Las Vegas - Major players in the advertising industry have teamed with online auctions firm eBay to create an electronic exchange for the buying and selling of advertising on national cable TV.

Traditionally, the ad business has operated through personal contacts and relationships established between people who buy ads on behalf of companies looking to advertise their wares, and people who sell placements for newspapers, TV, radio and other media outlets.

"We are one of the biggest industries that does not have (electronic trading) right now," Michael Donahue, executive vice president of member services at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, told CNET News.com.

The AAAA's eBiz for Media project plans to launch a test of its eBay Media Marketplace site in a couple of weeks, Donahue added.

So far, advertisers including Microsoft, HP and Home Depot have signed up, but no cable TV networks have yet pledged to participate.

The AAAA has also hired Arbinet to create an eBiz for Media registry that will store financial business information from media companies, media buyers and ad agencies.

Arbinet COO Robert Barbiere told News.com the company is also creating an online ad exchange for mobile devices.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2exqjb (AAAA announcement)

http://tinyurl.com/yph29z (CNET)

http://www.arbinet.com

http://www.aaaa.org