Following on from our OOKII news post of June 23rd about how ad-blocking software is dramatically changing the web landscape http://bit.ly/28Ql9s0
The New York Times, like many online publishers, is fighting an ongoing war against ad blocking software, a phenomenon that a recent study said could lead to more than $35 billion in losses for media companies by 2020. NYT chief executive Mark Thompson stated that he is even considering banning users who use ad blockers completely.
While the Times may see its battle against ad blocking software as a defense of high-quality journalism, its readers sometimes see it differently. That difference can be seen most clearly in the thousands of comments that Reddit users, many of them NYT subscribers, have made their feelings felt regarding Mark Thompson’s plans.
In response to this backlash the Times is considering offering its subscribers a more expensive tier that would remove ads from the site altogether, a response to criticism from those subscribers who complain about being subjected to ads even though they already subscribe to the paper. The big question. no one knows the answer to just yet, is can the Times earn enough from these top tier subscriptions to make up for the loss of advertising revenue?
First published by Adrian G Stewart at OOKII.Company
Adrian G Stewart
