the advertising business models beween web and tv are quite different and not really comparable.
in tv, channels sell ad time to the advertiser, and are paid upfront whether anyone sees the ad or not. it doesnt matter if you watch or skip, the time block was sold and paid for.
on web, channels are only paid per view or per click, not upfront, and so it really does matter whether you watch or skip.
each model has certain pros and cons for each party involved: advertiser, content provider, viewer. each party has different interests and no model will work 'best' for all three groups at the same time, certainly neither of he current ones.
i dont use ad block, and wont, but i think the more productive route, rather than just blocking ads wholesale, is to work out a better model that can better satisfy the primary interests of each party.
viewers dont want to be spammed, dont want to worry about hidden malicious content and dont want to jump through hoops to get to the content they came to see.
content providers want compensation for what they are doing, but often dont produce a product to sell or produce enough content at a regular frequency to be successful on subscriptions.
advertisers want thier products and services to be seen and purchased and need some way to determine the effectiveness of an ad.
so my question is, how do you come to reasonable compromise between these interests? everyone needs to make some concessions for a system as a whole to be successful. viewers will have to be exposed to some ads, advertisers and/or content providers will have to do more to provide safe and relevant ads, content providers will have to devise better ways of delivering ads without burdening users.
it is all a tricky act to balance and i dont think there are any quick and easy solutions, and that includes adblock.
But will it blend?
