TiVo to Acquire Company That Tracks Shopping Behavior

DVR pioneer TiVo has agreed to acquire TRA, which tracks what TV viewers watch and buy, for about $20 million.

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TRA, in which TiVo was already an investor, matches TV exposures from 1.5 million TV homes with specific purchase transactions. "The acquisition is expected to create a powerful combination of insights that will offer the TV advertising industry Internet-level measurement and accountability accelerating TiVo's position in the billion dollar television analytics business," the company said Tuesday.

TRA's TV network clients include CBS, A&E Television Networks and ION Media.

Tom Rogers, CEO and president of TiVo said" "TV has long been the best medium for advertisers to influence what consumers buy. TRA has proven its platform can determine the effectiveness of TV advertising by connecting the exposure of ads to actual purchases, helping advertisers identify the right audience and get the most out of their ad dollars."

He added: "TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending."

David Poltrack, chief research officer of CBS Corp., said: "At CBS, we have used the TRA...platform since its inception as the solution to demonstrate increased accountability in television. We are pleased to see these two leading innovators come together to continue their efforts to connect viewing with purchases and prove the return on investment of television."

TiVo expects the transaction to close this month. It said the transaction would add to its adjusted operating cash flow in its next fiscal year.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai