Rise in ad blocking software throws a new challenge on digital media business

Digital companies like Google, Yahoo and other digital media companies generate revenue via digital ads, but what if more and more peoples choose to block ads on their systems. A new Business Insider report highlights a similar problem. The report shows that an increasing number of people are relying on ad blocking software, posing a threat to digital businesses that completely rely on advertising. Companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft are even paying Adblock Plus to unblock ads on their websites. In fact, some companies are also believed to be paying about 30 percent of the additional ad revenue off the unblocked ads. A  previous report from August 2013 claims that **Google** had saved an estimated $887 million by paying Adblock to show its ads. The report also adds that roughly 5% or say 144 million of all global internet users used ad blocking software during the second quarter of 2014. Most users comprising almost two-thirds came from Chrome and Firefox browsers. AdBlock has been making money by allowing certain ads that meet its criteria to appear on websites. This could mean industry giants are paying to ‘whitelist" their ads. “Some companies, however, are clearly threatened by Adblock Plus’ business, and are seeking damages from Eyeo, the German company that owns Adblock Plus, the report further adds. The extension has eaten up into the revenue generated by advertisements for most companies. The service thus has a programme called the “Acceptable Ads” whitelist. The feature, which has been around since 2011, allows some “unobtrusive” ads to filter through the extension unblocked.