Ebay Hits the Radio Airwaves

In addition to brokering television spots, Ebay is moving into ad brokering for radio. The Wall Street Journal suggests that through its partnership with radio-ad startup Bid4Spots, Ebay is going head-to-head with Google in yet another capacity.

The Ebay Media Marketplace will include 2,300 radio stations auctioning airtime, with Ebay sharing a slice of the advertiser fee. The article notes the radio partners will most likely use the exchange to monetize remnant inventory.

Google, of course, also connects advertisers to media sellers for print and radio, through deals with dMarc and Clear Channel. Oh, and let’s not forgot its answer to Ebay’s PayPal, Google Checkout.

Although Ebay’s recent deal with women’s cable network Oxygen helped rev up its stalled attempt to broker cable TV spots, the venture was dealt a major blow in April by The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau. The CAB said it would no longer participate in the exchange trial, citing “connectivity issues” and a lack of agency participation.