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Ebuzzing Video Advertising

An ad-free internet would cost UK web users £140 each a year

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

August 20, 2014 | 3 min read

It would cost each UK web user £140 annually to fully remove ads from the internet, according to research from Ebuzzing.

Video ads have become common viewing on Facebook and Twitter

The study found that 98 per cent of users said they would not pay the fee adding that most consumers understood ads were a necessary trade-off to keep the internet free.

The UK online video advertising market, which grew 63 per cent to reach £325m last year, according to the internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), was studied by Ebuzzing, with over 1,400 UK consumers questioned.

The report revealed that 63 per cent of web users skip online video ads "as quickly as possible", with this figure rising to three quarters among 16-24 year olds.

More than a quarter of all respondents said they mute video ads and an additional 20 per cent said they leave the video tab temporarily.

A total 16 per cent of respondents said they use ad blocking software, such as Ad Blocker, which removes ads altogether earning the content producer no revenue.

When asked what put them off the video ads over a third of respondents said they "should be relevant to [them]" and a fifth said they "should be able to select the ad [they] watch". This was as high as 38 per cent for 16-24 year olds.

A quarter believed ads should be "funny or entertaining" and a fifth said they should last less than a minute.

Jeremy Arditi, managing director of Ebuzzing UK, said: “It’s clear the ad industry has a major role to play in keeping web content free, but we have to respond to what consumers are telling us and up our game if the phenomenal growth of online video is to be sustained.

“Poorly made or poorly placed ads get ignored, which means publishers lose out. We need to get better at engaging, not better at interrupting. That means introducing new formats which consumers find less invasive, more creative ads that are better placed, and giving consumers a degree of choice and control.”

This comes after Ethan Zuckerman, the creator of the pop-up ad, last week apologised for his creation, adding “intentions were good”.

Ebuzzing Video Advertising

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