TVB’s ePort electronic transaction system went live last month as electronic orders were sent by Harmelin Media directly to Philadelphia stations and by Horizon Media to Continental Television Sales on behalf of its client, Gray Television-owned WOWT-TV Omaha.
TVB also announced that 644 stations in 186 markets, including 100 of the top 100 markets, are now committed to TVB ePort, and coverage has reached 97.8% of the U.S.
“We are thrilled with last month’s successful launch and the growing support from television stations across the country,” said Chris Rohrs, TVB President. “We look forward to 2008’s rollout of the entire suite of open standard transactions–from avail through invoice for stations’ airtime, websites, digital subchannels and other multiplatform offerings–which we expect to complete by the end of the second quarter.”
Both Harmelin and Horizon are clients of Strata Marketing, which owns the first buying system to become compliant with TVB ePort’s open standards. Additional Strata agency clients will be connected to TVB ePort in the coming weeks, followed by the clients of other providers as they adapt their software to the nonproprietary standards.
