Digital Thieves and the Hijacking of the Online Ad Business
A Report on the Profitability of Ad-Supported Content TheftFebruary 2014
www.digitalcitizensalliance.org/followtheprofit
GOOD MONEY
GONE BAD
i
CONTENTS
Contents .............................................................................................................................................................iTable of References .....................................................................................................................................ii
Figures .........................................................................................................................................................................................iiTables ...........................................................................................................................................................................................ii
About this Report ..........................................................................................................................................1Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................3Three Key Relevant Growth Trends ....................................................................................................4Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................4
Sites Studied ...........................................................................................................................................................................4P&L Model .................................................................................................................................................................................7
.....................................................................................................................................10Segment Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................11
Summary and Recommendations .....................................................................................................13Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................................................14Appendices ...................................................................................................................................................15
Appendix A: P&L Detail .....................................................................................................................................................15Appendix B: Cost & Revenue Detail ............................................................................................................................19Appendix C: Sites Studied ..............................................................................................................................................20Appendix D: Premium Brands Appearing on Sample Sites .............................................................................25Appendix E: References ...................................................................................................................................................26
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TABLE OF REFERENCES
Figures
Figure 1: Growth in Programmatic .................................................................................................................................4Figure 2: Example BitTorrent Portal (piratereverse.info) ....................................................................................5Figure 3: Example Linking Site (free-tv-video-online.me) .................................................................................6Figure 4: Example Video Streaming Host (videoweed.es) .................................................................................6
Figure 5: Example DDL Host (albale.com)
...............................................................................................................6Figure 6: Sites by Functional and Size Segments ..................................................................................................7Figure 7: Financial Model Data Points ..........................................................................................................................7Figure 8: Sample Breakdown (l.), Revenue (r.) by Size .........................................................................................8Figure 9: Sample Breakdown (l.), Revenue (r.) by Segment ..............................................................................8Figure 10: Site Linkage Types (Veri-Site) ..................................................................................................................10
Tables
Table 1: Q3 Aggregate Revenue, Margin for Ad-Supported Sites ..................................................................8Table 2: Torrent Portal Average/Aggregate Results ..........................................................................................11Table 3: Linking Sites Average, Aggregate Results .............................................................................................11Table 4: Video Streaming Host Average, Aggregate Ad Revenue ................................................................12Table 5: DDL Host Sites Average, Aggregate Ad Revenue ...............................................................................12
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