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How ‘consent or pay’ is rewriting reader relationships

Requiring payment to opt out of tracking raises opt‑in rates and underscore the value of a paid digital product. Could this approach also sustain ad yields over the long term?

29th August 2025

Consent or pay is gaining traction, with publishers now offering readers a clear choice to accept tracking for personalised ads or pay for an equivalent, ad‑free experience.

Across the UK, a growing number of major news brands have moved to consent or pay models that ask readers either to allow tracking for personalised ads, or to pay for an alternative experience without non-essential cookies or advertising. Recent reporting shows that 16 of the top 50 UK news sites now offer this choice, reflecting regulatory clarity from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office that permits the approach when users have a “realistic” alternative and pricing isn’t excessive.

This shift reframes the familiar cookie banner from a nudge toward acceptance into a clearly presented fork in the road: accept tracking or pay to avoid it. With recent changes to search and social reducing clicks through to sites, publishers are looking for ways to support their digital advertising revenue. In today’s Pugpig Media Bulletin, we’re going to have a look at what consent or pay means for publishers’ digital strategy, and whether it might nudge more readers toward paid relationships by normalising payment for privacy and premium experience, not just for content itself .

The pragmatic path between reader privacy and ad revenue

In a rapidly shifting market, consent or pay gives publishers a pragmatic way to preserve advertising income while offering readers a genuine choice about their data use. When UK regulators required cookie banners to give “reject all” the same prominence as “accept all”, many publishers began exploring models that offset the impact on yield without compromising user choice. Although GDPR reshaped consent norms in 2018, much of the industry still relies on non‑essential, cookie‑based advertising. A consented user is markedly more valuable with analysis suggesting ad revenue can fall by around half when consent isn’t obtained.

Recent guidance has clarified how consent of pay can be implemented responsibly. In a blog post, Clickio neatly summarise it under four principles:

Grey areas remain, especially around what constitutes an “appropriate” fee. Documenting pricing logic is essential. A practical benchmark is to align the paid alternative with the average ad value lost from an unconsented user, which is transparent, defensible and easier to explain to readers (and regulators).

Adoption is accelerating, largely because the model both protects yield and normalises payment for privacy. Early publisher feedback indicates that the vast majority of readers choose to consent, with only a tiny minority opting to pay, demonstrating that the framing clearly incentivises opting in. Implementations vary, with some brands continuing to show non‑personalised ads to paying users, while others remove ads entirely. Pricing spans a wide range, from lower‑cost options at around £1 per month to higher tiers closer to £5, reflecting different brand positions, ad loads and perceived value.

Consent or pay is becoming a meaningful lever in the monetisation mix. Done well, it can sustain advertising revenue, create a privacy‑respecting paid lane, and subtly condition readers to see value in upgraded experiences, without degrading access to core content.

Navigating the risk of consent fatigue

Research suggests that the average internet user encounters well over a thousand cookie banners each year, with European users spending roughly 1.4 hours annually making consent decisions. This is before factoring in additional prompts for newsletters, registrations, subscriptions or the myriad of other calls to action. This persistent exposure creates cognitive load and frustration, driving disengagement and “banner blindness” that undermines informed choice and erodes trust over time.

By expanding meaningful choice and clarifying value exchange, publishers aim not only to encourage opt‑ins but to make the rationale transparent: advertising funds access, and consent helps sustain it. Clear, concise messaging that connects data use to tangible benefits can temper fatigue from the many other moments where consent is requested across web and app experiences.

To achieve this, publishers should design prompts which are simple, clear and readable. They should offer an easy option to “reject all” to align with regulator expectations to reduce compliance risk and user frustration alike. Done well, this improves trust and decreases fatigue, which in turn supports healthier engagement and more stable consent rates across both web and app journeys.

The post-cookie future is already here

Whilst consent or pay is supporting ad revenues, publishers should continue to find ways to increase ad monetisation that doesn’t depend on tracking, while building durable, direct relationships with readers. Advertising now makes up an increasingly smaller share of the average publisher’s revenue. Data from WAN-IFRA’s World Press Trends report featured in our Media App report showed that it now accounts for just 16% of the overall mix. 

Yet the primary role of content or pay is to maximise opt‑ins, not to be a fully featured paid product. Many consumers have a limited understanding of the privacy trade‑offs behind tracking, so the perceived value of paying to avoid cookies can be low. Publishers should consider if an ad‑free or premium UX alternative could do more to reinforce a subscription proposition and lift conversion.

Regulators across the globe are traveling on a privacy‑first trajectory and even with the surprise news by Google that they’ve abandoned their plan to phase our 3rd party cookies from Chrome, the long‑term trend favours reduced tracking. Publishers should keep investing in ways to monetise unconsented audiences and avoid treating consent or pay as a silver bullet for boosting ad yield. Contextual targeting, improved on‑site relevance, and robust first‑party data programmes can offset pressure on tracking‑based ads.

As referral traffic becomes harder to win, consent can become a bridge to owned relationships through first‑party data capture. This allows for publishers to deepen engagement with apps, newsletters and communities. Encouraging tracking consent may sustain a transient, ad‑driven cohort, but durable growth comes from habit and loyalty. Therefore, the centre of gravity needs to shift from simply driving opt‑in to selling a more engaging product where first‑party data enables better experiences, smarter personalisation, and a clearer path to recurring revenue.

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