Digital measurement giant comScore is buying Seattle-based M:Metrics, a leader in mobile measurement, for a price of $44.3 million and about 50,000 options to purchase shares of comScore common stock. The company declared yesterday that the acquisition makes comScore ‘the immediate leader in measuring the emerging and strategically important mobile Internet market.’ M:Metrics has a customer base of over 180 clients, while comScore’s is about 950.
ComScore VP Sales Bryan Segal tells MiC the Toronto office is ‘very happy with this news, as our acquisition of M:Metrics makes comScore an immediate market leader in this space. As for Canada, we are continually working to bring mobile measurement to the marketplace, and the acquisition of M:Metrics will hopefully facilitate and expedite this process.’
M:Metrics’ three primary measurement products are MobiLens, a syndicated monthly online survey that captures overall mobile phone usage (including device info, media consumption and demo characteristics) of more than 40,000 mobile device users; MeterDirect, the industry’s first on-device meter that passively measures the mobile Internet behaviour and media consumption of more than 4,000 existing Smartphone panelists; and M:Ad, which continuously monitors clickable display ads from mobile Web destinations to reveal leading advertisers across a variety of market segments.
MobiLens is available in the US, UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. M:Ad and MeterDirect are currently available in the US and UK. Details of availability in Canada were not available at press time. However, comScore plans to increase the size of the metered panel and will offer measurement of combined Internet usage across both PC and mobile platforms. The company will cross-sell its portfolio of products into the wireless industry, including carriers and device manufacturers. M:Metrics co-founders Will Hodgman, president and CEO, and Seamus McAteer, chief product architect, will join comScore’s management team.
ComScore president and CEO Dr. Magid Abraham says: ‘With the substantial growth of 3G devices and Internet-friendly handsets, we believe we are now at an inflection point in Internet usage on mobile devices.’
