• by Wayne Friedman , July 8, 2010

The Television Bureau of Advertising now says the electronic transaction system -- ePort -- has gone over the $1 billion mark in order volume.

The system over the last three years has grown to 185 ad agencies/ advertisers and some 1,100 TV stations, according to the TVB. All the national TV spot rep firms use ePort to some capacity.

The billion in ePort business represents around 7% of the $14 billion in total local TV broadcast advertising revenues.

The TVB says the heaviest ePort users include ITN Networks, Horizon Media, Media AdVentures and Publicis Group. Recently, new agencies and advertisers have started to use ePort, including Buying Time, Education Corporation of America, Siboney USA (a Hispanic media agency) and Waterfront Strategies (a political media agency).

"We are well on our way to our ultimate goal: making local broadcast television the medium that is easiest to buy and steward," stated Steve Lanzano, president of the TVB. "And ePort's momentum continues to build."

The group says TV spot software/hardware companies -- DDS, Harris, MediaBank, OneDomain, Strata and WideOrbit -- continue to improve various ePort interfaces. For smaller advertisers and agencies without buying systems, local broadcast TV business can be processed through ePort Connect, a special Web-based service of ePort.