Verance Names Lucy Hughes Research Head

Verance Corp. on Monday named broadcast industry research veteran Lucy Hughes, who most recently was research chief of Media General, to the new position of VP-head of research.

In her new position, Hughes will be responsible for heading research efforts for Verance Aspect, which delivers broadcasters first-party audience measurement on any device.

Hughes joins former Media General COO Deb McDermott, who was recently retained by Verance to introduce the next-generation benefits of Verance Aspect, part of the new ATSC 3.0 standard, to broadcasters. The McDermott Media Group (MMG) comprises a team of executives with more than 150 years of combined leadership experience in building and operating high-performing broadcast and digital media businesses.

Aspect lets television networks and stations deliver on advertisers’ demands for national and local audience targeting, providing analytics on a data platform that augments first-party data with third-party, cross-screen psychographic, demographic and other data; and respond proactively to shifts in consumer behavior and trends through content personalization, addressable advertising and interactive features.

“Lucy is one of the broadcast industry’s foremost thought leaders when it comes to cross-platform consumer and market research insights, and we are excited to now have her as part of our team,” said Nil Shah, CEO of Verance. “She brings to us a wealth of experience in defining the next-generation, multi-screen, direct-to-consumer media landscape and, along with Deb and her team, will play a vital role in working with broadcasters in the testing and immediate implementation of our Aspect content measurement and enhancement solution.”

Hughes added: “I am thrilled to join Verance and to be closely involved with the roll out of this important new next-generation ATSC 3.0 technology, which comes at such a critical juncture in the evolution of the industry. Aspect will give broadcasters the ability to instantly play in a new media world where personalization, on-demand capabilities and convenience serve as the three primary pillars.”

Hughes has spent her career in senior research positions with major media companies. These include Media General, the CBS Television Stations group, CBS Radio, CBS Local Digital Media and Adlink, as well as advertising agencies (Initiative Media/Western International Media) focusing on audience/programming analytics and insights, methodology and communication channel planning.

As VP of research at Media General, she oversaw research, analytics and insights across news, programming, consumer and ad sales for 72 stations across 48 markets and four different Nielsen measurement systems.