Goldman Sachs Asset Management will invest $325 million in iSpot.tv as the Seattle-area company tries to loosen industry stalwart Nielsen’s longtime hold on the market for measuring TV ads across broadcast and streaming platforms. The deal, which comes a decade after iSpot was founded, will give Goldman Sachs a “significant minority stake” in the company, according to an announcement Wednesday morning.
CBS has retained banks Moelis and Goldman Sachs to advise the company on a possible merger with Viacom. National Amusements Inc. controls both and has asked the two to examine a possible combination.
With the pay-TV ecosystem under attack from rivals like Netflix, Apple and skinny bundles, traditional TV viewing shrinking by double digits for months and media-company shares tumbling, media moguls are expected to be questioned about their plans to turn around their battered ships at the upcoming Goldman Sachs 24th Annual Communacopia Conference.
