• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, September 5, 2008

The TVB said Thursday that its efforts to make electronic transactions the industry norm are picking up steam. The trade group said the ePort system it developed has now facilitated some $100 million worth of orders that advertisers have sent to stations.

TVB calls ePort the "electronic bridge" allowing for what's known as "ebiz," short for "eBusiness," where agencies and rep firms can avoid faxing time requests to stations. EPort can help save time, allowing sales executives to spend more time selling; cut down on errors with its automated system; and even help the environment by saving paper.

"This is an important milestone on the way to our goal of developing local broadcast television's equivalent of the interstate highway system," said TVB Executive Vice President Abby Auerbach. "We want every buyer in the country to connect electronically with every television station and/or rep firm and make our medium the easiest to buy."

EPort-enabled transactions are growing at a 17% clip week-over-week, Auerbach said. EPort can handle orders, makegoods and other communications.

TVB said the bulk of the $100 million has been conducted via ePort by agencies using a product from Strata that is compliant with ePort's open standards. Vendors such as Mediaplex and MediaBank are expected to become ePort compliant soon, TVB added.

EPort is funded by the station groups that are TVB members.