This is exposing the “inadequacies” of the ad tech ecosystem.
As third-party measurement companies blacklist content linked to coronavirus in the name of brand safety, publishers are unable to monetise the traffic coming from “news-hungry” visitors as per AdAge. The blacklisting impacts advertising revenue for publishers at a time when they need it the most.
The New York Times has reportedly alerted its investors of a possible 10% decline in digital revenue. Among the several companies that are blacklisting content related to the pandemic include DoubleVerify.
According to a cybersecurity company Cheq, inappropriate blocking of safe content on premium news sites caused a revenue loss of $2.8 billion last year. Ryan Pauley, chief revenue officer at Vox media points out that, “This is going to highlight some of the inadequacies of the ad technology ecosystem.”
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