eBay, Disney give it a Go with auction site

eBay has quietly launched a new joint auction site with Walt Disney entertainment portal Go Network.

The launch is the first part of a four-year agreement the two firms announced in February. As part of that agreement, eBay will soon open several new merchant-to-consumer auctions featuring merchandise from Go.com's corporate siblings Disney, ABC and ESPN.

The site, ebay.go.com, is essentially a mirror of the main eBay site. However, the Go Network version includes a navigation bar at the top and bottom of each page that links to Go.com, Disney.com and other Go Network sites.

Officials from eBay and the Go Network were not immediately available for comment.

The auction site resembles eBay's co-branded site with America Online, which the two companies launched last August. eBay also has joint sites with AOL properties ICQ, Digital Cities, CompuServe and Netscape.

eBay is paying AOL $75 million over 4 years to promote its service on AOL's sites. According to regulatory filings, eBay will pay the Go Network at least $30 million over 4 years to promote itself on the Go Network's sites.

eBay's deals with the Go Network and AOL could allow the online auction giant to tap into the same general Internet audience available to Yahoo and FairMarket Network members MSN and Excite@Home. eBay has taken a number of steps to try to maintain its lead over its rivals, both by broadening its audience through its portal deals and by deepening its selection through partnerships with car site AutoTrader.com and antiques site Tias.com.

The Go Network launched its own independent auction site last fall. That site has since closed and has been replaced with a link to the company's new co-branded site.