Ipsos Sells Motion Picture Market Research Group OTX MediaCT (Exclusive)
Ipsos, the global market research firm, is selling its motion picture group Ipsos OTX MediaCT to an investment group, TheWrap has learned.
The group will move as a unit with its president Vincent Bruzzese, who has led the movie research division for the past two years and will continue to do so, according to individuals with knowledge of the deal.
Update: Leading the investment group is David Lugliani, a private investor. He is leading a group of individuals backing the deal.
The individuals said that OTX, tracking an idiosyncratic and highly volatile movie business, no longer fit in its business model.
The price was not immediately available.
The move mirrors a larger shift going on in the Hollywood market research space. Last year Shamrock Capital bought Marketcast, the market research firm owned by Reed Elsevier. In the interim, a host of smaller research firms have broken away from these and NRG, the other large research firm which once dominated the testing landscape.
Ipsos bought OTX from founder Shelley Zalis in 2010. Reed bought Marketcast from its co-founder Joseph Helfgot. The latest moves suggest a reverse of that trend as the internet has brought major changes to the space that have yet to radically transform the traditional methods of movie testing, research screenings and focus groups.
Ipsos OTX MediaCT Worldwide Motion Picture Group bills itself as a leading full-service provider of entertainment industry custom and syndicated market research.
At the time of the 2010 purchase, Ipsos co-president Didier Truchot hailed its "strong culture of innovation," and noted: "Its expertise fits perfectly with Ipsos."
Zalis pioneered using the online community to research movie scripts and tracking, which previously had been done via phone or in-person. Now all the market research firms conduct market research online.
Related Articles:
