TVision raises $16M to improve panel-based TV measurement

TV measurement company TVision has raised $16 million in a round led by industry peer iSpot.

Why it matters: The move is the latest effort by alternative measurement companies to compete against Nielsen's dominance, improving panel-based systems and trying to better understand consumption across screens.

Of note: "I think the industry has seen very, very clearly how bad a monopoly is and how it holds back innovation," iSpot CEO and founder Sean Muller says. "What TVision has done is really innovate on the home panel, which has been Nielsen's bread and butter for so long."

Details: Launched in 2014, TVision focuses on measuring individual TV viewership, specifically who is watching a TV, what they're watching and the extent of their engagement. The company has 70 employees.

• Muller will join TVision's board. The investment also grants iSpot an expanded licensing deal including exclusive access to connected TV measurement data.
• Existing investors SIG Capital, Accomplice and Golden Ventures also participated in this round. TVision has raised more than $58 million in total.

The big picture: Nielsen has been on a rocky path as it struggled to adapt to the collapse of linear TV viewing and rise of streaming. The Media Rating Council suspended Nielsen's ratings accreditation last year following an audit, creating yet another chance for rivals to swoop in.

• Goldman Sachs' recent $325 million investment into iSpot played a role in fueling iSpot's investment into TVision.
• Earlier this year, iSpot acquired analytics company Tunity, which Muller says aligns with his overall investment thesis.
• "Everything is moving to cross-screen, whether it's planning, transacting, measuring," Muller says. "All the investments that we are making are really meant to put forward the best cross-screen measurement solution for the industry that the industry can trust in transacting."