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eBay Ends Experimental Online Media Marketplace

The media marketplace envisioned by the Association of National Advertisers’ Television Advertising Committee and launched by eBay has bit the dust.

The eBay Media Marketplace website yesterday said simply, “We have ended our pilot program in this market.”

The marketplace was intended as an internet-based system for buying and selling TV and radio ads, but was controversial from the start and received little support from the cable industry and none at all from the broadcast networks, writes Adweek.

Among the few cable networks that tested it were Oxygen and Ion. The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau did not endorse the system, saying it commoditized television ad time.

Last October, eBay officials issued a statement saying, “We’ve been disappointed by the lack of broad engagement by cable networks. This has caused the initial testing to be slower than expected.”

With so few cable networks participating, even willing buyers were left with few purchase options, MediaPost writes.
The alliance between the marketplace and Bid4Spots, which allowed for advertisers to bid for radio inventory, has also been ended, though Bid4Spots continues to successfully offer its own radio auctions.