ePort FAQs: Buyer



	Buyer FAQs TVB ePort Fact Sheet (PDF)

		About TVB ePort
		What is TVB ePort?
		How will TVB ePort benefit the Local Broadcast Television industry?
		What electronic processes will TVB ePort support?
		Will TVB ePort support multiplatform transactions?
		Do I have to be a TVB Member to sign up for TVB ePort?
		What does it cost to participate in TVB ePort?
		How do I register as a TVB ePort user?
		Is ePort going to be used for National biz with rep firms and direct local business?
		How long will orders be archived in the system?
		Can stations accept partial orders?
		Can customers without buy systems use ePort? How?
		Will TVB mine and re-purpose the data that goes through ePort?

		About open standards and XML
		What are open standards (Schema)?
		How are open standards different from TVB ePort?
		What is XML and what is an XML schema?
		My system already accepts electronic invoices, will I be able to process all of the non-airtime and multiplatform charges on the new open standard electronic invoices?

		Buy/Sell vendor systems
		What buy/sell systems are compliant with TVB’s XML Schema?
		How will ePort enable Spot TV buyers to send orders electronically?
		What if my system vendor already provides electronic invoicing?
		Will TVB keep us updated on vendor progress or should we communicate directly with them?

		AAAA Registry
		What is the AAAA registry?

		Contacting TVB ePort
		How do I contact TVB ePort?

	About TVB ePort
	What is TVB ePort? TVB ePort is an open electronic platform to which any trading partner (buyer, station, rep) can send Open Standard transactions (e.g. Order, Makegood) and from which any trading partner can receive Open Standard transactions.
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	How will TVB ePort benefit the Local Broadcast Television industry? TVB ePort will: Provide an electronic connection to send/receive Open Standards-based electronic documents between trading partners. Allow any size trading partner with any in-house system to transact business electronically. Provide a buyer interface for local, direct accounts for agencies that do not have an in-house buy system. Enable a process for web orders and other multiplatform transactions. Improve customer service by creating new electronic transactions such as log time reports. Increase time spent negotiating by reducing time spent stewarding. Reduce input errors and resulting discrepancies. Speed up the transaction process. Create an electronic audit trail. Improve operational efficiency by reducing manual input and paper related costs (filing, faxing and postage). Provide the incentive for sell/buy systems to use open standards and upgrade user applications. Foster competition among technology providers.
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	What electronic processes will TVB ePort support? Upon completion, in first half 2008, TVB ePort will support the following electronic processes: Order Order Revision Makegood Contract Log Times Avail Request Avail Submission

	Will TVB ePort support multiplatform transactions? Yes. TVB ePort will be written to TVB's Standard Schema, which support the capability to include information about non-airtime charges (including interactive) as well as the broadcast components.
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	Do I have to be a TVB Member to sign up for TVB ePort? No. TVB ePort is available to both member and non-member local broadcast stations and reps. TVB ePort will be free to advertiser and agency customers.

	What does it cost to participate in TVB ePort? TVB ePort will be free to advertiser and agency customers. The development of TVB ePort is being funded by a grant from the NAB and by the Local Broadcast industry.

	How do I register as a TVB ePort user? First of all, you should contact your buy system provider in order to see if they have a service that meets your needs. ePort is designed to receive documents that are sent directly from most buy systems. If you do not have a buy system provider, your provider does not offer what you need or you just want more information about ePort, click here and someone from ePort will contact you.

	Is ePort going to be used for National biz with rep firms and direct local business? Yes. ePort will enable all Spot TV business regardless of whether you buy through the National reps or Local AEs.

	How long will orders be archived in the system? The default is 3 months after the end of the flight, long enough for invoices to be reconciled. However, users can adjust the archive period to meet their auditing needs and save orders indefinitely.

	Can stations accept partial orders? Not yet. Our first release of ePort will allow the acceptance or rejection of full orders. Partial confirmations are on our list for future development.

	Can customers without buy systems use ePort? How? Absolutely! ePort offers a user screen so buyers can key in their orders and order revisions and send them to stations. Buyers are able to access their makegoods and monitor their transactions in ePort as well.

	Will TVB mine and re-purpose the data that goes through ePort? No. The ePort platform will be moving whole documents (think of a fax machine sending an order), not individual buy data. TVB will not have access to the specific data and will not be monitoring, collecting or re-purposing any data that passes through ePort.
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	About open standards and XML
	What are open standards (Schema)? Computers need to speak the same language and use common terms to pass information between them. Standards ensure that all computer systems are developed using the same terms allowing them all to communicate without translations. Standards need to be open/neutral – not proprietary – to ensure that all sized trading partners are capable of participating in electronic communications and to foster competitive technology.

	How are open standards different from TVB ePort? TVB’s goal in creating Open Standards is to encourage all computer system vendors (traffic systems on the sell side and stewardship systems on the buy side) to develop eBusiness functionality. ePort will provide the connectivity for trading partners whose systems have not yet been upgraded to communicate electronically using the Open Standards.

	What is XML and what is an XML schema? XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a programming language designed to facilitate the sharing of data across different systems. An XML schema is a file that describes a specific document format.

	My system already accepts electronic invoices. Will I be able to process all of the non-airtime and multiplatform charges on the new open standard electronic invoices? In order to process non-airtime and multiplatform charges, your system provider must write to the open standard invoice document. Please ask your system provider when they are scheduled to do that and how non-airtime and multiplatform information can be processed in the interim.
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	Buy/Sell vendor systems
	What buy/sell systems are compliant with TVB ePort? TVB ePort has met with enthusiastic support from buy/sell system vendors, most of whom have announced that they will update their services to support the TVB XML schema. A list of system vendors and their respective anticipated dates of compliance will be published as the information becomes available. In the meantime, we recommend that you call your buy/sell system vendor and encourage their compliance with TVB’s XML schema.

	How will ePort enable Spot TV buyers to send orders electronically? Most of the agency stewardship system vendors have indicated that they will be modifying their systems to allow buyers to send orders to ePort. For smaller agencies that do not use a stewardship system, it is possible for buyers to enter orders and order revisions directly into ePort that then delivers those orders and revisions electronically to sellers. Spot TV buyers should check with their system vendor to see if/when they can send orders to ePort from their system.

	What if my system vendor already provides electronic invoicing? As part of TVB’s Open Standards initiative, we have defined a new file layout for invoices. Like all the other messages, it is in XML and will allow for the transmission of invoices including airtime and non-airtime charges and interactive orders electronically. Because there are several existing systems that currently allow for the electronic transmission of invoices, ePort at this time will not support electronic invoicing; rather, we are working with providers to incorporate the new Open Standards file layout into their existing services.

	Will TVB keep us updated on vendor progress or should we communicate directly with them? Please contact your system provider and ask when they will be compliant with ePort. As vendors complete their development work and release their ePort capabilities we plan to post their progress on the ePort website.
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	AAAA Registry
	What is the AAAA Registry? The AAAA Registry will be the “electronic address book” for the advertising industry. It will be used by computer systems to determine whether a trading partner’s system is capable of receiving a specific XML message and, if so, how it should be delivered. Further information is available at the registry website (www.ebizformedia.com).

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	Contacting TVB ePort
	How do I contact TVB ePort? Email: info@tvb-eport.net Mail to: TVB ePort, 3 East 54th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10022 Telephone: 212-486-1111 Fax: 212-935-5631
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