“Advertising is an easy target: it’s an eyesore, slows down web pages, and — in the wrong hands — compromises your privacy. But whether you accept it or hate it, advertising is also the reason you don’t have to pay for your news,” Jeremy Horwitz writes for 9to5Mac. “As Ben Lovejoy noted last month, “without ad revenue, 9to5Mac wouldn’t exist; it’s that simple.” And he’s right: surveys suggest that the vast majority of people do not want to pay for the news they consume, and the few who do can’t pay enough to keep their favorite publications afloat for the long term. Ads keep publications alive.”
“Thanks to the introduction of ad-blocking technology in iOS 9, some people think Apple wants to help users get rid of ads. But that’s not Apple’s goal,” Horwitz writes. “Yesterday’s debut of Apple News shows that it’s actually angling to replace the ads you know, build upon them, and take a cut of their revenue… iOS 9 supports ad-blocking plug-ins that remove ads from web-based content viewed using Safari, the dominant iOS web browser. Not coincidentally, the ad-blockers are arriving simultaneously with iAd-sponsored Apple News. Apple is effectively forcing publishers who opt-in with Apple News to support Apple’s iAds solution, or lose revenue.”
I’m not trying to suggest that advertising is a great thing, or that I like the status quo,” Horwitz writes. “But there’s no escaping the fact that advertising, whether it’s banners, affiliate links, or site sponsorships, enables people to spend their time creating content for you to consume at no charge. If advertising disappears, you’re either going to pay directly for that content, or the content is going to go away. In light of the changes Apple is encouraging, it’s time to decide whether you’re willing to accept sponsorship along with your free news, or whether you’re willing to start paying its production costs directly. The alternative — letting publications wither on the vine, reducing competition and the availability of information — will ultimately be far worse than the other options.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s no secret what’s going on: Ad-blockers are killing some websites. The online publishing biz is in a transitionary period. Some sites will make it, some will not. Apple News offers a possible salvation for publishers by allowing them to get paid for their work.
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On May 18th, we dramatically cut the number of ads per page in a effort to markedly improve the experience, to stop trying to make up for revenue lost to ad-blockers with more ads (that’s a vicious spiral to hell), and so that we could seriously ask our visitors to whitelist us.
Fewer ads, in theory, makes them more valuable eventually. Fingers crossed! Yes, it’s a significant revenue hit we’re working through, but we hope it’s only for the short term, and that there will be long term benefits. The speed of the site has dramatically improved. Right now, 20.1% of our visitors are blocking our ads. 1 in 5. But, we’re definitely moving in the right direction! THANKS!
MacDailyNews is a independent website. We’re not owned by a large corporation. Without our advertisers, this site simply would not exist. As always, thank you so much for visiting and for your support. We really appreciate it.
We’ll be participating in Apple News. We hope it does well for Apple and especially for those good publishers who are on the ropes or facing an uncertain future.
SEE ALSO:
Apple News to have human curation – and that raises issues – June 15, 2015
How Apple’s mobile ad-blocker could backfire on the company and iPhone, iPad users – June 12, 2015
Hats off to Web advertising – no, really – July 6, 2015
Apple’s support of mobile ad blocking may upend how the web works – June 12, 2015
