Advertising exposure preferred way of ‘paying’ for online content

The survey, of 4,000 consumers across the UK and US, measured attitudes towards online advertising and content. Results revealed that while 74% of respondents currently do not pay to access any digital media sites or apps, 46% said that seeing advertising around content was their preferred way of ‘paying’ for this access.

Other key findings were:

• 28% consumers happy to view advertising before reaching content
• 54% 16-24 year olds prepared to accept advertising around content ( 37% happy to see ads priorto content)
• 12% prepared to pay to see no ads
• 51% don’t want to give up data to allow for personalised ads
• In the UK, TV is still the preferred way ( 74%) to access content such as news, fashion, sports and business, 9% ahead of the online option 
• Overall figures reversed in the US: 9% more go online than watching TV

“If the younger generation in particular aren’t paying for content, then it’s essential that publishers are able to profit from advertising,” said Richard Britton, CloudSense CEO.  “It is now more important than ever for publishers to attract advertisers relevant to the audience, provide a positive user experience and ultimately, this will give publishers the ammunition to sell more advertising.”