Bid4Spots to Hold First Public Auction for Cable TV Ad Time on Thursday

Business Wire, June 10, 2009

Roster of Participating Cable Systems and Advertisers Growing Rapidly, After Just a Few Weeks of Successful Private Test Auctions

ENCINO, Calif. -- Bid4Spots (www.Bid4Spots.com) today announced that its first public auction for premium cable TV airtime will be held tomorrow, June 11. The company launched its new online marketplace for cable television advertising last month, and has held private test auctions over the past few weeks.

Offering premium local cable TV airtime at discounted rates for the following broadcast week, the new Bid4Spots marketplace brings to TV the reverse auction model that has successfully transformed the way last-minute radio airtime is bought and sold. Advertisers and cable systems can sign up for the marketplace at www.Bid4Spots.com.

“So far the response from both advertisers and cable operators has been very positive,” said Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots founder and CEO. “We already have local cable systems from many large markets around the country, and that number is growing rapidly. Advertisers that need to reach people nationwide are especially interested in how our marketplace finally makes it easy to buy time on certain cable networks in particular markets at great rates. We offer both sides a level of control and flexibility not often found in cable TV advertising.”

Bid4Spots has organized the most comprehensive registry of the nation’s local cable TV systems – creating a database that will match an advertiser’s stated target audience with all the local cable systems that provide that particular audience reach.

Bid4Spots will host an online reverse auction from 8 a.m. to noon Pacific time every Thursday. Advertisers make known their intention to buy airtime within certain parameters for the following week, and the relevant cable systems compete for that business – bidding against each other to drive the rates down.

For cable operators, Bid4Spots offers an efficient, risk-free way to sell available airtime and attract new advertisers. Advertisers pay in advance, and make their spots available for review before the cable system decides to bid. Each cable system can decide which inventory it wants to make available each week; there are no obligations and no contracts to sign.

Advertisers gain a cost-effective, convenient way to buy premium cable TV airtime, and the ability to create their own custom network with buys that are national, regional or local in scale.

About Bid4Spots

Bid4Spots (www.Bid4Spots.com) has been hosting weekly online auctions for last-minute airtime since January 2005. The company’s approach to ad marketplaces is unique – hosting a reverse auction for desirable ad inventory still unsold by Thursday the week prior to airtime. Bid4Spots launched its marketplace for radio in 2005, expanded into the UK in 2007 and to cable TV in 2009. The company’s marketplaces allow advertisers and broadcasters to easily and efficiently buy and sell unsold airtime. Advertisers get desirable airtimes at great rates, and can target audiences by demographics and markets. Broadcasters boost revenue by selling inventory that otherwise would remain unsold. Founded by radio advertising veterans Dave and Patty Newmark, Bid4Spots is based in Encino, Calif.