Blendle just launched a newsreader that will let you pay a few cents for each story you read

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Blendle has launched a new mobile app that lets users read digital versions of hundreds of print publications in one place.

The app is available for both iOS and Android, according to The Verge. The app lets users preview a publication by scrolling through headlines and then requires a micro-transaction of 10 cents to 80 cents in order to access a story. Each publishers sets its own price and keeps 70% of the revenue from the transaction, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Blendle hosts digital versions of full print publications from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Financial Times, and nearly 300 other media companies.

Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider and BI Intelligence, is an investor in Blendle.

Blendle has been relatively successful in Europe since it launched in 2014 in the Netherlands and 2015 in Germany. The service attracted 650,000 registered users in those nations (half of whom are under age 35), and those users read millions of articles per month.

Micro-transactions are one way in which publishers have tried to generate alternative revenue as more consumers install ad-blockers. Blendle could provide a way for U.S. publishers to test this approach without pouring resources into a campaign. Plus, publishers must get their consumers used to micro-payments if the business model will ever truly catch on and generate significant revenue.

This is increasingly important in the face of ad-blockers, which stop ads from appearing on websites, search, and social networks. This software is catching on in the U.S., as ad-block monthly active users totaled 45 million in the US as of June 2015, increasing nearly 50% from last year, according to PageFair and Adobe.

So what does that mean for publishers? How will they try to reach you as more users install ad-blockers?

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on ad-blocking that looks at ad block usage rates, discusses Apple's  ad block software and how it could make ad blocking more common on mobile, and examines solutions for publishers.

There are several solutions that publishers can use to combat the growing ad-block problem, including education, technical solutions, and micropayments. Which solution publishers should opt for can be determined by their particular ad-block usage rates.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Ad blocking poses a major threat to digital media companies that depend on advertising for revenue. If ad blocking on mobile reaches desktop levels, US digital media companies could lose out on as much as $9.7 billion across digital ad formats next year, according to BI Intelligence estimates based on current usage rates.
• Ad-block usage rates vary greatly depending on content type and audience demographics. Publishers whose audience skews toward young males, such as video game sites, tend to see much higher ad-block usage compared with general news sites.
• Ad blocking may become even more common with the release of Apple's widely used desktop and mobile operating systems later this year. The operating systems will feature a framework that makes it significantly easier for developers to create ad-blocking software, particularly on mobile.
• Ad blockers typically use one of two methods to prevent ads from loading. In most cases, ad blockers prevent the loading of digital ads that are served by a list of known ad servers. Blocked ads typically include display, video, social, and search ad units that appear in web browsers.

In full, the report:

• Outlines ad-block usage trends across content types, geography, and demographic
• Explore the rising threat of mobile ad blocking, including Apple's new content blocking framework
• Examines solutions that publishers can use to combat ad blocking

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
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The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of ad-blocking.