, an audience measurement and competitive intelligence business. In his role at TVision, McGuinness will oversee product, go-to-market, partnerships & business development and operational functions.

“With tens of billions of dollars spent on TV, and an increasing number of options for advertisers as the TV industry innovates, there is growing demand for information by advertisers to help them justify their buying decisions and by media sellers for ways to prove the quality of their offerings,” explains McGuinness. “TVision offers the most compelling solution in market for measuring what was previously unmeasurable  - consumer attention to content and advertising on TV. I’m excited for the opportunity to accelerate our growth and unleash the full potential of attention data in the market.”

Comments from TVision Investors:

Ryan Moore, Accomplice - “TVision is the de facto provider of viewer attention data at the exact time that networks and brands are looking for new ways to value television. With this investment, TVision has the capital needed to accelerate growth in order to stay ahead of demand.”

Yelena Shkolnik, Jump Capital - “The way people consume media is changing quickly, which brings challenge and opportunity for both buyers and sellers of media. TVision’s unique person-level attention data opens the door to optimized campaign strategy across TV and digital, offering a powerful new approach for targeting and attribution.”

 

About TVision Insights

TVision Insights is the television attention measurement company pioneering the way brands, their agencies, and TV networks determine the true value of their video content and advertising. The company’s core technology uses patented computer vision algorithms to passively measure “eyes on screen”, the single most accurate way to measure person-level engagement with video content. TVision’s fully opt-in, panel-based TV measurement service generates second-by-second attention data from recruited, compensated panel participants who install proprietary technology in their home. Founded by two MIT alumni, TVision Insights is a venture-backed company headquartered in Boston with offices in New York and Tokyo.