CBS Corp. announced Monday it has created a new research unit within the media company to examine opportunities in emerging technologies, and promoted research guru David Poltrack to run the operation.

The new unit, to be called CBS Vision, will provide research and market intelligence on new technologies and share that information with CBS’s businesses as well as advertisers. The company said it hopes CBS Vision will be able to address advertisers’ calls for research into the effectiveness of advertising on new media platforms, such as digital video recorders and video-on-demand.

CBS Corp. President and CEO Leslie Moonves said CBS Vision “is a strategic way for us to get ahead of all the new technologies and challenges that are facing our industry, and to share our knowledge and these opportunities with our clients and partners.”

Mr. Poltrack will become president of CBS Vision and will be promoted to executive VP and chief research officer of CBS Corp. Mr. Poltrack, who has been with CBS since 1969, was most recently executive VP of planning and research for CBS Television. He will continue to oversee research activities for the network, including audience measurement, market research, program testing and advertising research.

In addition to Mr. Poltrack’s appointment, top research officers from all of CBS’s operations will serve as members of CBS Vision’s operating committee.