Welcome to the measurement mutiny.
You’re watching the $70 billion TV advertising market get ripped from the cold, creaky hands of Nielsen—and VideoAmp is sharpening the knives.

On paper, they’re a tech-forward measurement company. In reality, they’re trying to rewrite the media currency script entirely—one deal, one dataset, and yes, one PowerPoint at a time. And they’re doing it while walking a tightrope between VC expectations and actual operational sanity.

But here’s where it gets fun:
Just when things looked up—record growth, huge clients, a $150 million Series G—the founder bailed, staff got slashed, and everything got messy. The kind of messy that usually gets papered over by press releases and LinkedIn posts about "new chapters."

So let’s do what no one else in the trade press will: look under the hood.

VideoAmp’s big swing?
Blow up Nielsen’s monopoly—and give the ad industry something it hasn’t had in decades: actual options.

They want to replace outdated GRPs with cross-platform, people-based measurement. Not just counting eyeballs, but showing impact. Not just impressions, but outcomes. Think of it as Nielsen, if it were built by engineers instead of 1970s broadcast dinosaurs.

This matters because TV measurement is the money. Get it wrong, and your media plan is toast. Get it right, and suddenly your budget works smarter—not harder.

Founder Ross McCray was the guy who made VideoAmp happen—charismatic, founder-y, and endlessly available to agency leaders, CMOs, and reporters alike (yes, including us). When he stepped down in January 2024, he framed it as a natural transition. But… it wasn’t exactly that simple.

Peter Liguori stepped in as executive chairman—yes, that Liguori, the former top exec at Tribune, FX, and Discovery. Add to that a slate of Nielsen expats brought in to steady the ship, and you get the message:
🚨 This isn’t a startup anymore. It’s a grown-up trying to run with the big kids.

But what does it mean when your original visionary exits stage left right as the investors are asking where all the money went?

Let’s talk headcount:
After raising $150 million in Series G, they laid off 10% of staff quietly, and then another 20% more just months later. That’s around 30% gone—not exactly the sign of a company printing money.

The Series G cash helped pay off some debt and keep the lights on, but behind the scenes, pressure was mounting. Investors wanted results. Faster growth. Better margins. Fewer slides and more answers.

And when the founder steps down, your president resigns, and you suddenly pivot hard toward “focus and profitability,” you know what that really means:
🔥 Something broke.

You think this was the juicy part? Oh, sweetie.

In the next three parts—available only for ADOTAT+ subscribers—we’re going deep into:

If you’ve ever been burned by bad metrics, miscounted impressions, or Nielsen’s inertia—this series is for you.

🪪 Want the real story?
Subscribe to ADOTAT+ to get the full series. No sugarcoating. No sponsor spin. Just the kind of industry reporting no one else will touch.

Stay Bold, Stay Curious, and Know More Than You Did Yesterday.

Before someone pastes this into your agency Slack:
No, we’re not here to cancel VideoAmp.
We’re here to ask the only question that matters:What are you actually buying—and what fantasy are you being sold instead?

Everyone else is busy polishing decks. We’re flipping them over to read the fine print.

ADOTAT+ is for the buyers, founders, and CMOs who’ve had just enough “multi-currency momentum” and “clean room collaboration” shoved in their inbox.

Here’s what’s coming up:

Who's really using VideoAmp for currency—and who's faking it for optics? We mapped it. It’s messier than you think.

They say they’re not a DSP. We found signs they never stopped. Spoiler: some clients still get both.

Great buzzword. Now let’s talk about how these segments are stitched, rented, and sometimes made of duct tape.

Adelaide built it. VideoAmp is riding it. So who controls the scoreboard?

If you’re still relying on public panels and press releases to plan Q4, good luck.

If you want the unvarnished, uncomfortable, and actually useful truth?

👉 Subscribe to ADOTAT+.
We connect the dots they hope you don’t.

Stay Bold. Stay Curious. Know More Than You Did Yesterday.

Stay Bold. Stay Curious. Know More Than You Did Yesterday.