Brilliant Is Buying Auction Broadcaster

Brilliant Digital Media, a digital entertainment company based in Los Angeles, plans to announce today the acquisition of Trojan Television, a London company that broadcasts auctions by Christie’s and other firms both on Sky television and on the Internet. Brilliant said it is paying about $7.5 million in shares for the 2-year-old company, which does business as the Auction Channel, and plans to develop similar simulcasts in the U.S. “There’s a large, developing story in auctions,” Brilliant President Kevin Bermeister said. “The Auction Channel gives us specialization in retaining the rich heritage of auctions and integrating it with technology.” Bermeister said the television operation isn’t profitable yet. In the hotly contested world of Internet auctions, no site yet offers live, televised bidding and few offer Web-casts, the company said. Bermeister said Brilliant has had talks with Barry Diller’s USA Networks, among others, about broadcasting live Web-based auctions.