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Nielsen Marketing Leader Joins MarketCast to Drive Growth in Entertainment Data, Research, and Analytics

Los Angeles, Calif. — October 31, 2019 — MarketCast Group today announced the appointment of Graham McKenna as its chief marketing officer (CMO). An experienced media and technology marketing leader, McKenna will head up MarketCast’s brand, product marketing, and communications efforts across its portfolio of data and analytics products and services. A pioneer in research, consumer insights, and analytics for media companies and brands, MarketCast counts some of the biggest names in entertainment as clients, including leading Hollywood studios, streaming services, and sports leagues and teams.

McKenna comes to MarketCast from Nielsen, where he served as senior vice president of product marketing and was responsible for Nielsen’s product marketing efforts across its media measurement, sports, music, and metadata portfolio. He joined Nielsen following its acquisition of Gracenote, where he led the marketing and communications team and strategy through a period of massive growth and transformation, including acquisitions by Tribune Media and Nielsen.

“Graham is a world-class communicator and product marketer, and his experience in the data, technology, and entertainment space will be invaluable as we expand our product portfolio and position MarketCast for aggressive growth,” said John Batter, CEO of MarketCast Group. “Graham will be invaluable for scaling our marketing and communications efforts and imagining new ways to package and deliver our amazing research and data to clients.”

MarketCast provides media companies, lifestyle brands, and sports leagues, teams, and rightsholders with a wide range of research, data, and analytics products and services to fuel critical business decisions. This includes helping clients plan and analyze movie and TV marketing campaigns, understand audience engagement across social media platforms, and measure the value and impact of sports sponsorships.

The addition of McKenna is just the latest move by MarketCast Group to bring depth and talent to its leadership team. In July, the company announced the appointment of media industry veteran John Batter to CEO. In the newly created role of CMO, McKenna will join the MarketCast senior leadership team and report to Batter. He will be responsible for all marketing and communications initiatives, including go-to-market strategies, media relations, and ramping up its sales enablement capabilities.

About MarketCast Group

MarketCast Group is a leading provider of data-driven research, consumer insights, and analytics, serving the media, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle industries. The company operates through four integrated consumer insights businesses: MarketCast, Insight Strategy Group, Fizziology, and Turnkey Intelligence, which work in collaboration to apply the power of data, technology, and proven innovation to get at the heart of how consumers think, shop, and entertain their passions.

Established in 1987, MarketCast is a leading provider of marketing research services and data analytics, servicing the global entertainment industry. Insight Strategy Group is a consumer research and strategy agency that leverages deep social science expertise to fuel brand growth, new product introductions, and service and content innovation. Fizziology is a provider of social research and analytics that uses real-time global conversation to create actionable insights for marketers and creators. Turnkey Intelligence is a business intelligence provider in the sports industry, offering best-in-class research and advisory services to sports leagues, teams, venues, and brands. Together, these companies equip clients to engage consumers and fans, manage and grow their brands, launch new products and services, expand consumer reach, and maximize business outcomes. MarketCast Group is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C.

Los Angeles, Calif. — July 25, 2019 — MarketCast Group, a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company and a leader in research, consumer insights, and analytics serving the media, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle industries worldwide, announced today that its long-time CEO, Henry Shapiro, will assume the role of Chairman, while veteran media and entertainment executive John Batter assumes the CEO role.

Batter is a media and entertainment veteran with extensive experience in building data-driven businesses delivering best-in-class results for customers. He was most recently CEO of Gracenote, the digital and data segment of Tribune Media Company, which he established as the world’s largest entertainment metadata services and technology company prior to a successful sale of the business to Nielsen in 2017. He previously was CEO of M-GO, a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor; president of production for DreamWorks Animation; and a senior executive at Electronic Arts. Batter earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business.

“I’m joining MarketCast Group as CEO at an exciting time,” said Batter. “Henry moves to the Chairman role with the company in great shape as the preeminent platform for media and entertainment insights and analytics. Building on its deep entertainment industry experience, MarketCast Group has been successfully extending its reach to include additional customers and markets. We will continue to provide best-in-class service to our ever-expanding group of high-quality customers.”

