When last year Apple announced that phones with IOS would also be able to install Ad-Blockers the online publishing world went crazy.

With ad revenue already decreasing for years now, it is not that much fun to create content online anymore. At least, not when you are hoping to get compensated for your work. Ad-blockers are not making the future any brighter for publishers, but just how bad is it?

The 2017 Report

Pagefair’s report indicated that:

11% of the global internet population is blocking ads on the web

Adblock usage grew 30% globally in 2016Mobile adblock usage grew by 108 million to reach 380 million devices

Desktop adblock usage grew by 34 million to reach 236 million devices

So things are not looking very good. What makes things worse, is that it are especially the higher educated people with more money to spend who are making use of ad block services. And research shows that finding ways around it like creating ad block walls, are highly destructive. In fact 74% of American internet consumers leave a website that uses an ad-block wall.

Emarketeer projects that another 25% increase is to be expected in 2017.

The above chart shows how fast it has gone since 2013.

The Future?

Publishers will need to find other ways of make sure they are getting paid for the content they provide. You will see a lot of newspapers, like The Guardian, begging their readers to take an old fashioned subscription again, because the advertisement revenue simply is not enough to keep newspapers alive.

This is one way to go, but hopefully more ideas will arrive soon.