Publishers are well aware that portions of their audiences bypass their paywalls and access content without paying for the privilege. Most have opted to turn a blind eye, arguing that it’s a fringe behavior or that it has no meaningful impact on their businesses.
But the reality is that few publishers have an accurate read on what portion of their audiences might be bypassing their paywalls, let alone a nuanced understanding of the impact it could have on their revenues. They may assume it’s a small minority, but most lack robust data to support that assumption.
Measuring paywall circumvention accurately remains technically challenging. Some circumvention tactics make identifying paywall-dodging users difficult, leaving publishers in the dark as to how frequently their content is actually being accessed by non-paying audiences. Publishers and technology providers readily admit that quantifying paywall circumvention accurately remains essentially impossible.