Well-known Internet measurement firm comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) said today that it has acquired M:Metrics, a leader in the mobile measurement business, for $44.3 million in cash and about 50,000 options to purchase shares of comScore common stock. The sale of M:Metrics is a testament that mobile is no longer a niche, but a standalone industry that must be measured and tracked much like TV and Internet audiences are today. This follows about a year behind Neilsen’s $440 million purchase of mobile measurement firm Telephia. More details at our sister site mocoNews.net…

Updated: Quickly following the announcement, I talked to Will Hodgman, the co-founder, president and CEO of M:Metrics. He said that the combination of the two companies was essential for serving clients going forward. The difference between a person accessing content on the Internet and on a mobile phone is fading. Hodgman: “We want to know behavior across the internet regardless of device.” Full interview here.