eBay's TV Ad Effort Loses Airtime Provider

budnonymous · Top Poster

Cable Nets Say 'No Way' to eBay Media Marketplace

budnonymous · Top Poster

eBay's TV Ad Effort Loses Airtime Provider

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

April 6, 2007, 1:21 PM

eBay's plans to create an online television ad sales market seems to be faltering as the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau said Thursday that it would no longer participate in the auction site's trial."We appreciated the opportunity to test the system - throughout our review it became apparent that the Media Exchange was too narrow an application, had clear connectivity issues related to cable's emerging end-to-end e-business platforms and lacked the provisions necessary for capturing critical strategic and idea-driven intelligence during a buy," CAB president and CEO Sean Cunningham said. &lt;script language="javascript" src="http://ads.betanews.com/adserve.iframejscript/www.betanews.com/MPU@Top?1816377542"&gt;&lt;/script&gt; Called the eMedia exchange, the project was devised through the cooperation of about ten major advertisers and eBay. The loss of the CAB means there is no place for the ads to be shown, creating a serious problem for the service.It also calls into question whether a similar effort by Google would be able to take off either. While the search giant has signed DISH Network onto the test, reception to the plan has generally been cool as well.Central to the argument against both services, it seems, is the fact that there is no middleman, or person to negotiate better rates. In addition, there is nothing in place that would allow marketing to be integrated across other platforms.eBay said it was disappointed with the decision, although added it would continue to press on and hoped to find another outlet through which to sell ad time. However, considering Google's struggles, that could be a very hard sell. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are links to follow and a place to leave comments.

Cyber Diva · Senior Member

That news can't be good.

budnonymous · Top Poster

It looks to me that ebay is beginning to grasp at straws.

budnonymous · Top Poster

Check out this article by Forbes

Cable TV To EBay: Drop Dead

Brian Caulfield, 04.05.07, 6:00 PM ET

Heres a tip. Never, ever promise to wring the 'inefficiencies' out of someone else's business. Television execs may be shallow, but they're not stupid.

The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB), which represents cable TV networks such as ESPN, Discovery Networks and A&E, said Thursday it has pulled out of a trial of an online media exchange built by Meg Whitmans eBay and backed by 10 major advertisers. The withdrawal effectively leaves the project dead in the water.

Announced last year, the eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people ) Online Media Exchange would have allowed advertisers to solicit bids for television time using an online auction model similar to eBay's. Advertising buyers would submit a budget for time they want to buy, and TV networks would bid in a reverse-auction process.

Advertisers said the site would automate the buying and selling of television ads, reducing inefficiency. Since the project's announcement, 10 big advertisers including Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) and Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ) pledged to spend $50 million buying ads on the site.

But media companies weren't as eager to participate, saying online air time isn't a commodity. In a statement announcing the CAB's withdrawal, CAB President Sean Cunningham said they were pulling out of the effort because it "lacked the provisions necessary for capturing critical strategy and idea-driven intelligence during a buy." Translation: In your dreams, Meg.

Of course, we are told that Forbes is not a credible source of news and info

Show me one single press article that wasn't published by a junior high student that uses terms like "sleazebay," and I'll apologize for calling you a cult member. Do you think you're coming across like Walter Cronkite with these rants?

Normally I only see people reach your level of rant when they are discussing something like abortion there the passion seems understandable. EBay is simply an online auction site and your obession and passion with it amazes me.

Someone must have thought they were, I see a new word is in our Lexicon.

Soon, it will be in all the centers of learning's dictionaries as well.

Still waiting for that apology, bored troll...

-- Edited by budnonymous at 14:51, 2007-04-08

budnonymous · Top Poster

Despite Problems, Cable Execs, eBay Stunned By Rejection

by Wayne Friedman, Monday, Apr 9, 2007 8:15 AM ET CABLE

NETWORK EXECUTIVES WERE CAUGHT off-guard by the proposed eBay auction system because of one glaring component: the price. Which explains, in part, why the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB) rejected the idea. Participating cable networks would need to pay a 2% fee for each transaction--an enormous price, said one veteran cable advertising sales executive. "Two percent is huge," says Bill Abbott, executive vice president of advertising sales for Hallmark Channel. "We live and die on those 2% to 3% percentages. For the media agencies, it's the same thing--living in those margins." Still, the CAB said it hopes to find a better approach to electronic media buying. For the last several weeks, cable executives have been analyzing the eBay system. Beyond price, there were other, deeper issues. First and foremost, cable network executives didn't think the system was sophisticated enough. "There were a lot of manual calculations--for instance, inputting factors such as cable subscribers, VPVHs (viewers-per-thousand) and ratings," said one veteran cable sales executive. "Also, it doesn't incorporate things you need in today's market--like product integration and other added value. It had, if you can believe, a "comments" box for all that." As for the main point--saving time--cable network executives say the eBay system didn't deliver. "This was essentially an electronic RFP system. But that's the least time-consuming part of anything we do. This system was supposed to save time. It doesn't do that." Critics had worried that the eBay system would commoditize their business--at a time when advertisers increasingly add integrated marketing and brand entertainment to their media buys. While many big-name media agencies participated in the task force that resulted in the proposed eBay system, media agencies such as Starcom MediaVest Group, MindShare and Mediaedge:cia didn't support the new system. Cable executives were not the only people who are surprised the proposal was axed. Executives at eBay were stunned at the timing. The Internet company had many meetings with the CAB during the year, and had one scheduled with the organization this past Wednesday--until the meeting was abruptly canceled. "The only response we got from them was their press release," said Brad Williams, vice president of communications for eBay. "We were pretty troubled by that. But the CAB doesn't dictate what its members do. It's not a cartel. It's a trade association." Is eBay talking separately with cable networks? "I'd rather not talk about it right now," said Williams. "Our interest is to continue to work with the test. We are not sure this represents a rejection for the entire cable industry." Williams admitted that eBay isn't an expert in media buying and selling, but that the company was open to discussion. "We made it clear to them everything is up for discussion--the platforms, the features."

Stunned? I bet they were.

Related topics: Television, Interactive, Agencies, Buying, Media Department, Planning, Signs of What's to Come, TV Cable, Feature...

eBay's TV Ad Effort Loses Airtime Provider

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

April 6, 2007, 1:21 PM