TRA Hires Execs From Nielsen, TiVo, Comcast Spotlight

TV measurement and analytics firm also retains Jack Myers as advisor

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/8/2010 1:07:25 PM

TRA, which provides TV measurement software that analyzes set-top box data, has hired executives previously with Nielsen, TiVo and Comcast Spotlight and named media-industry researcher Jack Myers to its advisory board.

Joining the New York-based startup are: Fariba Zamaniyan, senior vice president of sales; Bob Pares, senior vice president of network sales; and Jonathan Sims, vice president of product management.

Zaminayan was previously a senior vice president at Nielsen, where she advised pharmaceutical companies on national TV campaigns. Prior to Nielsen, she was with market-research firm Ipsos North America.        

Pares, formerly TiVo's vice president of audience research and measurement sales, will be in charge of sales to broadcast and cable networks. Prior to TiVo, he was a senior vice president at research firm GfK NOP where he managed consulting services for Roper Reports.

Sims was previously Comcast Spotlight's vice president of research as well as a consultant to Microsoft. At TRA he will oversee product management and work with the company's engineering team, sales force and customers.

TRA provides Web-based software, Media TRAnalytics, for analyzing TV viewing and retail purchasing across 370,000 U.S. households. Its database cross-references set-top box data from 1.5 million households (mostly through TiVo) with purchasing data from 54 million households collected through frequent-shopper cards issued by grocery stores and other retailers.

The company has raised more than $36 million to date from investors including Arbitron, WPP and Intel. TRA's name stands for "true ROI (return on investment) accountability."