• by David Goetzl , June 18, 2009

Rentrak, which is trying to mount a challenge to Nielsen and TNS in the TV measurement space, has tapped former Experian executive Bill Livek as CEO.

He replaces Paul Rosenbaum, who had been in the role since 2000, and will remain as chairman. The company is well-known for tracking ticket sales for movie studios. Recently, however, it has attempted to expand into offering viewing data across multiple screens, including linear TV, mobile and the Internet.

In the TV arena, it offers second-by-second ratings data, and tracks VOD consumption.

Rosenbaum said Livek has the expertise to "ensure continued growth opportunities for the company that will evolve Rentrak into a multi-screen measurement and research" stronghold.

Livek had been co-president of Experian Research Services, where he helped launch an addressable advertising service using Experian's market research capabilities. He previously helped engineer the sale of Simmons Market Research Bureau to Experian -- and has also served as president-CEO of Scarborough Research.

Rentrak has launched a product tabbed "TV Essentials," where it uses set-top box data to provide the granular second-by-second ratings. But it's not the only company in the space selling that data, which can help an advertiser or programmer analyze DVR-enabled ad skipping and other viewing patterns. Nielsen, TNS and others have moved into that arena.

Rentrak says it garners data from more than 10 million set-top boxes operated by Dish Network, AT&T and Charter Communications. Rentrak is also trying to expand a service with metrics for viewing VOD content, which allows clients to track results in near-real-time online. The company says it gathers information from set-top boxes used by all of the top-25 cable operators and more. Programmers using the service include Turner and Viacom.

NBC Universal has also signed on to use a third Rentrak service that tracks content consumption on mobile devices.

In its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rentrak said Nielsen and TNS have "significantly greater resources" than it possesses in the multi-screen measurement space, but added that it is "well-positioned" to provide critical metrics, notably with its access to set-top-box data.