Ratings Firm TVBeat Names Toumazis Chairman

London-based TV audience measurement startup TVbeat has appointed former Endemol and Disney exec Tom Toumazis as Chairman of its Board.

Launched last year as Iptvbeat, the company uses live data about customer interactions from set-top-boxes and other connected devices, to produce 'actionable insights' and provide ratings to broadcasters, advertisers and pay TV providers. In March, the firm secured $2m in funding, which it plans to use to develop its real-time big data TV analytics system and roll it out across Europe.

Toumazis (pictured) joins the Board with more than three decades of experience in the international media and entertainment industries. During his career, he has held positions at Endemol Group as Chief Commercial Officer and as EVP, and Managing Director at Disney-ABC-ESPN Television where he was responsible for channel, programme and new media distribution for EMEA and Canada. More recently Toumazis was Group CEP of Mecom, and he has also held senior positions at Eurosport, Emap and ITV.

TVbeat's CEO Laurence Miall-d'Août commented: 'Tom is a highly experienced and visionary business leader with a diverse 30-year corporate track record that's given him a unique 360 degree view of the industry. Tom's knowledge and insight is rare and invaluable and it's great to have him on board.'

Web site: www.tvbeat.com .