TV Advertising Auction Has Lots Of Interested Bidders, But Still No Sellers

from the slight-problem dept

Fri, Aug 4th 2006 9:29am — Joseph Weisenthal

There's obviously quite a bit of frustration on the part of advertisers about the way the TV ad market is run, as advertisers hesitate to commit much money to them without a better system of pricing and tracking. Now a group of advertisers (including Microsoft, Toyota and Wal-Mart) is teaming up to test an auction-based system for buying airtime, with eBay set to manage the auctions. There's just one problem: though the group is looking to launch in January, it hasn't identified a willing network to sell its ads this way. There may be a lot of interest in a better way to price airtime, but ultimately, it's up to the networks to decide when to price like this, and who they want to manage their auctions -- decisions they'll resist making for as long as possible if they see this leading to cheaper advertising. And while eBay may seem like a logical company to do this, Google wants to get in on it as well. Of course, the problem with TV advertising stems from the decline of its traditional model, so a better pricing system will only help so much.

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mmrtnt (profile), 4 Aug 2006 @ 10:13am

Fave Term of the Week
"Grumpifier Ray"

Excellent!

MjM
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- Matthew, 4 Aug 2006 @ 12:06pm
  
  Re: Fave Term of the Week
  Wrong article.
  
  But back to topic, all the seller has to do is place large, out-of-touch-with-reality reserves on their air time and the whole thing will collapse, as Eddie Izzard puts it, like a flan in a cupboard.
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Whatever he said, 4 Aug 2006 @ 10:17am

Lame
Talk about getting desperate, but I guess it will save them from paying sales reps.
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Bidder, 4 Aug 2006 @ 11:41am

I smell a new opportunity... eSnipe Corporate
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I wonder...., 4 Aug 2006 @ 11:58am

here's a thought
Will they have BUY IT NOW 30 second spots? Or $0.01 plus $350,000 for 30 seconds at the superbowl??
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Ricky M., 4 Aug 2006 @ 6:41pm

Why don't they....
have no actual commercials. Instead they could have the advertising at the bottom of the screen much like they are already doing.. You know when you are watching a program and a graphic (usually animated to get your attention) says "You're watching whatever... Next is another boring show" or whatever instead let advertisers buy this space. I bet you people would see it because they are not going to stop watching television and it would completely stop the TiVo crisis of people forwarding through the commercials. Strategically place them at points in a program you know someone doesnt want to miss. So long as they are not overly intrusive, it wouldnt bother me. No split screen stuff though...lol
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joe, 4 Aug 2006 @ 8:37pm

TV Ad Auction
It will work like the old reselling long distance. These guys make bulk buys they can then resale.
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