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TiVo pays $20M for TV ad effectiveness company TRA

TRA links what people watch in their homes to products they buy. TRA's service works with 1.5 million homes.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger

TiVo is attempting to expand its knowledge of its customers with the purchase of a television advertising-effectiveness firm.

The DVR maker announced today that it has agreed to acquire TRA, a company that has developed a database to link the ads people watch in the home to what they actually buy. According to TiVo, TRA currently works with 45 brands and 27 television networks to track advertising effectiveness. TRA's service is matching customer transactions to ads in 1.5 million homes.

"With this new level of unique audience insights and analytics, TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending," TiVo CEO and president Tom Rogers said today in a statement.

According to the companies, TiVo will pay approximately $20 million for TRA and close the acquisition by the end of the month. TRA will become the TiVo Research and Analytics division upon completion.