Occasionally I will watch a YouTube video. Probably you do, too. I hadn't thought much about how it was financially supported. It is owned by Google, and apparently has been losing big money every year. Presumably Google is trying a way to make money on YouTube by introducing YouTubeRed -- a monthly paid-subscription service for videos. There are varied blogs on this concept. Here's one opinion. And here's another blog from a few months ago, blaming the app Adblock (which blocks ads on websites) for causing a significant reduction in income generated from clicking advertising links. Such as on YouTube.
I have used Adblock in the past (I don't now) -- especially when the ads became so obtrusive they made it difficult to read or enjoy a website. But the second blog makes a valid point by mentioning all the blogs and newsletters we get to read on the internet, usually free, aren't free at all. The writers need to be paid. So, how do they get paid? By advertising.
The reduction in ad revenues has seriously affected the publishing business -- look at the impact on magazines and newspapers. We've been doing our reading on the internet, usually for free! Will the reduction in ad revenue start affecting the amount and quality of what we're now able to read on the internet? Interesting question.
Should we all stop using ad blockers of any kind on websites so our internet reading remains free? Or?
Jim Hamm