APRIL 19, 2018
Ad-blocking web browser startup Brave has inked a deal with Dow Jones Media Group to provide Brave users with access to premium content from the financial news publisher.
The partnership, which was announced on Wednesday, will see the two companies experiment with Brave’s blockchain-based digital advertising and services platform, which blocks ads by default but allows users to reward publishers with cryptocurrencies for creating quality content.
In the future, Brave plans to sell native, non-tracking ads, and revenue will be shared with both publishers and users.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Dow Jones Media Group to provide Brave users with premium content via Brave and the Basic Attention Token,” said Brendan Eich, CEO and co-founder of Brave. “Our new model reconnects users and publishers without compromising privacy. We look forward to our users enjoying Barron’s and MarketWatch premium newsletters.”
That Dow Jones Media Group will experiment with Brave’s platform at all is significant, particularly given the fact that just two years ago the Wall Street Journal — a Dow Jones-owned publication — joined a group of other mainstream newspaper in publishing a letter that claimed Brave’s plan to block ads by default and potentially replace them with native ads was “illegal.”
“Our partnership with Brave is an exciting and innovative step for Dow Jones Media Group,” said Daniel Bernard, SVP, Barron’s. “As global digital publishers, we believe it is important to continually explore new and emerging technologies that can be used to build quality customer experiences.”
Two of Dow Jones Media Group’s brands, MarketWatch and Barron’s, will become verified publishers on Brave, allowing them to receive payments in the form of the platform’s native Basic Attention Token (BAT), which was originally distributed through an initial coin offering (ICO) last year. BAT payments are automatically converted to publishers’ local currency through cryptocurrency transfer service Uphold.
Additionally, a limited number of Brave users will be eligible for free subscriptions to several Dow Jones Media publications, including Barrons.com and MarketWatch’s premium newsletter. These subscriptions will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to users who download the Brave browser.
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