Toumazis resurfaces at TVBeat

Television industry veteran Tom Toumazis has become chairman of the board at London-based audience measurement start-up TVBeat.

Tom Toumazis

Toumazis, who had a stint as chief commercial officer at production giant Endemol, has been brought onboard to help TVBeat with the next stage of its development.

TVBeat was founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Robert Farazin and provides real-time TV audience measurement to pay TV platforms, broadcasters and media buyers.

The service is currently operating in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia, where it already measures more than 15 million customer interactions per day across digital platforms.

Toumazis joined Endemol in 2008 from Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, where he was executive VP and MD for EMEA.

He left in May 2011, after setting up its international brands and distribution division, to head struggling newspaper publishing firm Mecom but stepped down in July 2012 after leading it through a strategic review.

Toumazis said: “TVBeat offers something new that can help pay TV platforms and channels decide on the best content for their viewers. TVBeat has arrived at the right time, when broadcasters, advertisers and pay TV platforms are looking for greater insight into viewer consumption, engagement and behaviour.”

TVBeat took part in the 2013 Tech Stars start-up accelerator programme and has recently secured US$2m funding from the UK’s Episode 1 and Czech Republic-based Credo Ventures, and Toumazis has joined them in the seed round as an angel investor.

Toumazis joins Farazin, CEO Laurence Miall-d’Août and Simon Murdoch from Episode 1 on the board.