Bid4Spots Cable TV Ad Marketplace Increases Revenue by 40 Percent, Reaches 8.3 Million Households in Most U.S. DMAs

Business Wire, June 24, 2009

Speed, Efficiency of Reverse Auction Platform Lauded; Marketplace Brings Network-Level CPMs to Local Buys, Pre-Paid Cash Transactions for Cable Operators

ENCINO, Calif. -- Bid4Spots (www.Bid4Spots.com) today announced a 40 percent increase in total ad revenue generated in its online marketplace for cable television advertising, from the first to the fourth auction.

To date, the roster of participating cable operators reaches an aggregate total of 8.37 million households in most DMA markets nationwide – including nearly every Top 50 market. Many say they participate in part because Bid4Spots is a no-risk, cash transaction for the cable operators – advertisers pay in advance.

Billy Stewart, Business Development Director of Viamedia, provides advertising sales systems for cable partners nationwide, including Verizon FIOS, RCN, WOW, Grande and others. “Viamedia has built its business on being innovative,” Stewart said. “We like introducing new technologies and improvements to our partners. We see a huge opportunity in monetizing our unsold inventory, and Bid4Spots’ platform allows us to do that very efficiently. Bid4Spots lets us turn unsold inventory around quickly -- within a few hours, we know what we’ve won. This represents a constant incremental revenue stream, from week to week, which is easy to manage.”

“The marketplace is taking off like a rocket,” said Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots founder and CEO. “We’re doing something that’s never been done before – we’re able to give advertisers local markets at the same cost-per-thousand viewers (CPM) that they’d get at the national network level. This gives national advertisers a cost-effective way to tailor their ad buys to specific local markets – which in turn gives local cable operators a chance to tap the vast revenue potential of national advertisers.

“Traditionally, when advertisers buy at the network level their CPMs are low but their cash outlay is high because they have to buy the entire national network,” said Newmark. “But what if an advertiser only wants the Southeast? He’s paying for markets he doesn’t even need. The alternative – buying specific local markets – was too costly in the past, because local market CPMs were typically much higher. But now our reverse auction format changes that, expanding the possibilities for both advertisers and cable operators. Finally, an online system that actually works for offline media.”

Bid4Spots hosts 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 bid for that business.

Advertisers and cable systems can sign up for the marketplace at www.Bid4Spots.com.

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 advertising veterans Dave and Patty Newmark, Bid4Spots is based in Encino, Calif.