In a move that could revolutionize the way TV ads are bought and sold, eBay has said it will go ahead with its new online exchange, despite the objections of many TV networks.
The Online Media Exchange, which was created last fall by eBay and a group of high-profile advertisers, including Home Depot, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft, uses an online auction website to buy and sell TV ad time.
While most networks balked at the new model, eBay has at last found a champion in the form of the Oxygen network, which agreed to test the new exchange.
"If there is a process where we are going to be exposed to more advertisers, we think that's an opportunity," Lisa Gersh, president of Oxygen, told the Wall Street Journal in response to the controversy over the network's decision.
Although Oxygen reaches only about 73 million viewers, the test could be a harbinger for an ad model pioneered by online thinking. In April, Google partnered with satellite provider EchoStar to create an automated system for buying, selling and delivering TV ads.
