You can buy just about anything online

Trade Me is a New Zealand online auction site, where you can buy just about anything.

How about a radio license in Christchurch for a cool 7.8 Million?

That’s the auction price secured today, when two of the largest networks in the country threw their hats in the ring and went head to head.

NZME has outbid MediaWorks online for the Christchurch radio license. It’s the first time that the New Zealand Government has sold radio spectrum this way. In the past licenses in Auckland have sold for $7 to 8 Million NZ, the Christchurch reserve price was reportedly set at only $244,600.

NZME Managing director Dean Buchanan has been quoted as saying: "We are delighted to have secured the frequency within a reasonable payback period and we are thrilled with the new network opportunities we have secured around the country."

The radio license auction price is the largest Trade Me has ever had on its books. No word just yet on what NZME plans to put on the frequency.

THe Christchurch license was a number put up for aution around the country yesterday by The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.