The Internet auction house eBay is considering establishing a daytime TV show to sell goods and tell stories about its customers.
The Web giant is in talks with two major US networks, including ABC, and some cable networks to bring the show to daytime TV five days a week, eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said.
eBay already has a relationship with ABC's parent company, Walt Disney. In February, eBay started selling Disney memorabilia online.
The show could "include a reflection of what takes place online," along with stories about eBay users and the eBay experience, Pursglove said. eBay has hired an agency to get the show off the ground and onto the airwaves, he said.
The decision is part of expansion plans eBay has been considering over the past year, Pursglove said.
"This is one idea that popped up," he said.
PC-to-TV migration
eBay represents another in the small, but growing, parade of giant Web companies from the computer to television, according to Jeetil Patel, a senior analyst with Deutsche Bank Alex Brown.
America Online and Time Warner was perhaps the first deal of its kind. USA Networks and Lycos also went arm-in-arm, but "that didn't go over very well," Patel said.
"Is this a foreshadowing of online going after offline assets? Perhaps," he said.
Patel thinks eBay is trying to capitalise on two trends: extending the products they offer for sale beyond collectibles and moving into television.
"Think of the Home Shopping Network," Patel said. "That's what eBay is trying to move towards."
