AD BLOCKERS: THE END OF FREE CONTENT?
Ad Blocker is software that will remove ads from a website –
allowing the user to experience only the content.
From last week City AM started a trail that will “blur” text
on its desktop website where it detects Ad Blockers are being used.
As you can see, readers will be greeted with a message saying:
“We are having trouble showing you adverts on this page, which may be a result
of ad blocker software being installed on your device. As City AM relies on
advertising to fund its journalism, please disable any adblockers from running
on cityam.com to see the rest of this content.”
So what will this mean for the publishing and media
industry?
Could this be the end of free content, especially when that
content is exclusive and unique to that publication? Everyone in the publishing
industry knows the difficulty in getting readers to pay for anything but niche
content online, so by ‘banning’ viewing this can only result in a reduction of
page views and, in turn , revenue from advertisers.
City AM is also providing blocked readers with a link to a
Q&A page explaining how to turn off ad blockers, giving more info on why
the publisher has introduced the ban, and provided a feedback form.
Other U.K. publishers, and indeed those around the world,
are also looking at the idea to prevent readers using AdBlockers. Independent
surveys suggest that losses as a result of this software could amount to £14 billion
in revenue this year.
Fears about an explosion in AdBlocking was intensified when
Apple’s move to update its iOS operating system last month included the ability
for iPhone and iPad owners to download apps to block ads on webpages on their
phones.
German publisher Axel Springer has already baned readers who
use AdBlockers from its Bild tabloid website.
Many are saying this could be a game-changer for the global
publishing industry. Let’s wait and see. Those same people said the same about
PDF editions of printed titles.
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