When Faultline introduced the name MarketCast to readers in October 2020, we made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the US analytics firm’s antiquated survey-based research model for the media industry. In truth, surveys are simple and timeless as the basis for research, particularly when enhanced with more modern techniques, like the virtual audience analytics assets that MarketCast has just acquired from Boston-based Invoke this week. With Invoke, MarketCast inherits a cloud-based content testing system aiming to disrupt the traditional process of physically screening video content with viewers prior to release, with a platform allowing hundreds of viewers to participate in concept and episodic online screenings in real-time. It brings live chat and discussion features, supported by AI to interpret feedback, while…