• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 27, 2016

For all the problems traditional linear TV has -- measurement issues and shifting TV content to new platforms/devices -- just look at the growing-even-more-complicated digital world of ad blocking.  Maybe things aren’t so bad.

The scatter TV marketplace has seen some resurgence -- in large part due to traditional TV marketers holding back spending in the previous upfront and other media buying periods.  But perhaps there is another reason: lack of confidence in specific digital media arenas.

Right now traditional TV consumers have three real choices: watch a TV show live; time-shift a program on DVR devices (complete with the less-than-perfect art of fast-forwarding through commercials); or view a show on advertising-supported video-on demand services with some commercials.

But in the digital world, a consumer -- can efficiently block all advertising -- display, video, pop up ads, whatever. That has gotten digital media executives into a frenzy about what happens next.

Now apparently, there is another side of the coin -- with some ad blocking companies offering up "solutions" for publishers, which, for many, have an unsavory feel to it. In other words, ad-blockers will help publishers out with their ad-blocking customers if they become clients.

Interactive Advertising Bureau CEO Randall Rothenberg said as much, calling one ad blocking company “an old-fashioned extortion racket.” He cited Andrew Leonard in Salon two years ago with a similar tone: “Pay up, or we’ll break your windows!”

For-profit ad-blockers? Who pays the freight there? Yikes.

If you are a national or local TV advertising sales executive, you might not need much these day to convince marketers to slow down on digital media spending. You can also throw faux bot-driven media placement into the argument.

Time shifting of TV programming, with some fast-forwarding of TV commercials, and some less than perfect ROI? No problem. No need to be greedy.