eBay shutters failed cable TV advertising venture

Jordan Golson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:28:16 -0700

EBay has killed its cable television advertising venture that was seemingly dead on arrival when it launched early last year. The little-known venture was started at the behest of several companies including Intel and Home Depot, who thought an online ad exchange for cable television ads would reduce costs and broaden purchasing ability. A New York Times article in April 2007 noted that almost all major cable networks had declined to participate in the program, with only a few small channels participating. Cable execs felt the program "went too far in removing humans from the process."

Google, however, has succeeded in online auctions of ads through a partnership with DishTV. It claims to have sold more than 100,000 spots, including a number from adweek's list of top 10 advertisers. EBay, in contrast, was "disappointed" by its results, and decided to also end its partnership with Bid4Spots to auction radio ad slots. Google has had more success in this arena as well.

What's the difference between eBay and Google? GOOG is an established advertising company that provides free email and search. It has made billions through partnerships with practically every major advertiser in the world. EBay makes money helping people sell knick-knacks.

This is just one more in a series of flops for eBay, including its disastrous acquisition of Skype and huge write-offs last year.

That said, the company does keep making money. Unlike the cable companies, eBay's customers don't really have any other choice when it comes to selling their wares.

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eBay shutters failed cable TV advertising venture