Under Shapiro’s leadership, MarketCast Group has grown more than tenfold and has transitioned from being a predominantly domestic, theatrical-only research provider to a leader in entertainment research and analytics worldwide, serving clients from diverse industries such as streaming, video games, sports, and technology.

“After nearly 20 years leading this extraordinary company, I am excited to dedicate my time to working with John to take the company to the next level as Chairman,” said Shapiro, “and to pass day-to-day responsibilities to a talented and seasoned executive team. I am thrilled to welcome John to MarketCast Group. He has the perfect mix of experience and skills for this phase of the company’s growth.”

Batter will be based at MarketCast Group headquarters in Los Angeles.

About MarketCast Group

MarketCast Group is a leading provider of data-driven research, consumer insights, and analytics serving the media, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle industries. The company operates through four integrated consumer insights businesses: MarketCast, Insight Strategy Group, Fizziology, and Turnkey Intelligence, which work in collaboration to apply the power of data, technology, and proven innovation to get at the heart of how consumers think, shop, and entertain their passions.

Established in 1987, MarketCast is a leading provider of marketing research services and data analytics servicing the global entertainment industry. Insight Strategy Group is a consumer research and strategy agency that leverages deep social science expertise to fuel brand growth, new product introductions, and service and content innovation. Fizziology is a provider of social research and analytics that uses real-time global conversation to create actionable insights for marketers and creators. Turnkey Intelligence is a business intelligence provider in the sports industry, offering best-in-class research and advisory services to sports leagues, teams, venues, and brands. Together, these companies equip clients to engage consumers and fans, manage and grow their brands, launch new products and services, expand consumer reach, and maximize business outcomes. MarketCast Group is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C.

About Kohlberg & Company

Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C. is a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its nearly 30‐year history, Kohlberg has completed 79 platform investments and over 190 add‐on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $15 billion. For more information, please visit www.kohlberg.com.

Los Angeles, Calif. — June 13, 2019 — MarketCast Group, a leader in research, consumer insights, and analytics serving the media, entertainment, and lifestyle industries worldwide, announced today that it has added John Batter to its board of directors.

“We’re pleased to welcome John to the MarketCast Group board,” said Henry Shapiro, MarketCast Group CEO. “Not only has John successfully led complex organizations through rapid growth periods, he’s also a seasoned expert in some of our most important markets and adjacencies.”

With the addition of Batter, MarketCast Group adds a media and entertainment veteran with extensive experience in building businesses organically and through acquisition. Batter was most recently CEO of Gracenote, the digital and data segment of Tribune Media Company, which he built into the world’s largest entertainment metadata services and technology company through the acquisition and integration of seven companies before selling the business to Nielsen in 2017. He was also CEO of M-GO, a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor; president of production for DreamWorks Animation; and a senior executive at Electronic Arts. Batter earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Berkeley and an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business.

“I’m delighted to be supporting the team at MarketCast Group,” said John Batter. “As the pre-eminent platform for media and entertainment insights and analytics, MarketCast Group is uniquely positioned to extend into related sectors and offer expanded capabilities across all end markets. Some of that effort is well underway organically, and some can be accelerated through targeted acquisitions. I’m here to help on both fronts.”

With Batter’s expertise, MarketCast Group is well positioned to continue the company’s growth trajectory while expanding its capabilities.

About MarketCast Group

MarketCast Group consists of four integrated consumer insights businesses: MarketCast, Insight Strategy Group, Fizziology, and Turnkey Intelligence. These companies work in collaboration to apply the power of data, technology, and proven innovation to get at the heart of how consumers think, shop, and entertain their passions. Established in 1987, MarketCast is a leading provider of marketing research services and data analytics servicing the global entertainment industry. Acquired in 2015, Insight Strategy Group is a consumer research and strategy agency that leverages deep social science expertise to fuel brand growth, new product introductions, and service and content innovation. Fizziology, acquired in 2017, is a provider of social research and analytics that uses real-time global conversation to create actionable insights for marketers and creators. Acquired in 2018, Turnkey Intelligence is a business intelligence provider in the sports industry, offering best-in-class research and advisory services to sports leagues, teams, venues, and brands. Together, these companies equip clients to engage consumers and fans, manage and grow their brands, launch new products and services, expand consumer reach, and maximize business outcomes. MarketCast Group is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York.