Dive Brief:
- Now that iOS 9 users can block ads in the mobile Safari browser, UBS estimates ad blocking will cost $1 billion in lost advertising revenue, but describes the issue as “overblown.”
- Key reasons for UBS’s belief the threat is overstated include the fact ads in apps are not blocked, and users have to download ad-blocking software to stop ads in Safari.
- Since iOS 9 was released, ad-blocking software has soared in popularity, rising to the top of the paid app section of Apple’s App Store.
Dive Insight:
Advertisers and publishers alike are still waiting to see the impact of iOS 9’s ad blocking capability in the mobile Safari browser. Meanwhile, analysts at UBS are telling them the issue is “overblown” and estimates ad-blocking on Apple mobile devices will only cost $1 billion in lost revenue. A figure that is small in terms of marketplace percentage, but still unlikely to be very reassuring as industry players wait and see how they might be affected.
UBS outlined four reasons why industry worries are overblown:
- Ads in apps aren’t blocked by current iOS 9 ad blockers and the majority of advertising revenue is generated from in-app ads.
- Only Safari browser apps are blocked and Safari only accounts for 22% of mobile web traffic.
- Users have to take the step to download ad-blocking apps and then set up the device to begin blocking ads.
- iOS 9 ad blocking only works on 64-bit devices, which begins at the iPhone 5.
At the same time ad-blocking software is proving to be very popular on Apple’s App Store with two apps, Crystal and Purify Blocker, maintaining the one and four spots, and another app, Peace, shot up to number one before being pulled by its developer less than 24 hours after launching the app due to concerns it could hurt publishers.
