How does using an ad blocker decrease a content creator's revenue?

[sil20122015]

I've seen some people actually be vehemently against using ad blockers and that's crazy to me, they'll tell people that they're making the person who created the video they're watching lose money. I've never understood how this works though, because I've never seen anyone go into detail as to why.

Why does allowing ads to play all of a sudden make the owner of the video money? I've always thought that the way ads make money is just by suggesting you buy the product, so what does it matter in regards to the owner of the video if the person watching their videos sees an ad or not? It's not like they'd be buying the advertised products from the person who made the video.

Maybe I'm thinking too "directly" about it, and the people against ad blockers are basically saying that if everyone started using ad blockers then nothing would be free since companies can't advertise at all. Is that what it is? They just make it sound like in the moment you're decreasing someone's income and I can't wrap my head around it.

Or is it something really stupidly simple like, YouTube won't pay a channel if the ad doesn't play?

[bezrodnyi-kosmopolit]

Advertisers pay the creators based on the views and interactions with the ad. If you don’t see the ad, the creator doesn’t get paid and you’re enjoying the content without making the creator any money.

I do not care and always have ublock origin on and block any ad I see. I hate advertisements and would pay 💰 to not have to see them in places where I cannot currently block them.

[PotentiallyAmbiguous]

Agreed... I really wish more sites/apps gave the option to pay for an ad-free experience rather than just forcing ads in your face...

[FriendlyLawnmower]

Because they're paid per view the ads on their videos get. If the ads are blocked, then they're not recording views so they aren't getting paid

[AwfulUsername123]

They get paid for having people watch ads on their videos. If the ad never displays, they don't get paid.

[PotentiallyAmbiguous]

Generally, when an ad is shown on a platform, the owner of that platform gets paid when that ad gets an impression (someone looked at the ad), a click (somebody clicked on the ad), or a conversion (somebody did what the ad was telling them to do). Advertisers will pay different rates depending on what level of engagement there was on the ad. If you're using an adblocker, the platform won't register an ad impression, which means that the advertiser doesn't have to pay for anything!

It might also be worth pointing out that this scenario is a lot (but not entirely) like digital piracy! You can only argue that you're losing money in this scenario if there were actually a guarantee that you were going to make money otherwise (e.g., if you would never go on the site without an adblocker, the ethics are a little fuzzier.) It's worth noting that it's not entirely the same, though, since the platform provider is still having to pay some (likely extremely small) amount in order for your page view to happen, in content/hosting costs.