Bid4Spots Crosses $1 Million Threshold Six Months After Launch, Now Moves $100,000 Per Week in Remnant Radio Ad Sales; With Some 2,000 Radio Stations Aboard, Bid4Spots Becomes Nation's Largest Radio Advertising Network.

LAS VEGAS -- Bid4Spots (www.bid4spots.com), a pioneering online marketplace for unsold radio ad inventory, today announced that the company has reached the $1 million milestone, awarding auction winnings with an aggregate value in seven figures among its participating radio stations. Bid4Spots made the announcement at NAB2006, here through April 27.

Launched in September 2005, Bid4Spots introduced the industry's first online patent-pending reverse auction model for remnant radio, where participants bid ad rates down and the lowest bidder wins. Today, more than 2,000 radio stations nationwide have signed up to participate in Bid4Spots auctions, representing nearly all of the top 300 U.S. markets -- in effect making Bid4Spots the largest radio advertising network in the country.

More than 350 advertisers and an additional 110 ad agencies have enrolled in Bid4Spots to buy last-minute airtime from radio stations - helping Bid4Spots move about $100,000 per week in remnant sales. The new advertising marketplace now covers some 41 percent of the Arbitron-rated radio market and an aggregate listener base of roughly 55 million Americans, per Arbitron data.

"As our numbers demonstrate, we've gone from innovative start-up to emerging market leader in a very short time," said Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots president and CEO. "We're the first to bring a workable solution -- the reverse auction model -- that harnesses the power of the Internet as a platform in a way that benefits radio stations and advertisers alike. And because we focus solely on last-minute inventory, we're a true ally to ad agencies and reps as well -- a status that sets us apart from others in the space."

Enthusiasm on Both Sides of the Transaction

For advertisers, Bid4Spots' reverse auction model produces the industry's lowest rates, because radio stations compete for their business and drive prices down. There are low minimum expenditure requirements, no weekly commitments and no need for the time-consuming negotiations required for scheduled spots.

Mike Boggs, national media director for direct response advertising agency RainMakers International, said Bid4Spots helps him execute a wide range of client buys.

"Bid4Spots is, without question, the top firm in the space now," Boggs said. "It's absolutely fantastic -- we get great stations at very low rates. Bid4Spots allows us to test radio on the discount and see if it works for a client -- opening up the medium to a lot more potential advertisers. Bid4Spots has rejuvenated a portion of the radio advertising space that has not been fully monetized in the past."

For radio stations, Bid4Spots is an opportunity to generate additional revenue.

"Bid4Spots gives us the ability to sell inventory that otherwise would spoil," said Larry Eschenbacher, senior account manager, Clear Channel Radio, who sells airtime for San Francisco's KQKE-AM, a progressive talk radio station. "It brings revenue -- and even some advertisers -- that we normally wouldn't have access to. If we continue to experience the level of success we've had so far, I expect Bid4Spots to turn into a six figure account annually -- one that requires much less maintenance than other accounts."

Eschenbacher began using Bid4Spots shortly after the online marketplace launched, and said it has generated tens of thousands of dollars in revenue for his station thus far. He lauded the tools that make the entire process easy to manage: reports that help him track his inventory throughout the auctions, the fact that he can preview the spots before bidding on them and the ability to immediately download the spots won.

About Bid4Spots

Based in Encino, Calif., Bid4Spots transforms the often ineffective process of buying and selling last-minute radio spots -- also known as "remnant" airtime -- with the industry's first CPM-based reverse auction. Created by ad agency veteran Dave Newmark, Bid4Spots leverages the Internet to offer a flexible, fast solution that increases radio stations' revenues by helping them leave no daypart unsold, while broadening access to radio airtime for advertisers willing to forego the selection of specific stations and advance planning, in return for much lower ad rates.