Nine advertisers have joined to create and test e-Media Exchange, an auction site created by eBay Inc., to buy advertising time on TV, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Advertisers include large companies such as Toyota Motor, Wal-Mart Stores and Microsoft Corp. TV executives opposed the idea because online auction site may contribute to the decline of ad budgets spent on TV and the increase of ad spending on the internet.

The nine advertisers have contributed $50 million for the test, which is set for January.

Earlier in the year large advertisers such as Johnson & Johnson announced they would not participate in the traditional upfront TV ad market. Johnson & Johnson said they would to prefer to buy ad time on their own schedule rather than a timetable set by the TV networks.

"We are in a rapidly evolving, increasingly complex media environment with a myriad of content choices and distribution channels. To be effective in the future, our processes must embrace the advancements in technology and the benefits of our digital world," Ann Bybee, corporate manger of brand and product strategy for Lexus Advertising and a member of the task force behind the e-Media Exchange, told TVweek.com.