Former Turner CEO Martin Joins Board of Comscore

Troubled measurement company Comscore said former Turner CEO John Martin has joined its board of directors.

Comscore, once seen as a potential competitor to industry leader Nielsen, has been struggling since accounting issues were discovered in its financial statements three years ago. That led to a distracting re-audit, management changes, new product delays, quarterly losses and pressure from investors.

On April 1, Comscore’s most recent full-time CEO, Bryan Wiener and president Sarah Hoffsetter resigned over differences in how to grow the company.

Comscore said that Martin would assist the company with its financing efforts.

“John's illustrious track record in content and distribution, both from an operator and investor perspective, is world class. His experience will be immensely valuable to our company as we seek to expand cross-platform in all of our market segments,” said Brent Rosenthal, chairman of Comscore’s board.

Martin replaces former GroupM Worldwide chief digital Rob Norman, who stepped down from the board on May 22. Norman will continue as a consultant to the company and the board.

After Turner’s parent Time Warner was acquired by AT&T, Martin was among the senior executives who left the company. Before getting the Turner job, Martin was CFO at Time Warner.

"The media industry is at a pivotal point in time where consumers and brands need to be better served. Comscore is uniquely positioned to deliver standardized and reliable measurement across the media value chain, reaching consumers in an addressable way, across all platforms, that benefits them while also maximizing ROI for brands and marketers. This has never been done before,” Martin said. “Throughout my career, I have led companies through transition, formulated and achieved their strategies, and generated superior shareholder returns. I look forward to working with the Comscore Board and management to achieve this goal.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.