Two years after it launched, the Television Bureau of Advertising's
electronic transaction portal ePort closed 2009 with over $584 million in sales
volume, aided by a robust fourth quarter. A key aspect of former TVB President
Chris Rohrs' tenure at the trade association, ePort is described by the TVB as
"an electronic bridge over which any trading partner (buyer, station, rep) can
send any transaction (e.g., order, makegood) and from which any trading partner
can receive any transaction, whether national or local."
New TVB President Steve Lanzano called the half-billion dollar threshold a
significant hurdle. "This is an important milestone
on the way to our goal of making local broadcast television the medium that is
easiest to buy and steward," he said. "We are looking for big growth in
the year ahead."Over 127,000 orders have been sent by 150 agencies/advertisers
via ePort to over 1,000 TV stations and all of the national rep firms since it
launched. ePort is funded by local broadcasters.
Total ePort volume was 24% higher in the fourth quarter of last year than
the third quarter.
