Dillon Baker of Contently writes about the Financial Times and its decision to charge advertisers based on time rather than views.
Baker writes, “If FT has their way, the media industry will soon begin to adopt time spent metrics. According to their blog post, the newspaper is ‘already working with other global publishers to develop and increase the use of CPH, with the intention of making it a standard digital trading currency across the industry.’
“Still, it’s worth noting that it will likely only be media companies with high-quality content — the kind that ensures readers will click and stay — that have any interest in the new currency.
“And even if they are interested, the movement to CPH could be slow. The adoption of CPH requires an upheaval of a 20-year-old, deeply entrenched currency — think of it like bitcoin replacing the dollar, except on a smaller stage. FT had the advantage of a dedicated ad sales team and a reputation for high quality content and a high-end audience. For media companies reliant on programmatic or not as trusted as FT, however, the transition might prove difficult.
“Whether time spent ends up dominating the media ad industry or not, here’s one result we all can hope for: no more slideshows.”
Read more here.
