Comscore Names Livek CEO as Q3 Revenue Falls 8%

Comscore Vice Chairman Bill Livek has been promoted to the role of Chief Executive Officer, replacing interim CEO Dale Fuller. The firm has also reported an 8% drop in third quarter revenue to $94.3m, from $102.9m in the prior-year quarter.

In the second quarter, the company recorded a $5.0m liability related to the previously disclosed SEC investigation into overstatement of revenue. At the time of this investigation, Comscore was led by Serge Matta, but he resigned two years later, and has since been forced to pay the company a 'clawback' totalling $2.1m, and the SEC $0.7m for allegedly inflated revenue by approximately $50m.

Co-founder Gian Fulgoni took over as CEO in 2017 then retired a year later, when he was replaced by Board Director Bryan Wiener, who also resigned after less than a year, citing 'irreconcilable differences over how to execute the company's strategy'. Since then, the interim CEO role has been held by Dale Fuller, and the post has now been handed to Livek (pictured), who was previously CEO of Rentrak, prior to its acquisition by Comscore in 2016.

During the third quarter, net loss was $10.6m, far less than the $24.6m in the year-ago quarter; and Adjusted EBITDA for the latest quarter increased 23.2% year-over-year to $6.4m from $5.2m. Compared to the prior year period, Analytics and Optimization revenue fell to $18.3m from $22.2m; Movies Reporting and Analytics revenue was $10.7m compared to $10.2m; and Ratings and Planning revenue decreased to $65.3m from $70.5m.

In August, Comscore laid off 8% of its staff, having earlier cut 10% of its workforce. The firm is currently looking at 'strategic options' which could lead to the sale of all or part of the business. Livek commented: 'I would like to thank Dale for his guidance and leadership throughout this transition. I am excited about the prospects that lie ahead for Comscore and the opportunities we continue to believe are ripe for disruption. I look forward to capitalizing on these opportunities and creating meaningful value for our stakeholders.'

Web site: www.comscore.com .