San Francisco - Online auction site eBay has launched a service that will offer unsold radio advertising inventory from 2,300 U.S. radio stations for sale on its site, through a partnership with Encino, Calif.-based Bid4Spots, The New York Times reported.

The eBay Media Marketplace allows advertisers to create auctions that state how much they are willing to pay for airtime; then, radio stations registered with Bid4Spots can make competing offers.

"By combining this radio station base with eBay’s reach and scale among potential advertisers, we believe we have the opportunity to create a vibrant new marketplace that will benefit the radio industry and advertisers alike, said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy.

The eBay service was originally launched in March as a place to sell cable TV ads, but so far only Oxygen has offered air time on the service.

Google partnered with Clear Channel in April to launch a similar online marketplace for unsold radio ad inventory, and also recently began selling TV ad time on EchoStar's DISH Network.

Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/technology/06ebay.html

http://www.bid4spots.com