Browsers block ads, threaten free sites, researchers say

August 24, 2013

Nearly one in four browsers are armed with an ad-blocking tool, reducing revenue at free-content websites, an Irish company said last week. The popularity of ad blocking—driven by users' frustrations with intrusive, distracting or just-plain-ugly-and-noisy ads—threatens the free-for-all model of the Internet, said PageFair, a company that's helping content publishers audit the problem and try to stem some of the bloodletting. "It's a vicious cycle," said Neil O'Connor, CEO of Dublin-based PageFair. "Ads are becoming more aggressive to capture eyeballs, but that forces more people to install ad-blocking software. It's a lose-lose situation." But without ads and the revenue they generate, most content publishers cannot sustain operations. Sans ad revenue, the only options are to charge for access—the path taken by publishers like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times—or fold the tent. [Note: Computerworld and most IDG news sites rely on advertising for revenue.] To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2047364/browsers-block-ads-threaten-free-sites-researchers-say.html#tk.rss_all