• by Wayne Friedman , June 24, 2019

Data Plus Math, the company that helped A+E Networks and NBCUniversal offer some of the first TV-related business outcome guarantees to marketers, has been acquired by LiveRamp, the data-management platform company for marketers.

The deal is for $150 million -- $120 million in cash and $30 million in "time-based" equity.

This expands LiveRamp's efforts to move into the TV space. Back in February, the company expanding its core identity resolution product, IdentityLink, to connected TV devices. IdentityLink can provide key metrics about consumers shopping at major retailers.

LiveRamp’s services include data onboarding and the transfer of offline consumer data online for marketers -- including purchase history, direct mail, email campaigns, loyalty and CRM data.

Data Plus Math is a media measurement/TV attribution company that works with brands, agencies, cable operators, TV services and networks to tie cross-screen ad exposure with real-world business outcomes -- including website traffic, in-story foot traffic, and sales.

Four months ago, using Data Plus Math, NBCUniversal made its first business-outcome TV advertising guarantee, based on movie ticket sales for the current STXfilms' “The Upside.”

For the upfront market a year ago, A+E Networks started a regular effort for limited-guarantee deals for advertisers based on business outcomes, helped by measurement from Data Plus Math.

Last year, it started a partnership with LiveRamp and now believes the acquisition deal can improve slow efforts around TV measurement.

John Hoctor, CEO of Data Plus Math, stated: “TV remains the most effective way for brands to quickly reach their audience, build their brand and drive product sales. Unfortunately, as consumer's viewing habits have evolved, TV measurement has struggled to keep up.”

In fiscal 2020, Data Plus Math is expected to contribute about $5 million in revenue to LiveRamp. Overall, LiveRamp is expecting revenues to rise for the period between 27% and 32%, to $363 and $377 million, respectively.