NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
In its first attempt to extend its brand beyond the dot.com world, eBay is in talks to develop a five-day-a-week syndicated television show, "eBay-TV," highlighting those who buy and sell products on the Internet auction site.
The show is planned for fall of 2004, and is in development in a joint effort by eBay (EBAY: Research, Estimates) and Sony Pictures Television, a unit of Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Corp. (SNE: Research, Estimates). Sony shot a pilot of the show a week ago, with Ahmad Rashad and Molly Pesce serving as hosts.
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| Ahmad Rashad |
But there is a question about whether any television stations will put in bids for the show, which would be closer to PBS's "Antique Roadshow" than QVC's television shopping network, or whether viewers will click on it.
According to officials with eBay and Sony Pictures, the show will feature segments on different people who use eBay, either buying or selling products.
"There will be an 'Antiques Roadshow' element -- segments about people's items and what they're worth. But that's only one part of it," said a spokeswoman for Sony. "Most will be the interesting people behind eBay, from people who collect toys in Happy Meals to people trying to sell an office building. When you get to know eBay, you find there are amazing stories."
What the show will not be is a way to increase the sales of items listed on eBay, said eBay spokesman Chris Donlay.
"We're just the platform to sell the items. We're not selling anything ourselves, like QVC," said Donlay, who said the company is excited about its first effort to move outside the online world.
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The Sony spokeswoman said there have been some discussions with stations and station groups about the five-day-a-week one-hour program, but none had yet seen the pilot and the company wasn't ready to discuss any commitments to air the program.
"We have every intention of launching next fall," she said.
But David Steiner, president of online auction resource Auctionbytes.com, said that he's been hearing talk about the program for a number of years and he's not convinced it will ever get on the air.
"I think there are certainly interesting stories, similar to HGTV's 'Treasures in your home.' I watch that show," said Steiner. "But if it's going to just be a marketing tool for eBay, I don't think there will be a lot of interest. I was a TV producer for 15 years. Usually when something takes this long to develop, it means there are a lot of kinks that need to be hammered out. Seeing is believing."
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