Goldman Sachs to put $325 million into iSpot.tv

Goldman Sachs to Invest $325 Million into iSpot.tv to Accelerate Modern TV Measurement Currencies

NYC and BELLEVUE — iSpot.tv, the real-time cross-platform TV ad measurement company, today announced it has signed an agreement with funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“Goldman Sachs”) for a $325 million investment.

iSpot, which has raised $58 million since being founded in April 2012, now generates over $100 million in annual recurring revenues. Through its proprietary technologies and extensive collaboration with more than 400 of the largest brands and media networks in the U.S., iSpot’s digital approach to cataloging and measuring TV ads on linear and streaming has earned wide adoption and trust for its speed, scale, precision and actionability. The company’s unique ability to measure full funnel activity enables advertisers to understand the brand impact of ad creative, the business outcomes that happen as a result of exposures and provides second-by-second transparency into TV investments.

“This team has modernized TV measurement and has achieved a lot of groundbreaking innovations for the industry in our first ten years in business,” said Sean Muller, CEO of iSpot. “As we enter our second decade, the investment and support from Goldman Sachs will help fuel the next generation of innovations and accelerate our ability to be the trusted cross-screen currency of choice.”

Goldman Sachs’ acquisition of a significant minority stake comes as iSpot’s utility as a TV currency is gaining adoption. iSpot recently completed 60 currency pilots between NBCUniversal, agency holding companies and brands surrounding the Olympics, Super Bowl and Q1 inventory across NBCU linear and streaming properties. In March, NBCUniversal named iSpot a preferred trading currency for the 2022 Upfront season, and WarnerMedia and Paramount utilized iSpot in a currency pilot for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

“We have been very impressed with iSpot’s world-class data analytics software platform and proprietary systems which have been purpose-built for the increasingly dynamic video measurement space,” said Leonard Seevers, Partner and Head of Media Investment for the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Sean and the iSpot team to drive long-term growth and value creation together.”

“We believe iSpot’s industry-leading scale in viewership data and its ability to deliver cross-screen audience and performance measurement in real time uniquely position the company to support the TV advertisement ecosystem in advancing the industry’s measurement standards,” added Joon Park, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “We look forward to supporting the iSpot team in their exciting journey ahead.”

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has an extensive investing track record in data analytics, software and marketing technology, with select prior investments including TransUnion, Innovid, GumGum and HUMAN. Goldman Sachs joins Insight Partners and Madrona Venture Group as primary investors.

The investment will be deployed to accelerate growth and adoption of real-time, cross-platform TV ad verification, audience measurement and performance metrics for the buy and sell side. That includes scaling engineering and product development, expanding the sales and customer success footprint, continuing to enhance the currencies for the marketplace to transact on for TV and video, and acquiring complementary businesses.

iSpot has 350 employees and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, with regional offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. In recent years, iSpot has acquired three other real-time ad measurement companies: Ace Metrix, a leader in creative assessment and measurement of consumer sentiment and the brand impact of TV advertising; DRMetrix, which developed expertise in measuring dynamic messaging detection and addressable advertising; and Tunity, which measures out-of-home TV viewership via its popular Tunity app.

Jefferies Group and Luma Partners acted as financial advisors to iSpot, and Fox Rothschild LLP provided legal counsel in connection with the transaction. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP provided legal counsel to Goldman Sachs in connection with the transaction.