• TVNewsCheck, Wednesday, July 14, 2010 11:25 PM

With its ePort having just passed the $1 billion mark in order volume, the Television Bureau of Advertising is celebrating another milestone in the evolution of the "electronic bridge" for buying and selling spot TV. But at the same time, per industry sources, it's looking for someone else to run the 3-year-old effort.

Software vendors have failed to complete the interfaces needed to integrate their systems with the Web-based ePort as quickly as TVB had expected. Even some broadcasters have lagged in implementing the software upgrades necessary to engage fully with ePort.

Now Steve Lanzano, an ad agency veteran who took over as TVB president Jan. 1, is asking why a trade group -- whose focus is spot advertising -- should continue to run and market a technology company. Neither Lanzano nor Abby Auerbach, the TVB EVP who has led the ePort project would comment on the service, but TVB spokesman Gary Belis confirmed that the ePort strategy is under review.

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