Research firm Simulmedia, which uses set-top data to help advertisers buy TV spots more effectively, entered into a deal to license a subset of FourthWall Media's data collected from 5 million digital cable set-tops.
Simulmedia uses anonymized data from more than 15 million set-tops representing more than 30 million viewers to help advertisers reach key demographics. On top of that the company is licensing "most but not all" of the FourthWall set-top data, according to a Simulmedia spokesman.
FourthWall Media collects real-time set-top and provides demographic reports and analysis of that activity for all cable channels available within each participating system. The company cannot disclose which MSOs it works with, FourthWall executive vice president of marketing Dan Levinson said.
In May, FourthWall announced it was licensing set-top box data and a report-processing system from Microsoft Advertising. Under that deal, FourthWall assumed daily operations of Microsoft Advertising's set-top collection and analytics framework as part of its AdAim Network.
"Simulmedia will use FourthWall data in combination with multiple other data sources including Nielsen and GfK MRI and TiVo among others, enabling us to improve the value of the television inventory," Simulmedia founder and CEO Dave Morgan said in a statement. "That FourthWall Media provides demographic as well as second-by-second set top box viewing data will be invaluable in helping Simulmedia's media inventory partners increase yield and drive incremental revenue."
Added FourthWall CEO Tim Peters, "Together with Simulmedia, we can tap into the value of this data and lead the industry toward more efficient advertising and more engaged viewers."
Simulmedia said in the past year, the company executed more than 200 campaigns for national marketers and their agencies. It claims those ad buys had results that were 25% to 300% better than with "traditional TV ad scheduling and targeting methods."
New York-based Simulmedia is backed by Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Time Warner Inc.
