Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/10/18/online_advertising_is_no_pot/

Online advertising is no pot of gold

Not enough cash to go round, say e-biz gurus

By Tim Richardson

Posted in On-Prem, 18th October 1999 15:24 GMT

Web entrepreneurs who think they can make money simply by generating advertising revenue may be in for a reality slap that will really make their cheeks smart. According to e-business evangelists at the fifth annual Jupiter Consumer Online Forum Europe in London today, there simply won't be enough advertising bucks to go round. It's a worrying prognosis for Net companies -- especially for content-based services –- which may have based their business plans on generating cash this way. If they're right, the result is that there will be casualties as Net companies fail to stay afloat. The question is how many, and whether e-ntrepreneurs are prepared to face up to reality and seek alternative revenue streams. "There's not enough advertising revenue to keep sites buoyant," warned Martin Dunn, editor-in-chief of Associated New Media. "And it's inevitable that some companies will fall by the wayside." That applies to Britain just as much as it does to other European countries, he said. "I can't see that that there is enough advertising revenue to support us all –- there will only be room for handful of big sites to succeed," he said. ®