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Interpublic to Buy Minority Stake in Samba TV, a Start-Up for TV Analytics

The Interpublic Group of Companies is buying a minority stake in Samba TV, a start-up that provides television analytics, part of the advertising giant’s effort to understand how consumers are watching television.

Interpublic is announcing Monday that it will incorporate Samba TV’s technology into its growing group of tools aimed at developing more effective ad-buying strategies for clients.

Samba TV maintains hundreds of cable boxes in data centers in different time zones to monitor what is showing on every TV channel. The company also collects real-time data on viewership for traditional and streaming TV using software installed on cable boxes, smart TVs and mobile devices in homes across the country.

With this information, Samba TV says it can determine the programs consumers are watching, what devices they are using and even whether they are tuning out during commercials. Samba TV says its software is on cable boxes and smart TVs in nearly 10 million households and is integrated with 36 million devices in total.

Interpublic’s investment reflects a growing demand among advertising and media companies for new kinds of data on television viewership, particularly viewing moves online.

“We’re always looking to fill the hole and find new opportunities to measure what was previously unmeasurable,” said Chad Stoller, a managing partner of IPG Media Lab, a unit of Interpublic that spots trends in advertising technology.

Interpublic did not disclose the size of its Samba TV investment.

IPG Media Lab first became aware of Samba TV, then called Flingo, three years ago at the International CES in Las Vegas, Mr. Stoller said. Over the last year, the unit has worked more closely with Samba TV to develop several products, which he declined to describe.

Samba TV works with brands to inform ad purchases across media platforms, including digital. During this year’s Super Bowl, for example, Samba TV helped BMW target the digital devices of viewers who had watched its commercial on TV. Samba TV has also worked with GoDaddy to determine what percentage of people exposed to the brand’s TV commercials visit its website to shop for a product.

“We think that more data will allow brands to reach more people they care about and waste less of their media budgets,” said Ashwin Navin, the co-founder and chief executive of Samba TV.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Interpublic to Buy Minority Stake in Samba TV, a Television Analytics Firm. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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