New York Times ( NYT ) CEO , David Thompson , suggests he is considering banning ad - blocking non - subscribers to encourage a greater influx of fee - paying readers for the newspaper 's quality content . "That should not be allowed. The importance of targeting digital readers was highlighted by the 7 % decline in print revenue and 5 % increase in digital revenue during Q4 2015 . Now the NYT has decided to move away from traditional display ads in favour of more branded content , in an effort to improve engagement with its current 1.1 million paid online - only readers , who generated $ 193 m in revenue during 2015 , up 14 % from 2014 . It is also hoping to double its digital revenue from both advertising and subscriptions to $ 800 m by 2020 .
New York Times ( NYT ) CEO , David Thompson , suggests he is considering banning ad - blocking non - subscribers to encourage a greater influx of fee - paying readers for the newspaper 's quality content . The importance of targeting digital readers was highlighted by the 7 % decline in print revenue and 5 % increase in digital revenue during Q4 2015 . Now the NYT has decided to move away from traditional display ads in favour of more branded content , in an effort to improve engagement with its current 1.1 million paid online - only readers , who generated $ 193 m in revenue during 2015 , up 14 % from 2014 . It is also hoping to double its digital revenue from both advertising and subscriptions to $ 800 m by 2020 .