Revenue from the company’s ratings and planning services was $63.5m in the first three months of the year, compared to $70.6m in Q1 2019.

Comscore said the decrease was due to lower revenue from syndicated digital products and national TV. The company saw challenges in the timings of renewals and acquisition of customers, which it said was partly due to Covid-19. Additionally, it experienced a digital slowdown during March driven by the online recruiting and travel verticals.

However, Comscore said it had also seen increased success in selling pandemic-related reporting to agencies seeking insights on changing consumer behaviour.

GAAP net loss was $13.2m, down from $27.5m in the first quarter of last year.

During the quarter, Comscore partnered with LiveRamp to develop new advertising services for both companies’ client bases, launched a tool to provide local TV viewership data within 48 hours and introduced faster custom reporting for weekly digital audience insights.

Bill Livek, chief executive and executive vice-chairman, Comscore (pictured), said: "We entered the year with great momentum, initiating and renewing business partnerships across the media landscape and positioning Comscore for success in 2020 and beyond. While revenue was lower than anticipated, partly due to effects from the pandemic in the final weeks of the quarter, our first quarter results reflect progress in product development and operational improvements. We launched new products and continued to effectively manage expenses, driving strong adjusted EBITDA growth.

"While the economic climate has drastically changed in the past few months, we remain confident in our long-term opportunities and strategy."

The company has taken short-term cost-saving measures to improve cash flow, including temporary salary reductions and furloughing some staff.