View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

Half of young readers using ad-blockers on their mobile phones, conference told

By Freddy Mayhew

Nearly half of 16 to 24-year-olds now use an ad-blocker on their mobile phone, a marketing conference in London has heard.

Chris Dobson, chief executive of programmatic marketing firm The Exchange Lab, quoted the figure to industry executives at the Internet Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Engage conference yesterday.

It comes after a digital adspend report by IAB UK and PwC revealed almost one in three smartphone-owning Britons use the device as their primary source of news.

That number rises to 42 per cent among 18 to 34-year-olds in the UK with advertisers now spending 36 per cent of digital advertising on smartphones, the report said.

Dobson told the advertising industry conference it had a “responsibility to fix [ad-blocking prevalence] before it’s too late”, Campaign reported.

“The scary thing is that when people start blocking ads, they don’t stop blocking ads. They get used to it an ad-free environment,” Dobson said.

An IAB report in March showed that more than one in five British adult use ad-blockers.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Ad-blocking was named as one of three threats putting “severe pressure” on existing media business models in the 2016 Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Its rise has prompted a response from some publications, including City AM and the Financial TimesIn France, news publishers have united to prevent ad-block users from reading online content.

Popular Ad-blocking software Adblock Plus announced it planned to start selling adverts in a move that was condemned by IAB as “cynical”.

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network