Downloads:

eBay Marketplace Lacks Sellers, Still

While the eBay marketplace for selling TV time is set to launch within a few weeks, the launch will be useless until some sellers agree to participate, and none have stepped forward so far.

The major TV networks have rejected the marketplace as something that will commoditize their inventory. Meanwhile, backers of the marketplace are banking on cable networks to make time available for the auction, writes Adweek.

During a session at the American Association of Advertising Agencies’ annual media conference, Howard Rosenberg - director, private marketplace for eBay - said that “a few” cable network executives would begin beta testing the system shortly. However, following the session a cable executive in the audience said that a group of the larger cable network executives were not on board, according to Mediaweek. He said that the executives had asked last month to test the system before it went live and nobody responded to their request.

The cable network executives are not ruling out participating in the system, they have said, but believe the process should have been more collaborative all along.

Steve Grubbs, North American CEO of Omnicom’s PHD, one of four agency executives on the marketplace’s steering committee, pointed out that the electronic buying system is not meant to replace the upfront marketplace, but that it would simply enhance the buying system. He and the other panelists, including Kristi Korzekwa, senior director of media and partnership marketing for The Home Depot and David Grubb, worldwide media director for Microsoft, said they were focusing on cable ad buying because there are more cable nets than broadcast and that cable tends to be a more complex buy.

Cable executives say that cable was the focus simply because the networks rejected it.

When a bid is made, the network receives notice and can then either accept or reject it. There is no obligation to the seller, Rosenberg pointed out, and panel members wondered aloud why anyone would choose not to test the system.