The founder of VideoAmp, a measurement-technology start-up that has been vying with Nielsen and others to create a new means of tabulating video audiences, is stepping down from his CEO role just as the company plans to lay off nearly a fifth of its staff.
Ross McCray, who led VideoAmp as it struck deals with titans such as Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, will remain as a shareholder and board member at VideoAmp. Peter Liguori, an industry veteran who has led Fox Entertainment, FX and Tribune Media, among other companies, will take on the role of executive chairman while Peter Bradbury, a former Nielsen executive, is taking on roles as VideoAmp’s chief commercial and growth officer.
“This was an extremely hard and emotional decision for me. I always knew after starting VideoAmp — if we were successful — this day would come. I have wished and dreaded for this day to come for 10 years. I love this service. I love our mission, employees, clients and partners. But it is time for me to pass the baton and return back to my original love and roots of earlier stage company building,” said McCray in a statement. “I continue to be deeply committed to VideoAmp for the long term. I will remain active and a part of our company as our Founder, Board Member and Shareholder. I look forward to working with you all in this new way.”
VideoAmp had made significant progress, vying with rivals such as Nielsen and iSpot as more media companies scramble to determine how to count consumers who are increasingly split along a variety of different media outlets and viewing behaviors. Nielsen has reigned for decades because many top advertisers have called for a neutral third party to count consumers attracted to a particular media property. But the TV companies have railed against Nielsen’s pace in finding a new solution, even as linear TV viewers migrate to broadband streaming.
Measurement-tech companies have attracted the interest of private-equity firms and Wall Street, with investors taking Nielsen private and building a position in iSpot. The scrutiny has also spurred mergers and acquisitions, with iSpot buying 605, a smaller analytics firm.
Liguori enjoyed a run at Fox where he built FX into a bigger player among cable entertainment outlets, and served a stint as chief operating officer at Discovery Communications. He was also CEO of Tribune Media, where he led the spinoff of its newspaper division into a separate company now known as Tronc. He spearheaded the push to add original scripted programming to WGN America which is now known as a cable-news outlet called NewsNation.
