• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 1, 2007

LAS VEGAS -- The eBay media buying system is not about replacing the upfront -- and not about remnant sales either, according to its proponents. What's left? Something in between -- but not necessarily cheap. 

Peggy Green, president of broadcast and entertainment at Zenith Media USA, says her client Lexus is on board - and as we all know, Lexus is not an advertiser looking for the lowest common dominator or consumer. It needs consumers who earn $125,000 or more.

Still, turning TV advertising inventory into the "c-word" -- "commodity"-- has never been more tempting and divisive. I'm sure in these modern business times the sellers of grain, cotton, or electricity don't like to be called a commodity either.

Whatever the squabble between buyers and sellers, if there is money to be had, the sellers will come running.  If one media seller can stand up and say the eBay media marketplace system is good for some of his inventory, then all might be right in the world. Until then, we'll have heated conversions and cold e-biz deals.

If no one can agree to that  -- especially cable networks that seem to have lots of inventory -- then, "they should abandon all their direct-response business and late-night infomercials," according to one high-ranking media agency executive. 

Media agency executives would like at least one cable executive to come to this conclusion:  I'll sell my low-demand inventory on the cheap, which will give me more time to work on bigger -- and more complicated -- integration media packages. The result: I'll pull in more revenue than before.

That has been the party line from eBay supporters. But will it hold up? From the media sellers' perspective, it's a slippery slope in which their inventory could wind up knocking them down to the rug -- or their remnants.